MSPS are to examine whether legislation covering access to public information needs to be modernised to boost transparency.

Critics insist the Freedom of Information Act is outdated and needs to overhauled to bring it up to scratch.

Daren Fitzhenry, the Scottish Information Commissioner, previously said the world had changed drastically since 2002, when the law was introduced.

Holyrood’s Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee said it will now scrutinise the legislation to see if it needs to be overhauled.

Committee convener Jenny Marra MSP said: “Stakeholders have told the committee that they have a number of concerns about the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and compliance with it.

“Our committee will examine the Act and will take evidence from a wide range of groups on how freedom of information can be strengthened and modernised to improve transparency in our public services.”

Earlier this week, Mr Fitzhenry told the committee there needed to be a “comprehensive look” at the legislation.

He said: “It’s been some time since the Act was obviously enacted to begin with.

“Society has changed somewhat over that time. We had a situation whereby fewer than 50 per cent of households had internet access back in 2002.

“We’re now at a situation whereby it’s comfortably into the 80s. We’ve got a society that demands more information, expects more information.

“We’ve got a number of other initiatives. We’ve got open government, open data, digital strategies.

“The world has not stopped, but the Act is sort of frozen in time.

“We certainly did have some scrutiny and amendment in 2013, but it wasn’t a comprehensive look.

“There are still a number of areas – particularly in relation to proactive publication – where I think we could develop matters further.

“And also in relation to proactive intervention to improve authority practice, which is where a lot of the concerns about the current system lie.”

It came after he mounted an investigation into the Scottish Government’s transparency record following complaints from the media.

He raised concerns FoI requests from journalists, MSPs and political researchers were “expressly made subject to a different process for clearance than other requester groups”.

His report also highlighted “unjustifiable, significant delays” and disregard for legal timescales.