There are a few exceptions that mean we might need to withhold information that may be personal or commercially sensitive. We may also withhold information where it would cost an excessive amount to provide.
Please be specific about the information you are looking for, for example, does a specific date or time period apply?
Freedom of information (FOI) only provides a right of access to information an organisation has recorded. This means it must be stored and held in some way, for example, in a report, spreadsheet, email, or a minute from a meeting.
for information that it’s likely we record and hold. Avoid asking for an employee's opinion or view on an issue, as we’re unlikely to record this.
The Scottish Information Commissioner’s Tips for asking for information under FOI provide simple advice.
All requests should be in writing and sent by email to informationgovernance@sssc.uk.com or post to:
Scottish Social Services Council
Freedom of information request
Compass House
11 Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
We will respond to all requests within 20 working days.
If you are dissatisfied with the way we have dealt with a request and want us to conduct a review of our decision you should write to us no later than 40 working days after you received the response using the contact details above.
If you are dissatisfied with our response to a request for a review you can make an application for a decision to the Scottish Information Commissioner at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Email: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info
Website: www.itspublicknowledge.info
Our disclosure log shows all the FOI requests we’ve received by month and year, their current status and the answers we’ve provided. This means you can quickly and easily see questions we have already answered.
Read FOI requests we have receivedYou may not need to ask for information, as it is already available. We are required to publish a scheme specifying the types of information we publish or intend to publish. We use the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme and you can get information on how it works on the Scottish Information Commissioner's website.
We have produced an FOI Guide to Information 2022 that:
We are committed to making the data we produce available to the public for reuse. We keep an open data publication schedule which we update regularly as we make more of our data available in this format.
Any open data we make available will have an associated open licence. This licence will tell you what you can do with the data. We use the Open Government licensing scheme (OGL), although we also licence some of our data under Creative Commons and the Non-commercial Government licence.
We will never release personally or commercially sensitive data.
You can ask for information not already published as open data through processes such as Freedom of Information, but any information disclosed in this way may have copyright protection. This means you may not have the automatic right to reuse it other than for its original purpose. If you are looking for information held by us with a view to reusing it in some way you must first ask for our permission.
The framework for the process of reuse is set out in regulations. We have a Statement of Public Task that describes the information we produce, hold and send out.
Make a request to reuse information by emailing the Information Governance Team at informationgovernance@sssc.uk.com Please describe clearly the information you are asking for and that you are asking for it under the Reuse of Public Sector Information Regulations.
We usually deal with requests within 20 working days. Our response will tell you about any conditions for reuse and if we will charge you a fee to reuse the information.
We share information with different organisations. You can view our information sharing agreements with these organisations on the links below. Our Inventory of information sharing agreements details the lead contacts, the date it was signed and the review dates for these agreements.
The SSSC has produced a data protection and privacy notice.
View the data protection noticeYou can read previous FOI requests we’ve answered in our disclosure log.
Access the FOI disclosure logYou have the legal right to access personal information we hold about you. This is called a subject access request.
Visit the subject access request pageFind out more about registering with the SSSC including what qualifications you need and how much it costs.
Discover our free learning resources and how our work can support your learning and development.
Read more about our fitness to practise process, registrant responsibilities and how to make a complaint about a worker.