FOI/202600517366 · FOI · partially withheld
Expansion of voting or candidacy rights correspondence and meeting notes: FOI release
Information requested
Copies of all correspondence and meeting notes between Scottish Government officials or ministers and external organisations (including but not limited to the Scottish Refugee Council, Electoral Reform Society, Migration Policy Scotland, or any pro-migration advocacy groups) between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2026 regarding the expansion of voting or candidacy rights.
Response
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested at Annex A of this document.
Some of the information you have requested is available from a number of online sources. The location and a description of each document is set out in Annex B in relation to your first question. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
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 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
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. 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 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.