EIR/202500462991 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Correspondence and documentation related to follow-up discussion between the First Minister and selected SEAB members: EIR release
Information requested
“This is a follow up request to a previous FOI response. Your ref: 202500457230.
The above referenced FOI response provided an email sent to the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy on 26th February 2025, with the subject line ‘RE: Joint letters – Zonal pricing concerns’.
The email includes the following remark: ‘Officials continue to progress an action from SEAB for a follow-up discussion between the First Minister and selected SEAB members, including SSE and SP who are signatories of one of the letters.’
Please provide all correspondence and documentation related to the above-mentioned “follow-up discussion between the First Minister and selected SEAB members, including SSE and SP”
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.
Response to your request:
I have included copies of the information you have requested in the attached document in Annex B. On reviewing materials within scope of your request some exceptions have been applied in line with the EIRs.
You can find information on the exceptions that have been applied to information in Annex A.
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.