On 6 November, Dr Erin Ferguson gave evidence at the Scottish Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill was introduced by Katy Clark MSP and aims to modernise Scotland’s legal framework for freedom of information by, inter alia, introducing a new code of practice to facilitate the proactive publication of information and improving the process by which additional organisations can be designated as public authorities with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2004 (FOISA). The Bill is currently at Stage 1.
In giving evidence, Erin drew from the research she has conducted over the past decade on freedom of information and transparency, including her PhD research, which examined how privatisation and outsourcing affect public access to information. Her contributions emphasised the importance of bringing private bodies delivering public services within the scope of FOISA and the extent to which the Bill will achieve greater transparency.
Erin gave evidence alongside former Scottish Information Commissioner Professor Kevin Dunion (Dundee) and Dr Ben Worthy (Birkbeck).
Erin is a lecturer in public law and Co-Director of the Centre for Constitutional and Public International Law.