Freedom of Information
Guide to information available through our FOI Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme. Authorities are under a legal obligation to:
- publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
- tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost.
Business Loans Scotland Ltd (BLS) has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2015 produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. He has approved this scheme until 31 May 2019. You can see this scheme on our website at www.bls.scot or by contacting us at the address below.
The purpose of this Guide to Information is to:
- allow the public to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class
- state what charges may be applied
- explain how to find the information easily
- provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information
- explain how to request information we hold that has not been published
Availability and formats
The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on our website. We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this).
Exempt information
We will publish the information we hold 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), we will remove or redact the information before publication and explain why.
Copyright
Where Business Loans Scotland 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 Business Loans Scotland does not hold the copyright in the information we publish, we will make this clear.
Charges
This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.
There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises except where there is a statutory fee, for example, for access to registers.
We may charge for providing information to you e.g. photocopying and postage, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.
Our photocopying charge per sheet of paper is shown in the tables below:
Black and white photocopying
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Size of paper
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Pence per sheet of paper
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A1
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10p per page
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A2
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10p per page
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A3
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10p per page
|
|
A4
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10p per page
|
|
A5
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10p per page
|
Colour photocopying
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Size of paper
|
Pence per sheet of paper
|
|
A1
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30p per page
|
|
A2
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30p per page
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|
A3
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30p per page
|
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A4
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30p per page
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A5
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30p per page
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Information provided on CD-Rom will be charged at £1.50 per computer disc.
Postage costs will be recharged at the rate we paid to send the information to you.
When providing copies of pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run.
We do not pass on any other costs to you in relation to our published information.
Please note that this charging schedule does not apply to our commercial publications (see Class 8 below). These items are offered for sale through retail outlets such as book shops, academic journal websites or museum shops and their price reflects a ‘market value’ which may include the cost of production.
Contact us
You can contact us for assistance with any aspect of this publication scheme:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre,
London Road,
Kilmarnock,
KA3 7BU
Or by email at: foi@bls.scot
Or by Phone: 01563 554851
We will also advise you how to ask for information that we do not publish or how to complain if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this publication scheme.
The classes of information that we publish
We publish information that we hold within the following classes. Once information is published under a class we will continue to make it available for the current and previous two financial years.
Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will be available. If you would like to see previous versions, you may make a request to us for that information.
Please note, the Fund is required to publish the information it holds which falls within the following classes. Where the Fund does not hold information within a class, it will be indicated below the class description.
Where links are provided to web pages, the link will be to a specific document, relevant page or section of the website.
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CLASS 1: ABOUT THE FUND
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Class description:
Information about the fund, who we are, where to find us, how to contact us, how we are managed and our external relations
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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Business Loans Scotland
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Address Information
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Either via the website: www.bls.scot
www.bls.scot/customer-complaints-policy
www.bls.scot/freedom-of-information
Or in writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email to: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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Contact Details
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Complaints Policy
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Publication Scheme & Guide
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Memorandum & Articles of Association
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In writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email to: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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Governance of the Scheme incorporating Board and Committee information
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Memorandum & Articles of Association
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Governance of the Scheme incorporating board and committee information
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CLASS 2: HOW WE DELIVER OUR FUNCTIONS AND SERVICES
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Class description:
Information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions and services and information for our service users
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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The purpose and role of the Fund
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Either via the website:
www.bls.scot
Or in writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email to: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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Information on the application process
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CLASS 3: HOW THE FUND TAKES DECISIONS AND WHAT IT HAS DECIDED
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Class description:
Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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Governance of the Scheme incorporating board and committee information
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In writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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Minutes, agendas and reports for BLS
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CLASS 4: WHAT THE FUND SPENDS AND HOW IT SPENDS IT
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Class description:
Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources (in sufficient detail to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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Annual Accounts
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In writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre,
London Road,
Kilmarnock,
KA3 7BU
Or by email: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
|
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CLASS 5: HOW THE FUND MANAGES ITS HUMAN, PHYSICAL AND INFORMATION RESOURCES
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Class description:
Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the Fund
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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Annual Accounts
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In writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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Governance of the Scheme incorporating board and committee information
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Minutes, agendas and reports for BLS
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CLASS 6: HOW THE FUND PROCURES GOODS AND SERVICES FROM EXTERNAL PROVIDERS
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Class description:
Information about how we procure goods and services, and our contracts with external providers
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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All contracts valued at £10,000 and over will be subject to a formal tender procedure.
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In writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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CLASS 7: HOW OUR FUND IS PERFORMING
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Class description:
Information about how the fund performs as an organisation, and how well it delivers its functions and services
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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Annual Accounts
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In writing to:
Business Loans Scotland
London Road Centre
London Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7BU
Or by email: foi@bls.scot
Or phone: 01563 554851
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Governance of the Scheme incorporating board and committee information
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Minutes, agendas and reports for BLS
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CLASS 8: OUR COMMERCIAL PUBLICATIONS
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Class description:
Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis and sold at market value through a retail outlet e.g. bookshop, museum or research journal.
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The information we publish under this class
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How to access it
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N/A
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Updated 14th March 2019
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