Freedom of Information must empower Scots

As anyone who has taken a tour of the Scottish Parliament will know, there are some interesting architectural elements to its building at the bottom of Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

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It has profound quotes carved into its stone exterior, parts of it resemble upturned boats, and, perhaps most poetically, some of the shaped glass in the chamber is meant to represent the people of Scotland looking in and keeping an eye on their legislators at work.

Many of the features refer and relate to the Parliament's founding principles: power-sharing, equal opportunities, access and participation, and accountability. All lofty goals, for sure. Apart from failing to include individual liberty and political restraint, in my view, this is a pretty good start.

While Holyrood has succeeded in upholding some of these grand ideals some of the time, there is, and will always be, more work to do in putting them into practice. Particularly on access and participation, and accountability.

As the Scottish Daily Express has chronicled over the years, there is a problem with secrecy in public life in Scotland.

Too often, public bodies are unaccountable and opaque. Key to this is our freedom of information mechanism, which is inadequate and dated.