Angus Robertson meeting with Carol Grigor (October 2022): FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
All items of information held in relation to the briefing prepared for Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson for his meeting with philanthropist Carol Grigor on 7 October 2022, and all notes and records of this meeting.
Response
I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested. As it is our duty to ensure clarity in the information we provide, please note where we have referred to ‘The Dunard Centre, supported by Royal Bank of Scotland’, this is an official name and does not imply financial support.
Exemptions under sections 38 (1)(b), 30 (b)(i) and 33 (1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. These exemptions refer are in place to protect personal data (38), potential commercial interests (33), and the ability of officials to provide free and frank advice to Ministers (30 (b) (i).
The exemptions under sections 30(b)(i) and 33(1)(b) are 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 exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions. We recognise that there is some public interest in release of advice to Ministers by Scottish Government officials to inform Ministerial discussions with a stakeholder in the culture sector and the record of that discussion as part of an open, transparent and accountable government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in providing a private space within which to disclose and discuss options with stakeholders in the culture sector before The Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Similarly, officials need to have a private space within which to provide full and frank advice to Ministers, as part of the process to support discussions with stakeholders. Disclosing this content would be likely to substantially inhibit such discussions with this specific stakeholder in the future, particularly as these discussions relate to a commercially sensitive and ongoing matter. It would also be likely to have a wider impact on other cultural stakeholders being prepared to disclose commercially sensitive information to the Scottish Government in discussions with Ministers if they thought that this may be released.
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Contact
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Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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