Publication - Consultation paper

Care home and 'care at home' service providers - FOISA extension: consultation - easy read version

Published: 5 January 2026
From: Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans, +2 more … Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing
Directorate: Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate, +2 more … Children and Families Directorate, Social Care and National Care Service Development
Topic: Business, industry and innovation, Children and families, Communities and third sector, +4 more … Constitution and democracy, Equality and rights, Health and social care, Public sector
ISBN: 9781806436309

Easy read version of our consultation asking whether Freedom of Information (FOISA) laws should apply to care home and care at home services run by private businesses and charities.

Closed
This consultation closed 30 March 2026.

View this consultation on consult.gov.scot, including responses once published.

Supporting documents

Smaller care services

Care services run by private companies or charities can be any size. Care homes can have 1 to over 200 places. Some are run by organisations which run multiple services.

The best way to measure the size of a service is by looking at the number of staff they employ. Some have less than 10 staff and some have over 250.

Some people are worried about how the smaller services will cope with the extra work needed to follow Freedom of Information laws.

Question 6: Do you think both small and large private companies or charities should be covered by Freedom of Information law, if they run care home or care at home services?

Yes

No view

Please explain your answer in the box below:

Contact

Email: foiconsultation@gov.scot

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