Guide to Information

Availability and Formats

The information the Adjudicator publishes through this information scheme is, wherever possible, available on this website. Alternative arrangements can be offered for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online, for example, he can usually arrange to sending information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this - see charges below).

Exempt Information

The Adjudicator will publish any information held that falls within the classes of information below. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland's freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), he will remove or redact the information before publication and explain why.

Copyright

Where the Adjudicator holds the copyright in its published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:

• it is copied or reproduced accurately;
• it is not used in a misleading context; and
• the source of the material is identified.

Where the Adjudicator does not hold the copyright in information they publish, they will make this clear.

Charges

This section explains when the Adjudicator may make a charge for publications and how any charge will be calculated. There is no charge to view information on this website.

The Adjudicator may charge for providing information to you, but will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. They will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.

The Adjudicator's photocopying charge per side of paper is shown in the tables below:

Photocopying

Size of paper	Cost per sheet
A4	10p (black and white) or 20p (colour)

Postage costs will be recharged at the rate paid to send the information to you. The charge is for sending information by Royal Mail First Class.

When providing copies of pre-printed publications, the Adjudicator will charge no more than the cost per copy, pro rata, of the total print run.

The Adjudicator will not pass on any other costs to you in relation to published information.

Contact Us

You can contact the Adjudicator for assistance with any aspect of this publication scheme via the contact details on the Home page.:

The Adjudicator will also advise you how to ask for information that they do not publish or how to complain if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the publication scheme.

Once published, information will be available for the current fiscal year and will remain available for at least two years further. Where information has been updated or superseded, both current and previous versions can be made available.

Classes of Information

Class 1: About the Authority

The information available from the Adjudicator in this class is:

1. Enabling Legislation: A note of all the relevant legislation governing the appointment and activities of the Adjudicator (to be found in paragraphs 6 to 8 of the 'Guidance for Local Authorities in the Identification of Politically Restricted Posts', published by the Adjudicator on 31 October 2016 and referred to in this document as the Guidance).

2. The Local Government Political Restrictions Exemptions Adjudicator for Scotland (the Adjudicator) is a post set up by virtue of Part 1, Section 3 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (cap 42) (referred to in this document as LGHA 1989). The incumbent is expected to adjudicate when there is a difference of view between a local authority and an employee as to whether the post occupied by the employee should be subject to political restrictions.
3. The present Adjudicator is Vicky Crichton, who was first appointed by Scottish Ministers with effect from 30 September 2023 for a four year term. Ms Crichton operates on her own, working from home. Her performance is subject to appraisal by the Deputy Director of the Local Government Division, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ.

4. The Adjudicator may be contacted by post at PO Box 24241, Edinburgh, EH3 1LA, by e-mail at adjudicator@lgpreas.org and on the web at www.lgpreas.org.

Class 2: How the Authority Delivers Its Functions and Services

1. On 31 October 2016, the Adjudicator published new 'Guidance for Local Authorities in the Identification of Politically Restricted Posts'. It was sent to all local authorities and posted on my website www.lgpreas.org  This guidance is current and can be downloaded from the website as a pdf file. It contains all that local authorities and their employees need to know about the application of political restrictions. It also advises both parties how to proceed in the event of a need for adjudication.
2. The new Guidance brings the previous Guidance up-to-date and makes some changes that are intended to be helpful to local authorities and postholders.
3. The Adjudicator has both a reactive and a proactive role. The reactive role is to respond to any requests for adjudication. The proactive role is to require local authorities to produce lists of politically restricted posts and, at the Adjudicator’s discretion, to direct local authorities to modify the classification of a post or posts where he considers that the political restriction, or lack of it, is not in accordance with the legislation.
4. So far, the proactive role of the Adjudicator has been limited to the requirement placed upon local authorities to produce lists of politically restricted posts. It may be that in future the Adjudicator extends their proactive role to include close discussion with local authorities about the appropriateness of their application of political restrictions.

Class 3: How the Authority Takes Decisions and What It has Decided

1. In producing the new Guidance in 2016, the Adjudicator consulted with all local authorities and with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The Guidance was finalised taking account of all the comments received. In any case where adjudication is sought, it is the intention of the Adjudicator to examine the matter from both the point of view of the employee and of the local authority concerned before carrying out their own assessment of the situation. Subsequent to these processes, the Adjudicator will issue their findings to all parties concerned. LGHA 1989 does not provide for appeal by either party against the Adjudicator's decision. In light of this, the Adjudicator considers that extensive consultation and careful deliberation are essential prerequisites to their adjudications. Any adjudication will be determined with reference to the provisions of LGHA 1989. It is because these provisions are open to interpretation that it is necessary for Guidance to be in place. Any adjudication will rely as far as possible on the interpretation of LGHA 1989 published in the Guidance.
2. The Guidance is kept under review and, if necessary, will be reissued if any amendments become necessary as a result of new legislation or reinterpretation of existing legislation in the light of experience.
3. Although empowered by LGHA 1989 to do so, the Adjudicator currently has no plans to take a proactive role in examining the lists of politically restricted posts supplied by local authorities with a view to making determinations as to whether certain posts should or should not be included. Should Scottish Ministers decide that such activity would be appropriate, the Adjudicator would then undertake it. In such an event, no determination would be made without full consultation with the local authority concerned.

Class 4: What the Authority Spends and How It Spends It

1. The Adjudicator is remunerated at the rate of £240 per day for work done. No retainer is paid, so, in the absence of adjudication requests, the cost is low. There are a few other costs related to website management, P O Box rental, stationery and occasional travel. In the year to 31 March 2019, the budget was £5,000.

Class 5: How the Authority Manages Its Human, Physical and Information Resources

1. The Adjudicator has only them self to manage, works from home and makes. no charge to the public purse for accommodation or IT equipment. A small set of files is kept in a dedicated cupboard in his office.  
2. Electronic correspondence and files are managed via Office 365 and this license and this website are provided by internet service provider Flonix Ltd. A small amount of information, such as a copy of this document, is on the hard drive of his own computer. Access to the computer is password protected. The computer itself is protected and the files are backed up on an external hard drive from time to time.

Class 6: How the Authority Procures Goods and Services from External Providers

1. The Adjudicator has extremely limited external procurement expenditure, being solely the annual retainers to Flonix Ltd, the internet service provider, and the Post Office for box rental. There are thus no procurement systems in place, as they are not needed.

Class 7: How Our Authority is Performing

1. Performance has been designed at a level to cope with a modest level of activity to ensure value for money and to minimize the cost to the public purse..
2. The Adjudicator produces an Annual Report every financial year, which is lodged with the Deputy Director of the Local Government Division of the Scottish Government. The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Class 8: Our Commercial Publications

1. The Adjudicator has no commercial publications. Their only publications are the Guidance which is available as a download from www.lgpreas.org and his Annual Reports, which are lodged with the Scottish Government.  

Class 9: Last Updated

1. This Guide was last updated on in December 2023.