FOI/202500479473 · FOI · partially withheld
Correspondence with Blackford Consultancy Ltd and Ministers or Special Advisers: FOI release
Information requested
You asked for all information in all briefings prepared for ministers, their offices and special advisers for meetings with former SNP MP Ian Blackford or the Blackford Consultancy Ltd (SC823029), since 6 May 2025.
Response
I enclose a copy of the information you requested which is a briefing document for First Minister in relation to a small, roundtable dinner to which Ian Blackford was invited, to discuss Scotland’s economic opportunities and how best to progress these in the light of changes in the world economy, the transition to net zero, new technology and wider UK Industrial strategy.
Please note that an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, 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. Where personal data has been removed, it has been replaced with [REDACTED] within.
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
Please note that an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, 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.