· FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Correspondence with Scottish Water regarding Gairloch sewage treatment: EIR release
Information requested
Supply the details of all meetings, conversations and other communications between staff, officials and/or members of the Scottish Government and the staff or other representatives of Scottish Water in connection with Scottish Water's various proposals for modification of its sewage treatment and/or effluent discharge at the Gairloch Waste Water Treatment Works.
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.
Response
Please see enclosed a copy of all of the information you requested.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section s.11(2) (Personal information relating to a third party) of EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained below.
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. Personal information relating to third parties has been redacted in all relevant documents. 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. Additionally, some information has been redacted as it is out with the scope of your request.
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. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section s.11(2) (Personal information relating to a third party) of EIRs applies to that information.