Proposals to extend FoI provisions to private care home providers

Following the Covid pandemic, ministers agreed to look at extending provisions in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) to cover care services. The Act enables the Scottish Government to extend Freedom of Information rules to cover organisations delivering ‘functions of a public nature’.

A consultation will seek views on whether providers of care homes and ‘care at home’ fall under that definition and if so, whether and how the Government should exercise its power to extend FOISA to cover them.

It will also cover other issues, including whether services should only be covered if they receive public funding, whether services for children and young people should be included and how a change in the rules might affect organisations of different sizes.

Minister for parliamentary business Graeme Dey said: “Care home and ‘care at home’ services are of the utmost importance to people, including some of our most vulnerable citizens.

“There is a good argument that these services can be considered to be public functions, and that statutory FOI obligations should therefore be extended to private and third sector providers in this area. Doing so would put the same obligations on those providers to be open and transparent that we already place on public sector providers of similar services, such as local councils.

“We will therefore publish a public consultation to gather the views of people who rely on these services for the care of themselves, their friends and family and the wider community. We also want to hear the views of people who work in and with the sector, and from provider organisations. 

“This government recognises the significant pressures that the social care sector is facing and to be effective, any future roll out of Freedom of Information will need to take place in partnership with the sector, taking this into account. Therefore I hope as many people as possible will engage with this consultation.”

The consultation will open on January 5th 2026 and close on March 30th 2026.