Bed bugs at schools - First Minister correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for: "The contents of any emails or letters to Nicola Sturgeon (including emails to either the First Minister or SNP account) in 2019 on the topic of bed bugs at schools."

Response

I enclose a copies of the information relevant to your request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under sections 38(1)(b), 30(b)(ii) and 17(1) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained below.

Reasons for not providing information
The Scottish Government does not have the information

Section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) requires the Scottish Government to notify you if it does not have the information you requested. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the First Minister’s private office only hold correspondence for 3 months.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

An exemption applies

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names and 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.

An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test

An exemption under section s.30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested under free and frank exchange of views. 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.

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/201900005399 - Information Released

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3 page PDF

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528.6 kB