Correspondence relating to Shirley-Anne Somerville's meetings with Fiona Robertson: FOI release

Information requested

1. All internal and external correspondence within and sent or received by the Scottish Government including attached documents, meeting handouts, memos, briefings to ministers, attendee lists, location of meeting, notes, minutes, or OneNote memos, linked to the following meetings

• Shirley-Anne Somerville's meetings with Fiona Robertson on September 5, October 18, and October 27.

Response

I enclose some 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 an exemption under sections 30(b)(i) (free and frank provision of advice), 30(b)(ii) (free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation), 29(1)(a) (formulation or development of Scottish Government policy), 30(c) (otherwise prejudice effective conduct of public affairs) and 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information.

Exemptions under sections 30(b)(i), 30(b)(ii), 30(c) and 29(a) of FOISA apply to some of the information requested. These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation, as part of relationships which remain vital in supporting the delivery of qualifications through the Covid-19 pandemic and while we are returning to a more normal position.

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. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions.

We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which issues can be explored and refined to enable the Government as a whole to reach a decision that is sound and likely to be effective, particularly while the importance of the advice from these relationships continues to have a bearing on how qualifications are affected by the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 going forward as well as education reform developments. This private thinking space also allows for all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

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.

FOI - 202300338467 - Information release

File type

52 page PDF

File size

562.6 kB