Housing associations in Scotland are set to become subject to the Freedom of Information Act later this year amid calls for the same legislation to be introduced in England.

The National reports that the Scottish Parliament, pictured, is set to pass a law which would bring registered social landlords under the same data rules as public bodies.

If the proposed change is passed, it will come into force on 11 November and be subject to a review after 12 months.

It will cover any information related to any housing association functions, including repairs services, even if they carried out by a subsidiary.

However, it will not apply to factoring services, where registered social landlords provide a service to private tenants.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We are committed to extending coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

“Following extensive consultation and discussion with key stakeholders, a draft order has been laid in Parliament that will extend the coverage of the act to registered social landlords and their subsidiaries.”

Last week, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said that housing associations in England should also be made subject to FoI, saying the transparency gap was “emphatic and clear”.