Salmond’s SNP is now ‘Secrets’ National Party as Scottish Government bow to vested interests over widening of Freedom of Information laws

In what may come as little of a surprise to anyone, the current SNP minority Scottish Government have stalled on expanding the reach of Freedom of Information legislation, apparently after business interests lobbied to prevent any further reforms to FOI in Scotland.

The Sunday Herald reports :

SNP U-turn protects big business from scrutiny

EXCLUSIVE: Rob Edwards
30 Jan 2011

The Scottish Government has been slapped down by the Information Commissioner for bowing to pressure from big business and abandoning plans to end the secrecy enjoyed by private contractors working for the state.

Ministers have shelved proposals to extend freedom of information legislation to cover the companies that build and run schools, hospitals, prisons and roads. The move was fiercely opposed by the firms.

Other bodies which will also now escape designation under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act are trusts set up by local authorities to run leisure and cultural activities, Glasgow Housing Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

The U-turn has earned a strong rebuke from the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kevin Dunion.

He said: “I have consistently warned the government that freedom of information rights are under threat given the number of local authority trusts and private contractors used to deliver public services … I am disappointed that successive Scottish administrations have failed to use their powers to protect and extend the public’s right to know.”

Campaigners accused ministers of caving in to vested interests.

Carole Ewart from the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland said: “We are deeply disappointed that the government has reversed its position on extending the Act because of opposition from the private sector bodies themselves.

“It would have been obvious to ministers before making these proposals that the contractors did not want to be covered, and we are amazed that merely because they have said they don’t like the idea the government has shelved it.”

Ewart warned that Scotland was now losing its lead over England on freedom of information. South of the Border, the law is being extended to cover police chiefs, the Local Government Association, the Law Society and other bodies that are not going to be covered in Scotland.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in Scotland lobbied strongly against the extension of freedom of information rights. It has warmly welcomed the government’s change of heart.

CBI Scotland’s assistant director, David Lonsdale, said: “Extending freedom of information obligations to private sector suppliers of public services would have been unnecessary, costly, and at odds with promises to simplify regulation and public procurement, so we are pleased that ministers have listened.”

The Scottish Government accepted that there was “broad support” for increased openness and transparency.

But it said: “Any extension of legislation is not favoured by the majority of those bodies proposed for coverage at the present time.”

The Scottish Government’s rather long winded statement saying FOI would not be expanded to private contractors working for the state, issued earlier in the week, follows :

Freedom of Information (FoI)

Freedom of Information (FoI)

26/01/2011

Minister for Parliamentary Business Bruce Crawford today announced the Scottish Government is committed to bringing forward a Bill clarifying and strengthening the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act.

After six years of the existing legislation, some necessary improvements have been identified, meaning the time now seems right to review the legislation as a whole.

Mr Crawford said that the Scottish Government intends to bring forward measures to strengthen and improve the Act through a Freedom of Information (Scotland) Amendment Bill in the next Parliamentary session.

The Government also considers that it would be premature to extend the legislation to cover a greater range of bodies delivering public services during this Parliamentary session.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 encourages the development of a more open culture across the public sector by providing a statutory right of access to information held by some 10,000 Scottish public authorities.

The proposed legislation in the next Parliamentary session will put right two deficiencies in the current FOI laws that have been identified relating to Part 5 (Historical Records) and Section 65 (Offence of altering etc. records with intent to prevent disclosure).

The Scottish Government also intends to review and consult on how best the Act can be improved and strengthened as part of bringing forward this primary legislation.

Ministers consulted last year on whether existing FOI legislation should be widened to cover a greater range of bodies who deliver public services in Scotland. As was made clear at that time, the consultation was necessary as the Scottish Government had not reached firm conclusions on which bodies it might be appropriate to extend coverage to.

As a result of this consultation, Ministers believe it would be premature to extend coverage before the deficiencies in the Act can be put right and the opportunity is taken to strengthen and update the current legislation.

Minister for Parliamentary Business Bruce Crawford said:

"Freedom of Information has brought a welcome culture of openness and transparency to the work of Government and other public bodies since its introduction in Scotland, and we can be proud of the fact that we have set an example for other countries in this respect. However, the existing legislation can be improved, and that is why we intend to bring forward legislation in the next Parliamentary session to improve and strengthen the existing Act.

