FOI/202100244925 · FOI · partially withheld
Total costs incurred by NatureScot from 2014 - 2021: FOI release
Information requested
Please provide the total costs incurred by NatureScot from 2014 to the present day. This includes all secretariat staffing costs, daily board member fees and expenses, events, publications and officerunning costs.
In addition to a record of all engagement between board members and Scottish Government ministers and Cabinet Secretaries from 2014 to the present day.
Response
I attach a spreadsheet to this response which provides a record of ministerial meetings with NatureScotboard members covering the timeframe you have requested. This record includes the dates of the meetings, which minister was in attendance, and the topic or purpose of the meeting.
The information you have requested regarding financial accounts is available from the following website links covering 2014 to 2020:
https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-20 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-19 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-18 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-17 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-16 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-15 https://www.nature.scot/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-14
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.
An exemption under section 27(1) of FOISA applies to the 2020/2021 financial accounts because NatureScot intend to publish that information in November, which is within 12 weeks of the date of your request. We consider that it is reasonable to withhold the information until that date, rather than release this routinely published information before the planned publication date. 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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release, and this will be met by our planned publication. In the meantime, there is a greater public interest in taking the time necessary to ensure the information has been properly collated and checked before it is published as planned.
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
The information you have requested regarding financial accounts is available from the following website links covering 2014 to 2020: https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-20 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-19 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-18 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-17 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-16 https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-15 https://www.nature.scot/naturescot-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-14 Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. An exemption under section 27(1) of FOISA applies to the 2020/2021 financial accounts because NatureScot intend to publish that information in November, which is within 12 weeks of the date of your request. 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.