FOI/202400430558 · FOI · partially withheld
Correspondence received from the CEO of Ferguson Marine: FOI release
Information requested
Any correspondence received by the Scottish Government from John Petticrew, chief executive of the Ferguson Marine shipyard, since his appointment in March. For clarity, this should exclude any formal updates normally delivered both to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and/or the NZET Committee in Holyrood, and should focus on Mr Petticrew's interactions with the Strategic Commercial Assets Division of the Scottish Government.
Response
I enclose a copy of some correspondence the Scottish Government have received from the interim chief executive, John Petticrew.
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. emails that contain names and contact details of individuals within the Scottish Government and Ferguson Marine, 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 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of Ferguson Marine. Disclosing this information would be likely to give FMPG’s competitors an advantage in securing future contracts, which would substantially prejudice Ferguson Marine’s ability to submit a competitive tender and so could harm its commercial business.
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. However, we find that the public interest is more strongly supported by not substantially prejudicing the commercial interests of Ferguson Marine.
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Detected exemption language
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. emails that contain names and contact details of individuals within the Scottish Government and Ferguson Marine, 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 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of Ferguson Marine.