The ALLIANCE responds to consultation on extending FOISA to social care providers

Supporting stronger information rights, while warning delivery must work for an already stretched sector

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) have responded to the Scottish Government consultation on the potential extension of Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA) to care home and ‘care at home’ service providers. 

Our response is informed by direct engagement with a range of members, including people who use care services, unpaid carers, independent advocates, family members and third sector and independent providers across different settings. 

Overall, the ALLIANCE supports the principle of extending FOISA as a means of strengthening transparency in social care. Our response reflects how care home and ‘care at home’ services deliver an essential public function – regardless of ownership or funding model – and people who rely on these services should be able to access clear and timely information about how care is delivered and how decisions about that care are made.  

For many people with lived experience, access to information is not just a procedural issue but a practical requirement for the realisation of their human rights. Through our engagement, members highlighted ongoing challenges in accessing information under current arrangements, including delays, incomplete records, and a reliance on informal routes or the goodwill of individual managers. Thereby, extending FOISA has the potential to create a more consistent and equitable system, reducing reliance on individuals’ confidence, persistence or informal influence. 

At the same time, the ALLIANCE emphasises that how FOISA is extended will be as important as the decision to extend it. Providers who engaged with us were supportive of transparency in principle but raised significant concerns about proportionality, capacity and timing. With members questioning what specific gap FOISA extension is intended to address, given the existing regulation and inspection frameworks within the sector. 

Providers also highlighted practical challenges around implementation, including statutory response timescales, the handling of commercially sensitive information and the potential for FOI requests to be used as an alternative to complaints processes. These concerns were raised in the context of an already stretched sector facing rising costs, workforce pressures and multiple concurrent reforms. Without careful design and sufficient support, there is a risk that new requirements could divert limited staff time and resources away from care delivery. 

The ALLIANCE is therefore calling for a balanced approach, one that strengthens people rights to information while recognising the operational realities of social care. Crucially, while extending FOISA has the potential to improve access to information, it must not be implemented in a way that risks undermining other rights, including the right to safe, high-quality care. 

Our response calls for clear articulation of the specific issue FOISA extension is intended to address, alongside clarity of scope, appropriate protections for Self-direct Support and direct payment arrangements, and strong implementation support. Accessibility, awareness and independent advocacy must also be embedded from the outset to ensure new rights can be understood and exercised safely and effectively. 

Achieving this will require realistic lead-in times, proportionate expectations, co-produced and practical guidance and ongoing engagement with the Scottish Information commissioner. Only by taking full account of current sector pressure, and supporting providers to comply meaningfully, will any extension of FOISA be sustainable and deliver real improvements in transparency and trust for people who use these services. 

You can read more about our response in the resources section below.

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