Correspondence on the topic of a replacement for Gillian Martin: FOI review

FOI reference: FOI/18/02492 Review  
Date received: 15 October 2018  
Date responded: 8 November 2018

 

 

Details of any correspondence (emails, typed or handwritten notes, letters, phone calls, minutes of meetings, documents or otherwise) between senior civil servants, special advisers and Scottish Government Ministers on the topic of a replacement for Gillian Martin in 2018.

 

 

I have concluded that a different decision should be substitued.

The response dated 10 October indicated that no information was held by Scottish Government.  It further indicated that in relation to exchanges between senior civil servants, that the request exceeded the upper cost limit of £600.  

In considering your request for a review I have concluded that a search should have been undertaken for information held by senior civil servants, as the information requested was specific enough to enable a search to be undertaken for less than the upper cost limit of £600. I can confirm that in carrying out this review I have undertaken a full search for the information requested, this includes checking whether senior civil servants hold any information related to your request.  

I attach an email exchange between senior civil servants and a special adviser regarding a replacement for Gillian Martin in 2018. We have applied section 38(1)(b) Personal Information to some of the information requested. As the information is personal data of junior staff and phone numbers disclosure 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.

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