The Union wins Freedom of Information task in Scotland

The Union has been appointed to develop the UK’s first campaign to educate the public about the introduction of the new Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

The Edinburgh agency has been appointed by Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion to develop a television campaign for Scotland explaining how the FOI Act can empower the public.

The campaign is funded by the Scottish Parliament and will begin in January. The FOI Act applies to all Scottish public bodies and organisations and gives the public new rights to request information they might hold.

This means, for instance, that a customer could check the health and safety record of a restaurant with the local authority. The ads will illustrate several examples of where the public might want to get information.

Although Parliament in Westminster has set up the Office of the Information Commissioner, plans for advertising the FOI in the rest of the UK are not yet so advanced.

The Union won the business after a pitch and will be designing an FOI booklet. MediaCom Scotland will be handling media planning and buying for the campaign.

The Union account director Giles Moffatt says: “Our job is to make sure everyone in Scotland is aware of their new right. It’s quite a complex proposition but we’ve managed to distil it down to a core message.”