The Scottish executive has published its draft Freedom of Information Bill, proposing far-reaching rights of access to a wide range of information held by Scottish public authorities.

Announcing the plans on Thursday, deputy first minister Jim Wallace said they would "transform the culture of Scottish public life" and added that a change in the mind-set of Scotland's public authorities from a culture of secrecy to a culture of openness was required.

"Effective openness leads to better scrutiny. Better scrutiny leads to better government and better government leads to an increased confidence on the part of the public in decisions taken which affect their lives," he said.

The draft bill sets out a legal right of access for all to information held by Scottish public authorities including the Scottish executive and its agencies, local authorities, the NHS in Scotland, educational institutions, and the police unless there would be "substantial prejudice" if the information is released.

It also paves the way for an independent Scottish information commissioner with powers force the disclosure of information. The commissioner would be appointed on the Scottish parliament's recommendation, independent of the Scottish executive.

The plans include a number of exemptions, including information that would "prejudice substantially relations between any administration in the United Kingdom," communications with the Royal Family, advice given regarding the awarding of honours and commercially sensitive information.

Commenting on the announcement, shadow justice minister Roseanna Cunningham of the SNP said proposals should be compared with the most open information regimes internationally, not hailed "because they are marginally better than what is on offer from Westminster".

"Unless the Justice Minister can tell us quite clearly what information would be available under his new regime that is not already available to Scots, then he is at risk of the accusation that he is simply wasting people's time and raising unrealistic expectations," she said.

Phil Gallie, The Scottish Conservative's justice spokesman, said he failed to see why legislation is necessary to achieve open government.

He added: "The criterion for deciding whether or not to publish must be the public interest and that is a decision properly made by ministers accountable to Parliament rather than unelected judges."

The cost of implementing the plans is estimated to be between £2.5 million and £4.8 million, including costs relating to the information commissioner, internal reviews, and training.