Openness
Freedom of Information (FOI)
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 you may request information from a public authority, this gives you the right to request information from the Scottish Land Commission and for it to be provided to you unless there are reasons for some (or all) of that information being withheld. If any information is withheld we will explain why.
FOI requests should be made in a recordable format, such as letter, email or audio file.
Please make requests in writing to: Scottish Land Commission, Longman House, Longman Road, Inverness, IV1 1SF or email: info@landcommission.gov.scot.
You can help us by ensuring you provide your name, an address or email address for correspondence and, if possible, a telephone number. Please also specify the information that you seek as clearly and as detailed as possible.
We will, as far as is reasonable and practicable, provide help and advice on asking for information. You can also find out more information about your rights and tips for requesting information under Freedom of Information on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website: www.itspublicknowledge.info.
We do not usually charge for undertaking FOI requests, but we may do so if the request imposes unreasonable and significant demands on our resources.
If a fee is due, you will be informed in advance of us providing information. It is up to you whether you want to pay for the information, however you must pay us before we will provide the information. If you decide not to pay the fee, then we do not have to send you any information.
If we estimate that it would cost us more than £600 for us to respond to an FOI request, then we do not have to respond to it.
We will respond to your request within 20 working days. If we are unable to do so, we will contact you as soon as possible to explain why.
If you have sent your request by letter, you should allow three days for your letter to reach us, and three days for our response to reach you.
If we have handled your request under FOISA and you are unhappy with our response, you may ask for a review within 40 working days of receiving the response (or, where no response has been received, within 40 working days of the deadline for the original request). We will aim to provide you with our review response within 20 working days.
If you are still dissatisfied after the internal review you have six months to appeal to the Information Commissioner (free of charge) for a decision on whether we have appropriately handled your request.
To find out more visit www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal.
FOISA requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme.
The Scottish Land Commission’s Publication Scheme can be found here.
Scottish Land Commission Publication Scheme
Data Protection
The General Data Protection Regulation gives you the right to know what information is held about you and sets out rules to make sure the information is handled properly.
A request should be made in writing and you should include documentary evidence of who you are, e.g. a copy of your driving license, birth certificate or passport. (Please do not send originals.)
A suggested template for making your request can be found below.
There will not normally be a fee for processing or providing this information. However, if the request is a repeat request and/or if it is excessive or manifestly unfounded we can charge an administration fee, which includes search time as well as the time spent getting the data ready for use. If we require a fee for the request we will contact you to inform you.
We will respond within one calendar month of receiving your request.
If you have a complaint about the way we have handled your personal information, you should contact the UK Information Commissioner.
The Information Commissioner’s Office – Scotland
45 Melville Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7HL
Telephone: 0303 123 1115
Email: Scotland@ico.org.uk
Subject Access Request Template
Environmental Information Request
The Environmental Information (Scotland) Act 2004 gives you the right to request information about the environment and for it to be given to you unless there are good reasons not to.
Environmental Information requests can be made in writing or orally. While you do not have to explain why you want the information, if you are happy to do so it may help us to answer your request more satisfactorily.
We do not usually charge for making requests or for providing information but we may charge if the request imposes unreasonable and significant demands on the resources of our organisation. If a fee is due you will be informed of any fee in advance of us providing information.
We will respond to your request within 20 working days, but we may have to extend this up to 40 working days if the request is complex or involves a large amount of information.
If we have handled your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Act 2004 and you are unhappy with our response, tell us why within 40 working days, and it will be looked at afresh. We will aim to provide you with our review response within 20 working days.
If you remain unhappy with our response, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. You should keep copies of all the correspondence you have had with us, as if you decide to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner you will be asked to provide these.
Complaints
We are committed to continually providing a high level of customer service. We value complaints and use information from them to help us improve our services. If something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied with our services, please tell us. Read the leaflet below to find out more about our complaints procedure and how to make a complaint.
Complaints Handling Procedure Leaflet
Financial Management
Section 31 (1) of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) 2010 Act requires public bodies to publish, as soon as is reasonably practical after the end of each financial year, a statement of any expenditure they have incurred during that financial year on or in connection with the following matters:
• Public Relations
• Overseas Travel
• Hospitality and Entertainment
• External Consultancy
Please find details of expenditure incurred within these categories and any individual payment made which has a value in excess of £25,000 (inclusive of VAT).
Financial Year 2022-23
Public Relations – £101,705
Overseas Travel – £0
Hospitality and Entertainment – £5,993
External Consultancy – £133,788 (Research projects and partnership working for delivering programme of work)
Individual Payments over £25,000 - Nil
Annual Report and Accounts
Contracts
You can find details of the Commission's contracts register here.
The Scottish Land Commission is committed to undertaking and commissioning high quality research and recognises the need for a holistic approach to quality control., more information can be found in the Research Quality Assurance policy below.
The Scottish Land Commission expects that its staff and research contractors will follow the highest practical ethical standards in delivering research, more information can be found in the Research Ethics Policy below.
Research Policies
Contact Us
You may contact the Scottish Land Commission at any time with any privacy questions or concerns you may have. You also may ask at any time to see the personal data you have given us and request correction or deletion of the data.
If you want to request information about our privacy policy you can email us or write to:
Scottish Land Commission
An Lochran
10 Inverness Campus
Inverness
IV2 5NA.
Our Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Caron Munro. If you would like to speak to the DPO you can email or phone 01463 423 300.