"At the same time, Scottish Ministers have carefully considered responses to our consultation on the possible extension of FOI, and it is clear that, while there is broad support for the principles of openness and transparency, any extension of legislation is not favoured by the majority of those bodies proposed for coverage at the present time.

"It was also apparent from the replies to the consultation that many of these organisations are already acting within the spirit of the act by making relevant information available, through both voluntary and statutory means. Ministers believe it would be premature to extend coverage before the deficiencies in the Act can be put right and the opportunity is taken to strengthen and update the current legislation.

"In the meantime, alternative methods with the same aim, including revision to the FOISA Code of Practice, assessment of the impact of the proposed Scottish Housing Charter and the further development of the transparency agenda, will continue to be explored.

"The Scottish Government will always encourage all organisations in Scotland to operate with the same principles of openness and transparency as ourselves, as they are fundamental elements of open democratic government and responsive public services."

Part 5 (Historical Records) relates to the 30 year lifespan of a 'historical record'; sets out the exemptions which are subject to this category and identifies the lifespan of certain other exemptions; and gives Scottish Ministers order making powers to amend these timescales.

By Order under Section 59 Scottish Ministers can change the 30 year lifespan to 15 years (or, whichever lifespan they so choose to define). This amendment however, would change all exemptions in Section 58(1). In order to be able to move these timescales independently, primary legislation will be required.

Section 65 (Offence of altering etc. records with intent to prevent disclosure). The destruction of information after it has been requested is a criminal offence. The standard timescale for commencing proceedings of a summary conviction is 6 months as set in section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

Due to the process that FOISA follows, it is potentially 10 months from commission before any offence could be discovered by the Commissioner at appeal stage. Subsection (2) of section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 allows Acts, such as FOISA, to fix their own time limit.

Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland wins tax perks in charity status ruling

The Association of Chief Police Officers of Scotland (ACPOS) is not a group which might spring to mind if one was asked to name a charity .. but ACPOS have apparently secured charity status because of its work "advancing citizenship and community development". (Stop the world, I want to get off – Ed)

Scotland on Sunday reports :

Police group quids in after charity ruling

Published Date: 17 May 2009
By David Leask

THE body that lobbies on behalf of Scotland's most senior police officers has won lucrative tax breaks worth thousands of pounds after it was controversially awarded charitable status.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), which represents the heads of the nation's eight forces and their most senior colleagues, officially won the status because of its work "advancing citizenship and community development".

Acpos reckons that its work putting over the views of police top brass should put it on the same legal and taxation footing as Oxfam and Save the Children.

But its critics – including rank-and-file officers uncomfortable with its powerful role in public life – last night said they couldn't understand what exactly was charitable about Acpos.

And Christine Grahame, an influential Nationalist backbencher in the Scottish Parliament, admitted that she was "bamboozled" as to why Acpos, which is also a limited company, would register as a charity.

Grahame said: "This has taken my breath away. I think Acpos should do a consumer test and stand outside a supermarket with their Acpos cans and say it is for chief police officers' charity and see how many people give.

"Nobody would give them anything. I can understand the British Heart Foundation or Cancer Research UK as a charity but I am bewildered as to why an association for a very specific group of people should be a charity, when it only seems to serve that elite few.

"Oxfam is a charity. But why is Acpos? Where are its good works and its charitable purposes?"

Acpos received £500,000 of public money last year, mostly to fund its Glasgow base and 10 staff all of whom are seconded from Scottish police forces. It has no independent source of income and carries out no public fundraising.

Critics within the service – who declined to put their names in print – last night said they had growing concerns over the complicated nature of Acpos, a body that both represents the interests of chief officers and sets policies.

They pointed to developments in England, where Acpo has been racking up substantial profits.

One senior police insider yesterday said: "Acpos has power but no responsibility. Nobody can give Acpos a slap because they don't stand on any legislative footing."

