EIR/202600520250 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Correspondence between Scottish Government and UK Government regarding the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund: EIR release
Information requested
I am writing to make a Freedom of Information request on the correspondence between the Scottish Government and the UK Government on their negotiations in relation to the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund and agreements on method of disbursement.
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.
Request for information regarding correspondence between the Scottish Government and the UK Government on their negotiations in relation to the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund and agreements on method of disbursement
I have included copies of the information you have requested in the attached Annex (B).
On reviewing materials within the scope of your request, an exception has been applied in line with the EIRs. The exception applied can be found in the attached Annex (A).
I also wish to highlight that we have interpreted your request as to be seeking information specifically about negotiations and/or agreements between the Scottish and UK Governments regarding the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund. We have therefore included correspondence that took place prior to the UK Government’s announcement on 20 October 2025 on disbursement of the Fund, to cover your request on negotiations. There were no agreements made between the Scottish Government and UK Government on the method of disbursement of the Fund, so no information has been included in relation to this.
In addition, 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. Where information is already publicly available I have provided you with the links to the relevant websites. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
The Scottish Government has published a letter dated 15 October 2025 from the then Finance Secretary, Shona Robison to the UK Government Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves which made reference to the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund and can be found here.
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.