Information relating to the planning and preparing process for Brexit: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/18/02642  
Date received: 22 September 2018  
Date responded: 22 October 2018

 

1. How much has been spent on external consultants or support to advise on the implications and consequences of Brexit, or recommend actions to mitigate any possible Brexit impacts? If spend has occurred, please confirm the name of the supplier or suppliers and copies of any material produced by this process.
2. Please supply copies of any Brexit planning documentation held by the organisation or consumed by senior management. This may include, but should not be limited to, Risk Assessments, Action Plans, Meeting minutes, Reports and presentations.
3. Please supply technical or advisory briefing documentation on Brexit that has been produced by the organisation and supplied to other government agencies or bodies.
4. Please supply copies of any technical or advisory documentation that has been supplied to the agency from other public bodies that relates to Brexit contingency planning.
5. Please supply details of any assessment that has been made of the financial impact on the organisation, either positive or negative, of the Brexit process.Has the organisation set-aside a contingency fund or invested as a direct consequence of the Brexit process? If so, please provide summary details.

 

1. Disclosure Scotland have not incurred any such expenditure.

2. Disclosure Scotland’s delivery of Article 10 of EU Directive 2011/93 which can be found here: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d20901a4-66cd-439e-b15e-faeb92811424/language-en may be affected by the UK leaving the European Union. In respect of that, Disclosure Scotland contributed to the Scottish Government publication Scotland’s Place in Europe: Security, Judicial Co‑operation and Law Enforcement: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/publication/2018/06/scotlands-place-europe-security-judicial-co-operation-law-enforcement/documents/00536750-pdf/00536750-pdf/govscot%3Adocument, (See Chapter, paragraph 23).

3. Please see Annexes B, C, D, E and F that are attached with the email covering this reply.

4. Please see Annexes A and G that are attached with the email covering this reply.

5. Disclosure Scotland have not made such a financial assessment, and have not set aside any contingency fund or investment.

 

Some of the information you requested is available from public sources which are provided at answer 2.

Under section 25(1) of FoISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.  If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy. 

In the answer to question 3, in Annexes C and D, information has been redacted by the exemption at section 38(1)(b) of FoISA, the personal data of a third party, as disclosing the personal data would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations. This exemption is not subject to a public interest test.

In Annex E, information has been redacted by the exemption at section 38(1)(b) of FoISA, the personal data of a third party, as disclosing the personal data would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations. This exemption is not subject to a public interest test. In addition in this Annex, some information has been redacted as it is out of scope of the request.

In Annex F, information has been redacted by the exemption at section 38(1)(b) of FoISA, the personal data of a third party, as disclosing the personal data would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations. This exemption is not subject to a public interest test. 

In the answer to question 4, in Annex A some information has been redacted by the exemption at section 28(1) of FoISA, relations within the UK. This exemption is subject to a public interest test.

This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government. It would reveal information about the position being taken in the UK Government. Disclosure of this information could mean that the UK Government is likely to be more reluctant to communicate as frequently and openly with the Scottish Government in future.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. We have considered the public interest in disclosing the redacted information, and on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate.

There is, however, a greater public interest in maintaining close working relationships between the Scottish Government and the UK Government and in protecting the free exchange of information between the administrations to ensure that we keep each other fully and regularly informed about matters of mutual interest such as the formulation and development of the Scottish Government’s policy proposals to protect Scotland’s interests in Europe.

Also in Annex A, information has been redacted by the exemption at section 38(1)(b) of FoISA, the personal data of a third party, as disclosing the personal data would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations. This exemption is not subject to a public interest test. 

In Annex G some information has been redacted by the exemption at section 28(1) of FoISA, relations within the UK. This exemption is subject to a public interest test.

This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government. It would reveal information about the position being taken in the UK Government. Disclosure of this information could mean that the UK Government is likely to be more reluctant to communicate as frequently and openly with the Scottish Government in future.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. We have considered the public interest in disclosing the redacted information, and on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate.

There is, however, a greater public interest in maintaining close working relationships between the Scottish Government and the UK Government and in protecting the free exchange of information between the administrations to ensure that we keep each other fully and regularly informed about matters of mutual interest such as the formulation and development of the Scottish Government’s policy proposals to protect Scotland’s interests in Europe. 

Also in Annex G, information has been redacted by the exemption at section 38(1)(b) of FoISA, the personal data of a third party, as disclosing the personal data would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations. This exemption is not subject to a public interest test. 

Lastly, in this Annex, some information has been redacted as it is out of scope of the request.

 

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