Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA) came into force in 2002 and was introduced to make information held by public bodies more accessible. The main provisions of this Act came into force on 1st January 2005 allowing anyone in the world to access information held by Scottish public authorities. Accountant in Bankruptcy has a duty to comply with FOISA and reply to FOI requests within 20 working days.

You have statutory rights to request information from public authorities. These rights are intended to promote a culture of openness and accountability amongst public sector bodies, and therefore facilitate better public understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend public money. Information about the supporting legislation is provided below.

The Scottish Government leaflet How to Open Government gives details of how the public can obtain access to information held by the Scottish Government and its Agencies. The guide sets out our commitment to you about how we will handle your requests for information and includes guidance on using your rights under legislation responsibly.

The AiB Publication Scheme Guide details the information we routinely publish, how to access this information and whether there is a charge for receiving this.

If you can’t find the information you are looking for in our websites or publication scheme then you can make a request, in writing, to the Agency at:

The Accountant in Bankruptcy

Pennyburn Road

Kilwinning

KA13 6SA

If you are seeking your own personal information, your request will be treated as a subject access request under the Data Protection Act. Otherwise, requests for information will be covered by either the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental Information Regulations. The Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations are very similar, with only small differences. FOI requests must be made in writing – for example by letter or email. The email address for FOI requests is: aibfoi@aib.gov.uk

To ensure the security of your personal information and that it is released only to those persons entitled to it, we ask that all requests are submitted in writing, accompanied by a completed GDPR2 form and 2 forms of proof of your identity, at least one of which should be photographic.
 
The Agency aims to meet subject access requests within 1 calendar month of receiving your completed GDPR2 form and identification. We aim to respond to all other requests for information within 20 working days.