Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) requests
- Corporate information
FOI Requests about Covid-19
Public Health Scotland receive a large number of FOI requests and General Enquires about Covid-19.
Public Health Scotland has published lots of information about Covid-19 in the weekly Public Health Scotland COVID-19 Statistical Report.
If your request is relates to statistics around Covid-19, please check this report before making your request. This may provide you with the information you require without having to wait for a response to a request.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 allows any member of the public to request information from a public authority, such as Public Health Scotland. The Act promotes general access to information by recognising that the public have a right to understand how public authorities are organised, what services they provide, and the reasons behind their business decisions. The Act encourages us to be open and accountable and to organise information so that it is easily accessible to anyone who requests it.
The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIR) also allows access to environmental information held by Public Health Scotland. You can submit a request for environmental information through the same process as an FOI request.
We must provide the information you request within 20 working days unless that information is exempt under the Act or unless we seek clarification from you about the request or require to pay a fee, where the new maximum date for responding will be readjusted. Also, under the EIR, we may seek an extension for complex requests. In some situations, information may be withheld from the public.
This will include information that is about to be published, personal information covered by the Data Protection law, or information that is not in the public interest to be made generally available. If we decide to withhold information, we will give reasons for our decision. If you are dissatisfied with our response you can ask us to review it, and if you are still dissatisfied you can appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing the Act. For more information about your rights visit www.itspublicknowledge.info.
If you would like to make a FOI request about Public Health Scotland or our work, you can use our form.
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
Corporate FOI team
Public Health Scotland
Gyle Square
South Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh
EH12 9EB
or email PHS.FOI@phs.scot
Please include:
- your name
- address or email address
- full details of the information you want to receive, including any date ranges.
Publication scheme
In accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, we have adopted a Publication Scheme to help you find all the information that we publish and plan to publish, and how to access it.