Freedom of information

The  Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) gives everyone a right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities.

The legislation was extended on 11 November 2019 to include Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) i.e. housing associations.

Grampian Housing Association has been designated as a Scottish Public Authority by an order made under section 5 of the Act, known as the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Designation of Persons as Scottish Public Authorities) Order 2013. 

The aim of the Act is to increase openness and transparency by allowing people to access information from Scottish public authorities to underabout how they work, how decisions are taken, how public services are delivered and how they spend their money.

The legislation applies specifically to the supply of information to the Scottish Housing Regulator in relation to Grampian's “financial well-being and governance arrangements” and “housing services” as defined in section 165 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. “Housing services” for the purposes of the application of FOISA to Grampian are defined as:

• Prevention and alleviation of homelessness 
• The management of housing accommodation let under a Scottish secure tenancy or short Scottish secure tenancy

Some activities which are carried out by RSLs are not included in the scope of the legislation, these activities are:

• Care
• Mid-market rent
• Factoring
• Shared Ownership

About Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to adopt and maintain a publication scheme which has the approval of the Scottish Information Commissioner, and publish information in accordance with that scheme.

Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

  • publish the classes of information that the authority makes routinely available
  • tell the public how to access the information and whether information is available free of charge or on payment
  • Alongside the Act, the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs) provide a separate right of access to the environmental information that we hold. 

Model Publication Scheme

Grampian Housing Association has adopted the Model Publication Scheme, produced and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner.  

The Scheme can also be viewed in Publication Scheme Resources at the Scottish Information Commissioner website.

The scheme set out our commitment to make certain classes of information routinely available, such as policies and procedures, minutes of meetings, annual reports and financial information. We have developed a Guide to Information for this purpose and this also contains details of the environmental information that we routinely make available. 

Find out more in our Guide to Information

Contact us

If you have a request for information, please complete and submit our Freedom of Information Request Form.  

Complete FOI Request Form

Requests can also be made in writing, by email, video or audio tape. 

If you have any questions or require a copy of the Model Publication Scheme 2018 or our Guide to Information in a different format, please contact us at:

Communications, Grampian Housing Association, 74 Huntly Street, Aberdeen AB10 1TD
T: 01224 202900 | E:  foi@grampianhousing.co.uk

Withholding information

Under Freedom of Information legislation, information may be withheld if there is a good reason for doing so. 

If we withhold information, we will let you know why. If you are unhappy with our decision, or with the way we have dealt with your request, you can ask us to review our decision.

If you do not agree with the outcome of the review, you can ask the Scottish Information Commissioner to investigate.