23.06.2017
The Scottish Parliament will next week be invited to nominate Daren Fitzhenry to Her Majesty the Queen for appointment as the new Scottish Information Commissioner.
The Commissioner’s role is to promote and enforce the freedom of information regime established by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Mr Fitzhenry is set to succeed Rosemary Agnew who held the position until April 2017. A motion to agree Mr Fitzhenry’s appointment will be considered by the Parliament on Tuesday 27 June.
This position is for a fixed term of six years and attracts a salary of £73,000.
The appointment follows an open recruitment process. The Commissioner’s office is based in St Andrews, Fife.
Daren Fitzhenry is currently a senior legal officer in the RAF Legal Branch, heading up its legal advisory team.
A LLM graduate of the University of Glasgow, Mr Fitzhenry has worked as a solicitor in private practice and public service, joining the RAF in 2000. His experience in the development, implementation and application of regulatory systems, legislation and international arrangements is extensive, and his wide portfolio of legal practice has included the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regime, with which he has been familiar since its inception.
As a member of operational and strategic level boards and committees Mr Fitzhenry has applied his knowledge and experience of legal frameworks, regulation and the law in the formulation and execution of major change programmes, both in the UK and abroad.
All this has given him an insight into the benefits and value of an effective freedom of information system as well as different practical approaches to the application and enforcement of regulation.
Background information on the role