Correspondence received by Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon MSP regarding ‘fertiliser’ and the ‘price of fertiliser’: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
All correspondence received by Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon MSP regarding ‘price of fertiliser’, ‘shortages of fertiliser’, ‘price of ammonium nitrate fertiliser’, and ‘shortages of ammonium nitrate fertiliser’ between 8 May 2021 and 16 March 2022 including, emails, Whatsapp messages and meeting minutes.
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
A copy of some of the information you requested has been attached.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested due to the following reasons.
An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) (internal communications) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception is required to allow for honest and frank discussion to exist within certain forums between the Scottish Government and their counterparts across the other UK administrations.
An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial information) applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial information provided by and thus cause substantial harm to their commercial interests.
These exceptions 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 exceptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exceptions.
More information regarding these exemptions can be found on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website: https://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Law/EIRs/EIRsExceptions.aspx.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
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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