Correspondence on new nuclear reactors: FOI release

Information requested

1. How many occasions in each of the last five financial years including 2022-23 so far that the topic of new nuclear reactors in Scotland have been discussed at meetings of the Cabinet.
2. All correspondence on the matter both internally and externally since May 2021.
3. Specifically, for correspondence that Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater have either sent or received on the matter, including to other Scottish Government Ministers since May 2021.

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

As your request was made up of three constituent parts, I have addressed each individually, as per the item numbers above.

1. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exception(s) under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception applies is explained in the Annex A to this letter.
2. I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in Annex B. Some of the information you have requested is available from the official record of the Scottish Parliament, which you can find at the following link: https://archive2021.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx? r=13428&i=121910#ScotParlOR
   
   Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
   
   Additionally, as with item number 1, 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 an exception(s) under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs applies to that information. Personal data has also been redacted under exception 11(2) of the EIRs.
   
   The reasons why these exceptions apply are explained in Annex C to this letter.
3. A search of our records offered no returns for correspondence from/with Mr Harvie or MS Slater on the subject of new nuclear reactors in Scotland.

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.

Annex A - 202200330308

File type

1 page PDF

File size

58.3 kB

Annex B - 202200330308

File type

PDF

File size

372.6 kB

Annex C - 202200330308

File type

1 page PDF

File size

92.9 kB