5.9 Openness and Transparency
As a Board, you have a duty to be as open and transparent as possible about your decisions and actions, giving reasons for your decisions and restricting dissemination of information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 places an obligation on all public bodies to provide access to information held by the organisation. If your public body is subject to the Act, you as a Board member should ensure that your organisation has Freedom of Information policies and procedures in place. You should make sure that it meets the specific requirements to:
- have in place a Publication Scheme approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner;
- respond to FOI requests in accordance with the timescales and other requirements of the Act; and
- advise and assist people who make requests for information.
The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 place similar responsibilities on organisations with regard to environmental information which they hold so you should make sure that, where appropriate, your organisation has in place policies and procedures to meet these responsibilities.
Public Bodies: Proposals for Change emphasised the importance of all public bodies communicating clearly with stakeholders in plain language, making information widely available and consulting thoroughly and imaginatively.
Where practicable and appropriate, the Board should:
- hold Annual Open Meetings;
- hold all Board meetings in public, unless there is a good reason not to;
- release summary reports and/or minutes of meetings;
- invite evidence from members of the public in relation to matters of public concern;
- consult stakeholders and users on a wide range of issues; and
- make the Annual Report widely available.
Confidentiality
On occasions, you will be required to treat discussions, documents or other information relating to the work of the body in a confidential manner. It is imperative that you respect this duty of confidentiality at all times.
In particular, you should never use information to which you have privileged access for personal or financial gain or in a way that brings the public body into disrepute.
Lobbying
In order for a public body to fulfill its commitment to being open and accessible, it needs to encourage participation by outside organisations and individuals in the decision-making process. However, openness and accessibility need to be balanced by transparency and probity in the way business is conducted within your organisation and, consequently, the Code of Conduct sets out some clear rules and guidance in respect of dealing with lobbyists and lobbying.
Two of the key principles are that:
- no person or organisation should gain better access to, or treatment by, you as a result of paying a company or individual to lobby on their behalf; and
- you must not accept paid work which would involve you lobbying your own public body or advising on how to influence the body and/or its members.Ultimately, if you have any concerns over the approach or methods used by anyone in their contacts with you, you should discuss the matter with the Standards Officer and/or the Chair.