Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, with its largest local authority, its biggest health board in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and major universities. Between them they receive a large volume of information requests — and not all of them are labelled correctly.
We support Glasgow and West of Scotland organisations with the SAR side of these requests, remotely and on a fixed fee.
UK GDPR applies — but FOI is different
Data protection is reserved to Westminster, so UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply in Scotland exactly as in England, and the UK Information Commissioner regulates SARs here. Freedom of information for Scottish public authorities, however, falls under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and is overseen by the Scottish Information Commissioner.
So a Scottish council receiving a request that says “under FOI, send me everything you hold on me” is actually dealing with a SAR. The requester's own personal information is exempt under FOISA and must be handled under data protection law instead — with a one-month deadline rather than FOISA's 20 working days.
Mixed requests need splitting
Many requests combine the two: a person asks for their own records and for policy documents or statistics about how decisions were made. The right approach is to split them — answer the personal-data element as a SAR and the rest under FOISA — and tell the requester that's what you're doing.
Our guide to SARs versus FOI requests explains the distinction; the same principle applies in Scotland, with FOISA in place of the Freedom of Information Act.
Employment disputes in Scotland
Employment tribunals in Scotland operate separately from those in England and Wales, with Glasgow as a main hearing centre. Employee SARs often precede claims there in the same way, and the same care over documenting redactions applies.
Sectors we support in the West of Scotland
Local authorities
Council requests that mix personal data with FOISA questions.
NHS Scotland health boards
Patient and staff records, with clinical input on serious harm decisions.
Universities and colleges
Student and staff requests across Glasgow's institutions.
Employers and shared services
Employee requests ahead of Scottish tribunal claims.
How we handle your SAR remotely
- Tell us about the request — the systems involved, the date range and your deadline. We confirm a fixed fee within 24 hours.
- Upload the documents to an encrypted, access-controlled workspace. Nothing is emailed.
- Our specialists review every item and redact third-party and exempt information, logging the legal basis for each decision.
- You receive a finished disclosure pack, covering letter and redaction schedule, ready to send.
Every case is quoted individually on the size and complexity of your dataset, and the fixed fee is agreed before any work begins.
Received a SAR in Glasgow?
Tell us the scope and your deadline, and we'll confirm a fixed fee within 24 hours. No commitment required.
Get Your Free SAR Assessment →or call 01244 261 379Frequently asked questions
Does UK GDPR apply in Scotland?
Yes. Data protection is reserved, so UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply across Scotland, and SARs are regulated by the UK Information Commissioner.
Who regulates SARs in Scotland — the ICO or the Scottish Information Commissioner?
The ICO regulates SARs and data protection. The Scottish Information Commissioner regulates freedom of information requests to Scottish public authorities under FOISA.
What if a request made under FOISA asks for personal information?
The requester's own personal information is exempt under FOISA and should be dealt with as a SAR under data protection law, with its one-month deadline. Tell the requester how their request is being handled.