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Media Releases
2004

06 September
2004

Shepherd and Wedderburn takes Freedom of Information Act public

Leading commercial law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn is to host two key seminars for Scottish businesses concerned about the new Freedom of Information legislation due to takes effect from January 2005.

The seminars, titled “Can I See That Information?” will be held on Tuesday 28 September at the firm’s Glasgow office at 155 St Vincent Street, and on Wednesday 29 September in Edinburgh at the Carlton Highland Hotel, 19 North Bridge Street. Both events will run from 5.30pm until 7.30pm, with an opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Data protection is currently a high profile topic but considerable confusion exists as to what information can be disclosed and how the current data protection regime will be affected by freedom of information. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 both come into force on 1 January 2005 and will give the public unprecedented rights of access to all types of recorded information held by every public authority in the UK. The UK Act will be enforced by the Information Commissioner, while in Scotland it will be the newly created Scottish Information Commissioner who will oversee the Scottish legislation.

The Acts will have a direct impact on how Scottish businesses provide information to the public sector. In addition, Scottish businesses will have to deal with the new guidance and developments which affect how they manage and disclose personal information. A range of partners and associates at Shepherd and Wedderburn who specialise in this area of law will be speaking at the events to offer their expertise. They will look at these new developments and provide invaluable advice about the preparation which businesses may need to make.

Alison White, a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn said: “These new developments will have a huge impact on all Scottish businesses. These seminars will be of real use to organisations which control customer or staff data. They will also be particularly helpful for individuals within the public sector dealing with freedom of information issues and those within the private sector who provide business sensitive information to the public sector.”


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