Senior officers make no money from Acpos. However, the body is saved from handing over thousands of pounds in VAT to the exchequer thanks to its charitable status, which it officially obtained from the Office of the Scottish Charity Register or OSCR last year. Its official listing on OSCR's website says the charity, officially called Acpos Ltd to reflect that it is also a company limited by guarantee, "benefits no specific group".

It describes its purpose as the "advancement of Citizenship or Community Development" and its objects "to promote, for the benefit of the public in Scotland, the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in Scotland".

A spokesman for OSCR said: "All applications for charitable status are assessed under the requirements of the charity test specified in The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005."

The body, which is modelled on the Association of Chief Police Officers or Acpo in England and Wales, has developed several roles over the years, including helping to make and co-ordinate policies across all eight Scottish forces, the Scottish wing of the British Transport Police and the Scottish Police Services Authority, the national "back office" for policing.

In his last annual report – for 2007/2008 – its former president, Colin McKerracher, the chief constable of Grampian, called Acpos "the principal voice of police leadership in Scotland".

The body describes itself as "the strategic body which oversees and co-ordinates all aspects of the direction and development of the Scottish Police Service". However, it has no statutory basis for doing so.

An independent review of policing in Scotland, published earlier this year, called for the creation of a new steering group to co-ordinate and manage national policing.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill is currently considering the proposal. If he adopts it, Acpos will lose most of the functions it has currently assumed under a loose working arrangement with the Scottish Government.

Grahame, however, questioned whether Acpos was the kind of organisation MSPs had in mind when they passed the act.

Scotland on Sunday last week asked Acpos to respond to Grahame's criticisms and to explain why the body had sought charitable status. A spokesman said: "We will be able to give you a response next week."

Scotland in fear : Police ready 'terror plans' for population centres

Long gone are the days of peaceful living in Scotland, as the necessity for significant steps to secure public safety in the face of terrorism threats take shape, with the latest revelation that Police are compiling ‘terror plans’ for all local communities in Scotland. Prudent move in terms of security it may be, but scary none the less .. (and a sad reflection on our time – Ed)

The Herald reports :

Police compiling terrorism plan for every local community

LUCY ADAMS, Chief Reporter April 01 2009

Police are compiling a detailed terror plan of every local community, identifying individuals, areas and landmarks of particular concern in a bid to achieve greater co-operation from local authorities and health boards.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) wants to use the local profiles to persuade councils and other bodies to improve security in shopping centres and licensed premises - partly in response to specific intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda is looking to cause "mass casualties".

The move comes as tens of thousands of French, German and British police officers moved into position in cities on both sides of the Rhine and in London ahead of tomorrow's G20 summit involving Barack Obama and other world leaders.

Large cities such as Glasgow may have more than one plan, detailing how many individuals are thought to be a threat, how many buildings need extra protection and what level of emergency measures should be in place.

Senior police hope the profiles will motivate planning departments and other partners to take a more active role in countering the threat of extremism, whether by improving security at city-centre car parks or encouraging social work departments to offer particular individuals more support.

Counter-terrorist specialists will be working alongside others in anticipation of mass protests.

Assistant Chief Constable Allan Burnett, the Acpos co-ordinator for counter-terrorism, said: "We are working on counter-terrorist local profiles which will have a restricted level assessment of, for example, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and we will be sharing these with key partners.

"Rather than me just saying to the chief executive of Glasgow, trust me you've got a problem, we will be giving them intelligence and this will help to get people on board.

"We might want them to influence their planning department to ensure they have counter-terrorism built into security of buildings, ensuring the passes are secure and that car parks are safe."

The move comes just a week after the UK Government unveiled Contest 2, its comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy which includes plans to train civic society in how to confront those who "threaten democracy".

Some 60,000 shop, hotel and service-industry staff will be trained to deal with terrorist threats under the scheme. More than 5000 shopkeepers, managers and security staff have already been trained in Scotland.

Mr Burnett added: "If you're saying, please do this without telling people what they've got in their local areas and being all secretive about it', you're going to get a knock-back.

"Partnership is key to it all. There are big data protection issues which everyone would expect us to handle appropriately.

"There might be more than one profile for some cities and we might have one for some whole forces. It is proportionality. It shows the level of detail that is involved."

