FOI/202500457706 · FOI · partially withheld
Documentation regarding hiring a new Permanent Secretary: FOI release
Information requested
All documentation held by the Scottish Government about hiring a new Permanent Secretary, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), briefings, minutes/notes from meetings, analysis, from the last three months.
Response
I enclose a copy of all the information you requested.
An exemption under section s38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption, (personal information), applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names of junior members of staff and contact details. Disclosing this information 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
A further exemption under section s36(2) applies to some of the information you have requested because it contains financial spend or contracts of another Government Department and disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence. This is because the information was provided in circumstances which imposed an obligation on Scottish Government to maintain that confidentiality, and unauthorised disclosure may be to the detriment of the other Government Department. 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
An exemption under section s38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption, (personal information), applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. Disclosing this information 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 A further exemption under section s36(2) applies to some of the information you have requested because it contains financial spend or contracts of another Government Department and disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence. 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.