Quality Meat Scotland correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for Any correspondence (letters, emails or otherwise) between Roseanna Cunningham and Quality Meat Scotland in May and June 2018.

In addition to this you have also asked the same question and within the same time frame of Mr Ewing and senior Civil Servants.

Response

I enclose a large number of PDF email correspondence that has taken place between Senior Civil Servants and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) within the time lines that you have requested.  I can also confirm in this letter that there is no correspondence between QMS and either Mr Ewing or Roseanna Cunningham in that time line.

Reasons for not providing information - Annex
An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test

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 Public Appointments  due to  realising any names of candidates or indeed names of the involved civil servants other than those whose name appears.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’.  Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.  We have found that, 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. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the process of Public appointments  and ensuring that the Scottish Government is able to conduct this aspect of its business effectively.

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-19-01131, FOI-19-01132, FOI-19-01134, Information released

File type

43 page PDF

File size

1.5 MB