FOI/202500463953 · FOI · partially withheld
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Diary engagements: FOI release
Information requested
Can you provide a copy of the ministerial diary for Jenny Gilruth on April 24, 2025? Can you provide a copy of any amendments made in regards to this document? Can you provide a list of ministerial engagements scheduled for Ms Gilruth on that date? Can you also provide any emails related to Ms Gilruth's diary scheduling for that date?
Response
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. In terms of "amendments made in regards to this document", due to the limitations of Microsoft Outlook, we cannot provide previous versions of the diary once changes are made. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
Details of the Ministerial diary on 24 April 2025 are included at Annex A.
Emails related to diary scheduling that day are included at Annex B.
We are unable to provide some of the information because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information, this is 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.
An exemption under section 29(1)(b) of FOISA also applies to some of the information requested because it relates to communications between Ministers. 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. 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, there is a greater public interest in allowing Ministers a private space within which both issues and policy positions can be explored and refined so that Ministers can reach a decision that is sound and likely to be effective. This private thinking space also allows for all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process.
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Detected exemption language
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. We are unable to provide some of the information because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information, this is 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. An exemption under section 29(1)(b) of FOISA also applies to some of the information requested because it relates to communications between Ministers. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’.