FOI/202100212995 · FOI · partially withheld
Discussion held relating to First Minister attending British-Irish Council meeting: FOI release
Information requested
Internal communications (email, WhatsApp, text or any other form of electronic communication, as well as handwritten notes and minutes of any in-person, video or telephone meetings) between civil servants, special advisers, ministers and health officials about the prospect of the first minister travelling to the June 2021 British-Irish Council meeting. This should include any discussions around safety, operational issues, media inquiries and/or other relevant issues..
Response
Attached is a copy of most of the information requested. An exemption under section s.38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it is the personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it 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. 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 s.38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it is the personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it 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.