2018 communications relating to The New School, Butterstone: FOI release

Information requested

 

You requested the following:

 all communications between government ministers/ officials and the care inspectorate between the dates January 2018 to January 2019 regarding the New School Butterstone.

 all communications between government ministers/officials and Perth and Kinross council between the dates January 2018 and January 2019 regarding the New School Butterstone.

 all communications between government ministers /officials and education Scotland from January 2018 to January 2019 regarding the New School Butterstone.

 

Response

 

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information requested because exemptions under sections 25(1), information already accessible; 30(c) (effective to the conduct of public affairs); and 38(1)(b), (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information.
The following link, directs you to information already accessible under section 25(1)
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-19-00036/

The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.

 

ANNEX

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

Section 25(1) - information already accessible

An exemption under section 25(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because it has been published under recent Freedom of Information Requests.

Sections 30(c) - substantial prejudice effective conduct of public affairs

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some of the information requested. Disclosing this information would substantially prejudice our ability to conduct our public duties. If such correspondence were to be released this would damage the effective working relationships between the public bodies and inhibit their ability to perform their functions. This would constitute substantial prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs in terms of the exemption.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. On balance it better serves the public interest to withhold this information to preserve the necessary working arrangements in place between the Scottish Government, the Care Inspectorate and the local authority. It is not necessarily about the sensitivity of this particular information but the impact of the release of it on the future working arrangements required in order to ensure the two bodies can share sensitive information in line with their different regulatory duties.

Section 38(1)(b) - personal information

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/contact details of individuals, 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-19-00294 Information requested

File type

14 page PDF

File size

1.5 MB