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Guide to Published Information

Last Reviewed - 4 September 2023

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is committed to a policy of openness and transparency. The information that we publish on these pages is in line with requirements under the Scottish Information Commissioner’s model publication scheme.

We ensure that the data we publish is compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018, Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations Act 2004 and any other associated Acts that governs the way we handle our data.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme.  Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

  • Publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
  • Tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2015 produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner.  This scheme has the Commissioner’s approval until 31 May 2019.

You can see the Publication Scheme Guidance on the Commissioner’s website or by contacting us at the address below.

How to Request Information which is not in our publication scheme

If the information you want is not in our publication scheme, you have the right to request it from us.  The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives you a right of access to the information we hold (whether we publish it or not), subject to certain exemptions.  Requests for information can be sent to us by emailing SFRSInfoGov@firescotland.gov.uk.

You can also write to us at:

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters
Westburn Drive
Cambuslang
G72 7NA

Exempt Information

We will publish the information we hold that falls within the classes of information listed. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland’s Freedom of Information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we may remove or redact the information before publication but we will explain why.

Charges for Information

There is no charge for downloading information from our website. If we send published information to you, we may ask you to pay the costs of providing it to you e.g., photocopying and postage.

We may charge for unpublished information provided in response to a request for it.  Where it would cost us £100 or less to provide the information to you, we will not impose a charge. If it costs us between £100 and £600 to provide the information, we may ask you to pay 10% of that part of the cost.  So, for example, if it costs us £400, then we may charge up to £30 (i.e. first £100 is free, then we may charge 10% of the cost between £100 and £400). 

Where it would cost more than £600 to provide information to you, we may ask you to pay the costs as set out above up to £600 and the remaining costs over £600 in full. 

In the case of requests for a person's own personal data (subject access request), we may charge up to £10 per request.

We are pleased to provide advice and assistance to help requesters frame their requests to reduce the possibility of charges for information.

Printing

If you would like us to print information from the website, or published information which isn’t yet on our website, we may charge for providing the information, but we will not charge you more than it actually costs us to print and send to you.

Where charges are made, they are as follows:

  • Photocopying per double-sided sheet at 10p per black and white A4 sheet and 20p per colour A4 sheet.
  • Electronic format: e.g. CD Roms at 50p per disc, memory stick ranging from £4.99 to £19.99 depending on the amount of information (we estimate £10 would be adequate for most requests).
  • Postage costs are recharged at the rate we pay to send the information to you by Royal Mail First Class. 
  • photographs provided in hard copy are charged at £5.00 per image

What may we charge for?

We do not charge for:

  • the time it takes us to decide whether we hold the information you asked for
  • the time it takes us to decide whether the information can be disclosed.

Charges may be made for:

  • the staff time taken to locate and retrieve the information and
  • for providing it to you.

Fees

If we intend to make a charge we will contact you before we send any information. We will issue you a Fees Notice which sets out the charge and how it has been calculated. The notice will tell you how to pay the fee to us. It will also offer advice and assistance to help you narrow your request to reduce or avoid charges altogether.

If you receive a Fees Notice you can decide whether to pay for the information or to take up our offer of advice and assistance.

If we do not hear from you within 20 working days of issue of a fees notice, we will assume that you have withdrawn your request.

The Classes of Information that we publish

Find out more on our Access to Information