FOI/202600500549 · FOI · partially withheld
Correspondence regarding the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy's COP expenses: FOI release
Information requested
Under FOI, I would like to request all communications exchanged by staff, special advisers and ministers relating to FOI 202500497042 relating to Gillian Martin’s COP expenses. For the avoidance of doubt, please include all email, WhatsApp, Teams, Webex conversations or messages.
Response
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 exemptions under various sections of the FOISA. Please see the exemptions that have been applied, along with an explanation for why they have been applied, below:
s.30(b)(i) - the free and frank provision of advice s.38(1)(b) - personal data relating to third party: information has been withheld that relates to the personal data of third parties where appropriates
There is a strong public interest in ensuring that staff are able to seek and receive free and frank advice from senior colleagues, particularly in relation to statutory functions such as Freedom of Information compliance. In this case, the information records advice provided by a management to a member of staff who was conducting their first FOI request in a number of years. The purpose of the advice was to support the staff member in understanding the process and ensuring that due process was followed. Disclosure of this advice would be likely to inhibit staff from providing open, candid, and detailed guidance in similar circumstances in the future. It could also discourage staff from seeking advice when they are unsure, for fear that such internal exchanges may be disclosed. This would undermine the quality of decision making and could increase the risk of procedural errors or non-compliance with future Freedom of Information Requests.
It is in the public interest that Civil Servants are able to maintain a safe space for internal discussion and professional advice, particularly where the aim is to ensure lawful and correct handling of requests.
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. 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 https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
Response 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 exemptions under various sections of the FOISA. Please see the exemptions that have been applied, along with an explanation for why they have been applied, below: s.30(b)(i) - the free and frank provision of advice s.38(1)(b) - personal data relating to third party: information has been withheld that relates to the personal data of third parties where appropriates There is a strong public interest in ensuring that staff are able to seek and receive free and frank advice from senior colleagues, particularly in relation to statutory functions such as Freedom of Information compliance. 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. 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.