Publication - FOI/EIR release

Citizens Assembly recruitment of members document questions: FOI release

Published: 23 December 2019
Directorate: Constitution Directorate
Topic: Constitution and democracy, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/201900007839
Date received: 26 November 2019
Date responded: 20 December 2019

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

Referring to the following Scottish Government document: "Recruitment of members to the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland: Specification of Requirements (schedule 1)." Revised Version (3 July 2019) and with regard to the following numbered sections of this document, I will be obliged if you will provide all information held in respect of the content of:
Number 8: Further information provided
Number 19: Data sources
Number 20: bullet point 2 - the list of ineligible advocacy groups
Number 21: Prior approval of material
Number 28: bullet point 4 (the report of the selection process)
Number 35: Destruction of personal data
For the avoidance of doubt “all” is defined as “the entire extent of”.
Please also provide:
A copy of the recruitment questionnaire used to screen candidates.
A copy of the minutes of all meetings of the Citizens’ Assembly: recruitment of assembly members project

Response

A copy of the recruitment questionnaire is enclosed with this letter as Document 1 Copies of the minutes from five meetings which took place on the Citizens’ Assembly: Recruitment of Assembly Members Project are enclosed with this letter as Documents 2 – 6. Recruitment of members to the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland: Specification of Requirements (schedule 1)." Revised Version (3 July 2019)
Number 8: Further information provided
The information you have requested is in enclosed with this letter in Document 2.
Number 19: Data sources
The information you have requested is enclosed with this letter in Documents 7 & 8.
Number 20: bullet point 2 - the list of ineligible advocacy groups
A decision was taken by the Scottish Government to not exclude people on the grounds of membership of advocacy groups. This decision is highlighted in Documents 2 and 9, enclosed with this letter.
Number 21: Prior approval of material
The information you have requested is enclosed with this letter in Documents 3 - 5 and 10 – 14.
Number 28: bullet point 4 (the report of the selection process)
An exemption under section 27(1) (information intended for future publication) of FOISA applies to this information. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in the Annex of this letter. You will also wish to note that Document 2, enclosed with this letter, records the decision taken to “to publish the target membership profile, the achieved membership profile and the recruitment methodology employed as soon as possible for each.”
Number 35: Destruction of personal data The information you have requested is enclosed with this letter in Document 15. An exemption under 38(1)(b) (Personal Information) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in the Annex of this letter.

Annex
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
An exemption under section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because we understand that the Citizens’ Assembly intends to publish that information by mid-February 2020, which is within 12 weeks of the date of your request. We consider that it is reasonable to withhold the information until that date, rather than release some of this information before the planned publication date.
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 some public interest in the report on the selection process for the Citizens’ Assembly, and this will be met by the planned publication. In the meantime, there is a greater public interest in taking the time necessary to ensure the information has been properly collated and checked before it is published as planned. Also, we see no public interest in disrupting the programme of work of the Citizens’ Assembly to release the information ahead of the intended publication date.

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 Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. 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.

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