Correspondence concerning the wearing face coverings in schools: FOI release

Information requested

Any correspondence (including letters and emails) between local authorities and the Scottish Government on the subject of the wearing of facemasks (or face coverings) in schools. I would like this information from 01 August 2020 to 05 September 2020.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you have requested. 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 38(1) (b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Section 38(1)(b) – personal data of a third party
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because it is personal data of a third party, ie Scottish Ministers, special advisers and the Permanent Secretary are covered by the terms of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016. See www.lobbying.scot St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG www.gov.scot names/contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 25(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.

FoI-202000085898 - Information released

File type

11 page PDF

File size

97.6 kB