Lobbying in Scotland meeting minutes with energy companies: EIR review

Information requested

I have looked at the Scottish Lobbying Register and would like to ask you if you could provide minutes or any other information you may have regarding what was discussed in these meetings.

With specific consideration of whether the Scottish Government hold records of meetings between Ivan McKee and:

• 01/11/2021 with BP
• 15/06/2022 with BP
• 09/05/2022 with Hutcheson Associates Ltd

Response

As set out in your request for review, I have limited my review to consideration of whether the Scottish Government hold records of meetings between Ivan McKee and:

• BP on 1 November 2021
• BP on 15 June 2022
• Hutcheson Associates Ltd on 9 May 2022.

I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed, with modifications. As set out in the initial response, no record is held of any meetings between Ivan McKee and BP on 1 November 2021 or 15 June 2022, or between Ivan McKee and Hutcheson Associates Ltd on 9 May 2022. As a result, the Scottish Government holds no minutes or any other information associated with these entries on the lobbying register.

Please note that the Scottish Government provides no input into the Lobbying Register that you referred to.

While I am upholding the application of the exception at 10(4)(a) (information not held) of the EIRs as a result, this exception is subject to the public interest test. The public interest test was not considered in our original response and I apologise for this omission.

I have now gone on to consider the public interest test. Taking account of all the circumstances of this case, I have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. I have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about meetings between Ministers and third parties, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

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.