SQA and the First Minister: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
“The contents of any emails or letters to Nicola Sturgeon (including emails to either the First Minister or SNP account) from parents or teachers in 2019 on the topic of: the 2019 SQA results and/or subject choice and/or the attainment gap and/or multi-level classes.”
Response
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 s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why those exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.
The information contained in this response relates to emails or letters about government business which have been sent to a Scottish Government account. Information about constituency or party matters that were sent to the First Minister’s SNP account, and dealt with accordingly, would not be forwarded to the Scottish Government. However, I can confirm that the First Minister has carried out a search of her SNP mailbox and nothing of relevance was found.
ANNEX
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
An exemption applies
Exemptions under section s.38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because some of the information 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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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