FOI/202100240474 · FOI · partially withheld
Correspondence received regarding Scottish independence: FOI release
Information requested
1. How many emails or letters have the Scottish Government received since 7 May 2021 to the date of responding to this request, wherein the subject of Scottish Independence and/or a second independence referendum is a topic covered. Please outline how many of these correspondence are either in favour of Scottish Independence or against Scottish independence. 2. Please provide copies of any correspondence that is results from the above criteria, grouped by those that are either in favour of Scottish independence or those that are against Scottish Independence. Please provide two separate PDF documents in this fashion.
Response
After searching our records, we have identified 135 letters and emails sent to the Scottish Government between 7 May 2021 and 16 September 2021 where the topic of Scottish independence or an independence referendum is mentioned. From this, we have identified 9 items of correspondence where the author explicitly states being personally in favour of independence and 18 items of correspondence where the author explicitly states not being personally in favour of independence. Copies of this correspondence is enclosed in Annex A. An exemption under Section 32(i)(a) (International Relations) applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in Annex B. An exemption under Section 38(i)(b) (Personal Information) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in Annex B. 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
An exemption under Section 32(i)(a) (International Relations) applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in Annex B. An exemption under Section 38(i)(b) (Personal Information) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in Annex B.