FOI/201900004219 · FOI · partially withheld
Meta data for FOI requests 19/00076,77,78,00118 and 00682: FOI release
Information requested
Regarding all of my FOISA requests tabled since January 1 2019 and up to and including the date of request, please provide all examples of clearance, including emails and the content of attachments in emails.
Response
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. Some of the information you have requested is available to you as our responses to your requests: FOIs 19/00076,77,78, 00118 and 00682. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you no longer have access to this information, then please contact me again and I will send you copies. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter. We are also unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under sections s.38(1)(a) and (b) (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter. ANNEX REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION The Scottish Government does not have the information Section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) requires the Scottish Government to notify you if it does not have some of the information you requested. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because in the case of requests 19/00076,77 & 78 and 19/00682 there are no documents pertaining to final clearance. In these cases the Scottish Government did not hold the requested information. Because of this, final clearance was given verbally. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. An exemption applies An exemption under section 38(1)(a) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal information of which you are the data subject, and so it is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is 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. These exemptions are 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
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. We are also unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under sections s.38(1)(a) and (b) (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter. ANNEX REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION The Scottish Government does not have the information Section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) requires the Scottish Government to notify you if it does not have some of the information you requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.