FOI/202500464174 · FOI · partially withheld
Correspondence relating to memoirs of Former First Minister: FOI release
Information requested
All email correspondence between Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government since 28 March 2023, including but not limited to the Permanent Secretary, relating to her memoir. For example, this should include all correspondence containing the phrase “memoir”, “book”, “Frankly” and “Pan Macmillan”.
Response
Material considered relevant to your request has been identified and is set out in the Annex to this letter. However, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information, which has been redacted, because exemptions under section 33(1)(b) (Commercial interests) and section 38(1)(b) (Personal data) applies to it. The former 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.
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
However, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information, which has been redacted, because exemptions under section 33(1)(b) (Commercial interests) and section 38(1)(b) (Personal data) applies to it. The former 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.