Freedom of information requests declined by Scottish Government due to cost: FOI release

Information requested

I would be grateful if the SG could confirm that from 01/01/24 to date how many requests for information under FOI have been declined on the grounds of cost to reply?

Response

I have interpreted your request as seeking the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests that were responded to under section 12 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), on the grounds that the cost of compliance would exceed the upper cost limit, between 1 January 2024 and 19 March 2026.

Over this period, the Scottish Government issued 717 responses in which section 12 was applied to some or all of the requested material.

Please note that the figures provided reflect the options selected by colleagues using the available drop‑down fields in our internal system. As with any manually‑selected data, there is a small margin of potential user error, and therefore the true figures may vary slightly. However, the information supplied represents our records as they are currently held.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.