Information relating to Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) user review: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/18/02303  
Date received: 28 August 2018
Date responded: 26 September 2018

 

 

The following information in relation to the SNSA User Review:

 

 

 

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 exemptions under section 25(1) information otherwise accessible, 27(1) information intended for future publication, section 30(b)(i) free and frank provision of advice and section 38(1)(b) personal information, applies to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained

below.

Having considered all relevant information, I have attached a pdf file with all available information included.
Some of the information you have requested is available from our website at -/publications/foi-18-01829/

 

 

An exemption applies.

An exemption under section 25(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested – Information otherwise accessible. As this information is already in the public domain, we are not required to provide it.

An exemption under section 27(1) (information held with a view to publication) applies both to documents which are ready for publication and to information in draft form which needs further work. It will include information published at regular intervals, such as annual or quarterly reports, or minutes of scheduled meetings, where it is easy to demonstrate a commitment to publish the information within 12 weeks. But it could also include drafts of speeches, press releases and announcements, or incomplete data from a fact-finding project, as long as the final version of the information is due to be published within 12 weeks.

An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to other officials before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank advice on early drafts of the report of the user review will substantially inhibit the provision of such advice in the future, particularly because these discussions relate to a sensitive or controversial issue such as standardised assessments in Primary 1.

An exemption under section 38(1) (b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles set out in article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and 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.

 

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