ACCESS TO INFORMATION

How to request information that we regularly publish (and is detailed in our Publication Scheme)

We aim to provide as much as possible of the items from our Publication Scheme on this website (at www.slab.org.uk.) This should be the first place to look for information. Our website has a search function that can help you find the information you want.

You can also ask for items from our Publication Scheme by telephone, e-mail, fax, or in writing. If you want paper copies of any documents in our scheme, please contact us:

• online: our website will have a form you can complete to ask for paper copies of documents - coming soon
  
  
• e-mail: foi@slab.org.uk (please only use this email address if your query is about freedom of information. If you have any other type of query, contact us at general@slab.org.uk)
  
  
• write to:
  FOI publication requests
  Communications Department
  Scottish Legal Aid Board
  44 Drumsheugh Gardens
  Edinburgh
  EH3 7SW
  
  
• telephone: 0131 240 1985 (this number is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – please leave a clear message)

• fax: 0131 220 4878 – please mark your fax “FOI publication request, Communications Department”.

When contacting us, it will help if you tell us:

• your name
• your postal address, including postcode
• your daytime telephone number, so we can call you if we need to clarify or get more information about your request
• the information or documents you wish to see
• if we have said a fee is chargeable

Publication scheme notes:

This is a summary from our Publications Scheme of how we will deal with your request.

Our ‘duty to assist:’ Section 15 of the FOI Act obliges Scottish public authorities to advise and help someone who proposes to ask for or has asked for information, so far as it is reasonable to expect the authority to do so. We will try to help members of the public to make a request and to help those who have asked for information to identify and find it. If the information is otherwise accessible, we will tell them where they can get it.

Copyright: Information the Scottish Legal Aid Board produces is subject to copyright. Material available through this Publication Scheme is subject to copyright unless we say it is not. You can read more on copyright in Section 7 of our Publications Scheme.

Service commitment: we want to provide a good service, and we have service standards for Freedom of Information requests, such as how long it will take us to do things. Read more about our standards in Section 8.

Other languages and formats: We are committed to developing and promoting the equality of opportunity for all. We want to ensure the information we provide is as accessible as possible. We already publish some information in other languages and formats. In appendix 1, Information available, we show where information is available in other languages and formats – if available for a particular class of information we say so in the format section. If our information is not readily available in the language or format you want, on request we may be able to translate documents or produce information in the format you need. Please contact us (please use the above contact information) to discuss this further.

Charging: Most of the information in this Publication Scheme is available free. We show in Appendix 1, with the classes of information, what information we may charge for. If we charge, we will tell you how much when you ask for the information. You will have to pay the charge before we send the information to you. You can read more on charging in Section 9 of our Publications Scheme.

Comments and complaints: We would be glad to receive any comments or suggestions on our Publication Scheme. We would like to know your views about whether, and how easily you were abe to get the information you wanted. If you are dissatisfied with the way we have dealt with your enquiry, you may wish to raise the matter with us. If we cannot resolve your complaint, you can complaint o the Scottish Information Commissioner. Find out more about giving comments or making a compliant, including contact details.