Information regarding future plans at Inchgreen Drydock: EIR release

Information requested

1. What dialogue/communications have taken place between the Scottish Government and Peel Ports regarding the future of the Inchgreen Drydock?

2. Was the decommissioning of oil rigs at the Inchgreen Drydock ever considered in dialogue/communications between the Scottish Government and Peel Ports?

3. What financial assistance to aid oil rig decommissioning at Inchgreen Drydock has been discussed and agreed between both the Scottish Government and Peel Ports?

4. What environmental impact study has been carried out to allow oil rig decommissioning at Inchgreen Drydock?

Response

The answers to your questions are laid out below. I attach a copy of the supporting information held by the Scottish Government.

A small amount of information has been redacted from the information provided as an exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to that information. This exception applies because it is personal data of a third party 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 exception 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 exception.

In addition, some information has been redacted and marked as [redacted – out of scope] because this information does not relate to Inchgreen Drydock.

1. What dialogue/communications have taken place between the Scottish Government and Peel Ports regarding the future of the Inchgreen Drydock?

On 17 May 2018, Peel Ports was invited to provide a contribution to the background note for an Oral Parliamentary Question, covering the plans that Peel Ports had in place for the Inchgreen Drydock.

On 18 May 2018, Peel Ports provided a letter in response to this invitation, addressed to Mr Keith Brown MSP, former Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work. The letter invited the Cabinet Secretary to a meeting to provide further context for Peel Ports’ plans for Inchgreen. Relevant extracts of this letter, along with the covering emails, are enclosed.

A meeting was scheduled for 21 May 2019, between the CEO of Peel Ports, Port Director for Clydeport and Mr Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. Minutes from this meeting are not held on record by the Scottish Government.

2. Was the decommissioning of oil rigs at the Inchgreen Drydock ever considered in dialogue/communications between the Scottish Government and Peel Ports?

On 25 September 2018, Peel Ports submitted a request for application to the third funding call of the Scottish Government’s Decommissioning Challenge Fund (DCF) for various design, construction and installation works to allow decommissioning activities to be undertaken within the existing Inchgreen Dock and Drydock. The request for application and associated correspondence are enclosed.

On 28 September 2018, the Scottish Government invited Peel Ports to submit a full application for funds from the DCF. A full application from Peel Ports was not received. The invitation from the Scottish Government is attached.

3. What financial assistance to aid oil rig decommissioning at Inchgreen Drydock has been discussed and agreed between both the Scottish Government and Peel Ports?

and

4. What environmental impact study has been carried out to allow oil rig decommissioning at Inchgreen Drydock?

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have information which details any financial assistance and does not hold an environmental impact study in relation to oil rig decommissioning at Inchgreen Drydock. As noted in response to part 2, a full application from Peel Ports for funds to the DCF was not received.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about any potential oil rig decommissioning at Inchgreen Drydock, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

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 - 201900010144 - Information Released - Attached Documents

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