The findings, reported in the commissioner’s 2025-26 Annual Report, reveal that Scotland’s public bodies received 111,241 FOI requests last year – the highest ever reported, and up from 98,605 in in 2024-25.

Appeals to the commissioner, meanwhile – which can be made when someone is unhappy with an FOI response – almost doubled, up from 593 last year to 1,084 in 2025-26.

The report also highlights that public awareness of FOI law reached its highest-ever level during the year, with 93 per cent of the public reporting that they had heard of the FOI Act, up from 88 per cent in 2024.

The commissioner’s 2025-26 report, Increasing Demand…Increasing Transparency, finds that:

• 97 per cent of the FOI requests made across Scotland received a response
• 85 per cent of requests made to Scottish public bodies resulted in some or all of the information being provided (if it was held)
• One per cent of FOI requests were appealed to the commissioner
• The commissioner closed 891 appeal cases over the year – a 14 per cent increase on last year
• 301 cases were closed with a formal decision, with 77 per cent of those decisions finding wholly or partly in the requester’s favour.
• The commissioner carried out a number of practical interventions which supported FOI improvements in public bodies
• 97 per cent of the public felt that it was important for the public to be able to access the information held by public bodies
• 92 per cent of the public felt there should be a regular review of the organisations covered by FOI law.

Mr Hamilton said: “This has been another strong year for Scotland’s FOI regime, with increasing demand on FOI services across the board. However, an unprecedented 83 per cent rise in appeals to my office is putting an unsustainable strain on my small team. Without additional, but modest, investment, I will be unable to provide adequate regulatory oversight.

“While the increased use of FOI is a welcome sign of growing public awareness and greater confidence in demanding transparency from public bodies, when coupled with an explosion in the availability and use of artificial intelligence it places Scotland’s FOI system under significant stress.” 

He continued: “Demand for FOI has been fuelled by recent cases which have captured public attention and helped raise awareness of FOI at a local and national level. This has included NHS Fife’s handling of a high-profile employment tribunal and the Scottish Government’s approach to transparency around the investigation into former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

“Perhaps the most significant impact, however, has been the role of artificial intelligence on FOI, with reports from the public sector of increases in AI-generated requests. These can add to both the volume and complexity of requests, with evidence that AI tools often suggest that FOI requests are expanded to include extra information that the requester may not necessarily want to know.

“AI has had a particularly dramatic impact on my office, with increases in the number of multiple appeals made by single requesters, supported by the use of AI. This includes one 3-month period where 34 per cent of our appeals were found to be machine generated.”