EIR/202400399229 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Special Development Orders (SDOs) legislation: EIR release
Information requested
Information relating to the legislation pertaining to the revocation of Special Development Orders (SDOs), such as the SDO at Ardeer in Stevenson.
All drafts, proposals and final versions of legislation related to the revocation of SDOs, including legislation relating to compensation claims following the revocation of SDOs.
Communications, including emails, letters and memos, between Scottish Government officials, departments, and any external organisations or consultants regarding the legislation.
Minutes, notes and agendas of meetings where the revocation of SDOs, particularly the SDO at Ardeer in Stevenston, was discussed.
Reports, impact assessments, and briefings prepared as part of the legislative process.
Any other documents or correspondence that discuss or refer to the creation of legislation for the revocation of SDOs.
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.
All drafts, proposals and final versions of legislation related to the revocation of SDOs, including legislation relating to compensation claims following the revocation of SDOs.
The final version of the legislation relating to SDOs is that set out in The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 at section 39. As this information is in the public domain and easily accessible to you in another form or format we have applied the exemption at regulation 6 (1)(b) of EIRs.
We consider that drafts of legislation and associated discussion with Scottish Government may be subject to legal privilege or other exemptions, which falls under regulation 10 (4) and (5) which exempt information from disclosure if it relates to, among other matters: making available internal communications; the confidentiality of the proceedings of any public authority where such confidentiality is provided for by law; and that the person providing the information was not under, and could not be put under, any legal obligation to supply the information or did not supply it in circumstances such that it could, apart from under these regulations, be made available.
We have accordingly withheld certain documents under the exemption in regulation 10. We have provided other documents in the attached list. In considering whether the exemption(s) applies (either in full or in part) to individual documents we have taken account of the ‘public interest’ test.
Communications, including emails, letters and memos, between Scottish Government officials, departments, and any external organisations or consultants regarding the legislation.
We have provided these records where exemptions under regulation 6 do not apply. We have no record of any meetings with external consultants.
Minutes, notes and agendas of meetings where the revocation of SDOs, particularly the SDO at Ardeer in Stevenston, was discussed.
We have provided details of minutes, notes and agendas. Certain information has been redacted in accordance with the exemption set out in regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) which relates to protection of personal data.
Reports, impact assessments, and briefings prepared as part of the legislative process.
Reports and Impact assessments (including consultation on draft assessments) are publicly available. As this information is already publicly accessible the exemption at regulation 6(1)(b) applies.
Any other documents or correspondence that discuss or refer to the creation of legislation for the revocation of SDOs.
We have provided information subject to consideration of the exemption under regulation 6 where appropriate.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://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. The final version of the legislation relating to SDOs is that set out in The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 at section 39.