EIR/202600538188 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Correspondence in relation to Laurencekirk Junction upgrade: EIR release
Information requested
May I please have a copy of the following between January 1 2026 and today's date
1. All external correspondence involving Scottish Ministers relating to the Laurencekirk south junction upgrade first announced in 2016
2. All Internal correspondence involving Scottish Ministers relating to the Laurencekirk south junction upgrade first announced in 2016
This includes all forms of communication available, not limited to but including, email, text messages, whatsapp or conventional mail.
Response
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.
Please find enclosed the requested information at Annexes A & B to this letter.
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (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 Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. This exception 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 exception.
The information withheld in the disclosed documents are personal details, email addresses and signatures. This exception applies to both Annex A and Annex B.
An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) also applies to the information you have requested because it is internal legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege. This exception applies to Annex B.
This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, this is outweighed by the strong public interest in maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between legal advisers and clients, to ensure that Ministers and officials are able to receive legal advice in confidence, like any other public or private organisation.
A further exception applies. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. In this case, Oral Parliamentary Question and answer under S7O-00024 is available to view on the Scottish Parliament’s website at the following link: Written question and answer: S7O-00024 | Scottish Parliament Website
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
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. An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) also applies to the information you have requested because it is internal legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege.