FOI/202500467677 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Correspondence between Scottish Government and SP Energy Networks on Cross-Border Electricity Transmission Proposals: EIR release
Information requested
Please provide copies of all correspondence (including emails, letters, meeting notes, and briefing papers) between the Scottish Government (including ministers, special advisers, and civil servants) and SP Energy Networks (SPEN) regarding proposals for cross-border electricity transmission infrastructure affecting the Scottish Borders region. This includes, but is not limited to, any new or upgraded transmission lines linking the Scottish Borders to northern England.
Specifically, please include any materials that reference:
Strategic or project-level discussions relating to cross-border grid reinforcement proposals. Engagement with communities or local authorities in the Scottish Borders about transmission projects. Environmental, planning, or consenting considerations relevant to such infrastructure. Coordination with Ofgem, NESO, National Grid, or UK Government departments in relation to cross-border infrastructure planning. Ministerial briefings or internal assessments relating to SPEN’s proposals affecting the Scottish Borders from 1 January 2023 to present.
If any information is held but exempt from disclosure, please provide a summary and cite the applicable FOISA exemption(s).
Response
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. Please see Annex A and attached consenting programme timeline.
Some of the information you have requested is available from Project Maps - SP Energy Networks . 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.
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 Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 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.
It may be useful to know that the Scottish Government has no role in the design or regulation of electricity networks apart from our statutory planning and consenting processes.
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
If any information is held but exempt from disclosure, please provide a summary and cite the applicable FOISA exemption(s). 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 Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.