Publication - FOI/EIR release

Communication regarding deal made with Tata Steel and Liberty Steel: FOI release

Published: 31 January 2024
Directorate: Economic Development Directorate
Topic: Public sector
FOI reference: 202200320851
Date received: 16 September 2022
Date responded: 7 December 2022

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Information requested

Has there ever been any discussions between a) HM Treasury, b) The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, c) The Cabinet Office or d) any other UK Government department and the Scottish Government in i)2015, ii) 2016, iii)2021 and iv) 2022, in regards to the deal made with Tata Steel and Liberty Steel, to buy the Dalzell Clydebridge Steel Plant from Tata before immediately selling it onto Liberty and whether this deal would break, or broke State Aid rules.
If so, please provide a copy of all correspondence, minutes of meetings, phone calls, handwritten notes or other such documentation about this matter.

Response

I enclose a copy of the information you requested. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 28 (Substantial Prejudice to UK Relations), section 30(b)(i) (Free and Frank Provision of Advice), section 30(c) (Substantial Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs), section 33(1)(b) (Commercial Interests) and section 38(1)(b) (Personal Data) of FOISA applies to that information. More information on this can be found in the annex of this letter.

Some of these exemptions 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. Further details of the public interest tests applied to each of these exemptions can be found in the annex of this letter.

About FOI

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