Records Reclosure and Takedown Policy

It is uncommon for a record which is open to be subsequently withdrawn from public access, but there are legitimate circumstances when this may be required.

Our Records Reclosure and Takedown policy explains why this may happen and how a decision on reclosure, extended closure and/or takedown from our public websites is reached.

Records Reclosure and Takedown Policy (256 KB PDF).

Conditions for Reclosure and Takedown

Permanent reclosure or takedown will only be considered if one of the following criteria is met:

• A record may be found to contain personal or sensitive personal information about a living individual and continued access to this would be unlawful or unfair under the General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 or the Human Rights Act 1998. 
• A record may have been opened/published online in good faith, but changed circumstances mean it is now considered covered by an exemption in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 or the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
• A record may have been opened/published online in good faith, but circumstances for this have changed and its reclosure/takedown is now considered appropriate.
• A record may have been opened/published online in error and its reclosure/takedown is deemed necessary to correct this mistake.
• The content of a record published online may be an infringement of copyright.
• The content of a record published online may be defamatory or obscene.
• The content of a record published online may cause serious and real administrative difficulties to the record’s owner, and the owner has requested takedown for a specified and limited period of time.

Reclosed Records and Takedowns

We have published below information about reclosed records and web pages removed under takedown.

Reclosures and extended closures in 2016 (44 KB PDF)

There were no takedowns from our websites in 2016.

Reclosures and extended closures in 2017 (56 KB PDF)

Takedowns in 2017 (34 KB PDF)

There were no records reclosed or takedowns from our websites in 2018.

Reclosures in 2019 (151 KB PDF)

There were no takedowns from our websites in 2019.