Acpos has also conducted a review of Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, the stop-and-search power used by police at ports and airports, following complaints from black and minority ethnic groups that they felt victimised.

Acpos ran focus groups in Glasgow and Edinburgh to gauge the views of different age groups. A new information leaflet explaining the rights of passengers and police is to be launched this week as a result.

Officers are also now being trained in behavioural assessment - to allow them to make accurate judgments on travellers. Hundreds of people are stopped and searched under the powers at Scottish ports and airports every year.

"We have done a review of Schedule 7 - the power to stop and examine anyone at a port or airport and in the minority ethnic communities this is a big concern," said Mr Burnett.

"We had four focus-group meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow and did a lot of work on the threat. We've taken steps to ensure the police properly identify themselves and taken steps to clarify what the police powers are under Schedule 7.

"They wanted the police to know about their culture and cultural taboos."

FOI from LibDems reveal 170 Scottish Police officers have criminal records

A Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats has revealed there are at least 170 Police officers in Scotland with criminal records …

The Scotsman reports :

170 police officers 'have criminal record'

Published Date: 12 March 2009

By Gerri Peev
Political correspondent

AT LEAST 170 serving police officers in Scotland have criminal records and many of them picked up their convictions while on duty, figures reveal.

It also emerged that half the police forces that gave information had not sacked a single officer with a criminal conviction.

Strathclyde Police alone has 107 serving officers who have convictions and has dismissed another ten.

Grampian Police has 34 officers with criminal records, none of whom have been dismissed, while Fife Constabulary employs 11 officers who have committed crimes and kept their jobs.

Lothian and Borders has four police officers with criminal convictions and Tayside has sacked just one out of its seven who have records. Dumfries and Galloway has eight police officers with convictions after axing three.

The figures, revealed by Freedom of Information requests from the Liberal Democrats, highlight how officers with convictions ranging from assault to perverting the course of justice and driving offences are still employed on the front line.

Robert Brown, the Liberal Democrats' justice spokesman in Scotland, said the figures were "staggering".

He has written to Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, urging him to release information that two police authorities – Northern Constabulary and Central Scotland – refused to give.

"The public entrust the police with the use of legal force precisely because they are self- disciplined and restrained," he said. "This trust is undermined if serving police officers convicted of a violent offence are seen not to be dealt with strictly.

"Similarly, the public will wonder how a police officer convicted of perverting the course of justice can perform their duty effectively. Prosecutors would be reluctant to call them as a witness for fear of being taken apart by the defence.

"Hiring and firing must ultimately be the decision of the chief constable, but given these revelations the Scottish Government needs to review any guidance it gives to police forces."

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland said it had no specific policy or guidance on previous convictions.

He added: "It is at the discretion of individual chief constables as to how such matters are dealt with, having considered all the attendant circumstances."

Holyrood calls for Chief Police Officer’s body to be held accountable

MSPs from the Scottish Parliament have called for ACPOS, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland body to be subject to closer scrutiny, as in its current form it is virtually unaccountable.

The Herald reports :

MSPs call for police body to be held to account

MSPs call for police body to be held to account
STEWART PATERSON January 30 2009

An influential committee of MSPs has criticised Scotland's top police officers association, warning it is unaccountable and should be subjected to closer scrutiny.

The Scottish Parliament's public audit committee has called on the government to investigate measures to bring the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) under effective inspection.

Previously, the auditor general, the Justice Committee and Scotland's inspector of police forces have raised similar concerns over lack of transparency and accountability.

In considering an Audit Scotland report into policing the committee, it was argued only individual chief constables are accountable to their own police board, leaving Acpos, as an organisation, answerable to no-one.

Hugh Henry, public audit committee convenor, said: "The committee is aware that Acpos plays a leading part in developing policing policy and practice in Scotland.

"However, it is difficult to see how Acpos is currently held to account for this role.

"The committee believes that the Scottish Government should consider how the work Acpos undertakes can be made more transparent and how Acpos could be more effectively scrutinised."

The committee of MSPs also recommended that there should be a single non-emergency telephone number for police across Scotland.

This was prompted by concerns that 0845 numbers were costing callers money and that the country lacks a national strategy for handling non-emergency calls