FOI/202600511870 · FOI/EIR · not held
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands correspondence relating to Fishing in the context of the European Union (Last Year): EIR Release
Information requested
1: “Any correspondence sent from Mairi Gougeon which relates to fishing in the context of the European Union within the last year.”
2: “Any correspondence sent from Jim Fairlie which relates to fishing in the context of the European Union within the last year.”
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the Purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
Request for copies of correspondence sent from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, regarding fishing in the context of the EU
Question 1
I have included copies of the information you have requested in the attached Annex (B).
On reviewing materials within the scope of your request, exceptions have been applied in line with the EIRs. The exceptions applied can be found in the attached Annex (A).
Copies of correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in relation to fishing in the context of the European Union have also been published via the Scottish Parliament website and I have included links to these below for your convenience:
UKSI Sea Fisheries Regulation 2026 (1) | Scottish Parliament Website UKSI Sea Fisheries Regulation 2026 (2) | Scottish Parliament Website Scientific advice on 2026 catch limits | Scottish Parliament Website Annual fisheries negotiations for 2026 | Scottish Parliament Website
Question 2
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the specific information you have requested as we do not hold any records of correspondence having been sent from the Minister for Agriculture & Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, in relation to fishing in the context of the European Union within the time period specified in your request.
Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.
It may help if I explain that as part of the response to your request we have conducted a search of the Scottish Government’s main records filing system and have been unable to locate the information requested. I would also note that a search request was submitted to Scottish Government Officials which also resulted in no information being identified that would be within the scope of your request.
Please note that for the purposes of your request we have conducted searches for information between the dates of 20 March 2025 and 20 March 2026.
This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.
Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.