191206AuCtteePaper4AASICDecisionHandlingOfInfo

This document contains a review of the Cairngorms National Park Authority's handling of an information request. The Scottish Information Commissioner decided the Authority partially breached environmental information regulations by not initially providing all the requested information, although it was later provided. The Authority's processes are being reviewed to identify and improve any weaknesses in how they handle information requests, particularly to avoid misunderstandings about the scope of future requests. This is the first such referral to the Commissioner since 2015, and the Authority deals with around 60 to 80 requests yearly. The key issue was a misunderstanding between staff and the requestor about the scope of information requested. The Authority will improve its standard letter template to clarify assumptions and search criteria to prevent similar issues.