Freedom of Information
Axcess1 Scotland
Freedom of Information management, built around FOISA and UK GDPR / DPA 2018
Built around your law — not around generic case management.
Built around your law — not around generic case management
Many case-management products ask a public body to adapt its process to the software. Axcess1 is configured around the legislation, the procedures, the vocabulary and the reporting obligations of each jurisdiction. An organization chooses its Act once; every screen, deadline, letter and report then follows it.
Generic case management
The organization adapts to the software.
Axcess1
The software follows the legislation and the way government works.
Legislation supported
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (2002 asp 13) and UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 (right of access, Art. 15) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as retained in UK law; 2018 c. 12)
| What the Act requires | As configured in Axcess1 |
|---|---|
| Who it applies to | Scottish public authorities within s. 3: bodies, persons and office holders listed in schedule 1 (Part 1 Ministers and the Parliament; Part 2 non-ministerial office holders in the Scottish Administration; Part 3 local government; Part 4 the National Health Service; Part 5 educational institutions; Part 6 police; Part 7 others), persons designated by order under s. 5, and publicly-owned companies (s. 6). UK-wide public authorities are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 instead. |
| Time limit to respond | 20 working days (s. 10(1)). The due date is calculated when the request is entered, with the holidays of the jurisdiction. |
| Extensions | FOISA has no extension, and none to weigh the public interest: s. 10 gives the twentieth working day (the thirtieth for the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, s. 10(2)). Further information reasonably required (s. 1(3)): time runs from its receipt (s. 10(1)(b)). Fees notice (s. 9): working days from the notice until the fee is received are disregarded (s. 10(3)); fee payable within three months (s. 9(3)). EIRs: up to 20 more working days for voluminous and complex information (reg. 7). |
| Third parties | The Act sets no formal notice; consultations are recorded and tracked on the request. |
| Decision and reasons | The decision letter gives the reasons, the provision relied on and the right of review (s. 16). |
| Fees | Amounts are in pounds sterling (GBP). No application fee. No fee where the projected costs do not exceed £100; from £100 to £600 the fee may not exceed 10% of the difference between the projected costs and £100 (at most £50); staff time at no more than £15 per hour. Refusal possible when the cost would exceed £600 (s. 12); if the information is provided anyway, the fee may not exceed £50 plus the projected costs above £600 (s. 13). EIRs: a reasonable fee under a published schedule (reg. 8). |
| Review and complaints | Scottish Information Commissioner; 180 days to ask for a review (s. 47(4) (six months; entered as 180 days)) |
| Annual reporting | FOI and EIRs statistics submitted to the Scottish Information Commissioner (quarterly) |
| Privacy breaches | Notification is mandatory; the incident register applies this jurisdiction's threshold, notices and time limits. |
Loaded for this Act
- 77 provisions (exemptions, exceptions and exclusions) ready to cite on a redaction, each with its section number.
- Request types: Freedom of information request (FOISA s. 1); Environmental information request (EIRs reg. 5).
- Statutory steps on the timeline: Further information required to identify and locate the information, s. 1(3) — the 20 working days run from receipt of the further information (s. 10(1)(b)); Fees notice given under s. 9 — working days from the notice until the fee is received are disregarded (s. 10(3)); fee payable within three months (s. 9(3)); Requirement for review under s. 20 (by the fortieth working day after the time for responding expired or, for a late response, after its receipt; the authority replies by the twentieth working day, s. 21); Application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision under s. 47 (after the review; within six months); Appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law against a decision of the Commissioner (s. 56); EIRs extension by up to a further 20 working days under reg. 7 (voluminous and complex information; notify the applicant in writing within 20 working days); EIRs — more particulars requested for a request formulated in too general a manner (reg. 9(2)); the date the particulars are received is treated as the date of the request (reg. 9(4)); EIRs — advance payment of a fee required (reg. 8(4)-(5)); working days from the notice until the fee is paid do not count (reg. 8(7)); fee payable within 60 working days (reg. 8(6))….
Checked against the published text on 2026-10-04. legislation.gov.uk — Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, 2002 asp 13 (whole Act, revised; version dated 30 September 2026) · legislation.gov.uk — FOISA s. 1 (general entitlement; further information, s. 1(3)) · legislation.gov.uk — FOISA s. 2 (effect of exemptions; absolute exemptions, s. 2(2))
Legislation-to-feature matrix
| Legislative requirement | Axcess1 support |
|---|---|
| Statutory deadline | 20 working days (s. 10(1)): calculated automatically for each request; overdue and upcoming requests on the dashboard. |
| Extensions and holds | Recorded as events that move the due date, each tied to its section of the Act. |
| Exemptions and exclusions | The provisions of FOISA and UK GDPR / DPA 2018 in the redaction editor, each with its section number. |
| Third parties and consultations | Notices, consultation packages and their due dates tracked on the request. |
| Fees | Fee notices and payments recorded on the request. |
| Reviews, appeals and complaints | Recorded on the request timeline with their dates and outcome. |
| Redaction | Done by the analyst in the built-in editor; optional AI suggestions that the analyst accepts or rejects. |
| Decision letters | Generated from templates for this Act, with the provisions cited. |
| Release | A release package built from the reviewed records; redactions are permanent in the released file. |
| Annual statistics | Annual access statistics for the period, with each figure traceable to its requests. |
| Audit trail | Every action on a request is recorded with the user and the time. |
From request to release
1Receive and validate
The request is entered with its type, requester and date received; a number is issued from your own numbering pattern.
2Calculate the deadline
The due date follows the Act: 20 working days (s. 10(1)). Holds and extensions move it and are recorded.
3Assign and search
The request is assigned to an officer; the units holding records are tasked and their answers tracked.
4Collect and review
Records are uploaded (PDF, Office files, scans with text recognition) and reviewed page by page.
5Apply the provisions and redact
The analyst marks a passage and picks the provision of this Act; the released copy shows the section relied on.
6Consult
Consultation packages are produced per party, with their due dates.
7Approve
The response goes to the approver's inbox for review and signature.
8Release
The release package and the decision letter are generated from the request.
9Report
Requests, processing times, decisions and provisions invoked are counted for the period you choose.
Agentic AI across the lifecycle
AI is switched off until your administrator turns it on, one capability at a time. AI assists. Authorized officials decide.
Intake agent
Proposes a new request from a message, the portal or a drop folder; an officer confirms it.
Document intelligence
Summarizes and classifies the records and finds the people and organizations named in them.
Responsiveness agent
Suggests which records answer the request.
Exemption assist
Proposes provisions of FOISA with reasons; redaction candidates appear in the editor.
Consultation agent
Suggests who should be consulted and on which pages.
Quality assurance agent
Checks a package a second time before release.
Deadline watch
Lists the requests at risk of running late.
Copilot
Answers questions about a request, citing the records it used.
Migration
Case history, requesters and documents are brought over from the system you use today, so you do not start from an empty database.
Deployment
Hosted by SoftSim in Canada, on your own private cloud or servers, or standalone on a PC or Mac.
Security
Each organization's records are separate, access is controlled by role and every action is recorded. Run on your own servers, your records never leave your premises.
Try it free for 30 days
One licence, the full product, no obligation. Or see it first in a 30-minute demonstration.
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Axcess1 supports configurable workflows designed around the applicable legislation. Government organizations remain responsible for legal interpretation and statutory decisions. Summaries of the legislation are paraphrases prepared from the published text; they are not legal advice.