FOI/202300370425 · FOI · partially withheld
The ten people who've made the most number of FOI requests: FOI release
Information requested
Please complete the table below, for the people who have made the ten most number of FOI requests to yourselves in (1) 2023 so far; (2) 2022; (3) 2021; (4) 2020; and (5) 2019.
Response
I enclose most of the information requested in the table attached.
I have interpreted your request for "FOI requests made" to refer to both valid FOI & EIR requests which have been registered on the Scottish Governments' correspondence system and answered under either FOISA or EIRs legislation where applicable; then of these FOI & EIR requests, the number that a review was requested; then of these that an appeal has then been made to the Scottish Information Commissioner. This is all reflected in the tables I have included for each year requested.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b)(personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. This exemption applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names of individuals, and disclosing would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
In some cases, where the information that we hold suggests that the data subject is not a private individual, where possible, we have consulted the data subject in connection with this request and accommodated their views. We have considered the legitimate interests of the requester in the information and balanced this against the rights and freedoms of the data subject. Where s38(1)(b) has been applied, I have determined the right to privacy of the data subject, outweighs the legitimate interest in the information.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b)(personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. This exemption applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names of individuals, and disclosing would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.