Publication - FOI/EIR release

Correspondence between the Revive Coalition and Scottish Ministers (1st January 2020 - 23 February 2023): EIR release

Published: 3 January 2024
Directorate: Environment and Forestry Directorate
Topic: Public sector
FOI reference: 202300344729
Date received: 23 February 2023
Date responded: 23 March 2023

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Information requested

Copies of all correspondence between the Revive Coalition and Scottish Ministers between 1st January 2020 and 23 February 2023.

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

I enclose a copy of the information you requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance redactions under section 11(5) (personal information of a third party) of the EIRs applies to the information. The information that has been redacted relates to the names or personal details of individuals either within the Scottish Government or externally. Where those details have been redacted we have tried to ensure the organisation they represent is clear.

Regulation 11(2) provides that where the information requested includes personal data about a person other than the applicant and disclosure would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998, the public authority shall not make that personal data available. In this instance, we consider that to reveal whether the information you have requested exists or is held by the Scottish Government would involve making personal information available about employees of the Scottish Government and individuals who have corresponded with the Scottish Government. No documents have been withheld to protect this information, but any identifying details have been removed from the documents.

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.