May 2021 Scottish Election correspondence with councils and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA): FOI release

Information requested

Any correspondence since March this year between the Scottish Government and councils/COSLA relating to the May 2021 Scottish Election.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you 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 apply to that information. The material enclosed has been redacted to comply with this exemption.

In preparing for the Scottish Parliament Election 2021, the Scottish Government has engaged with the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, which is made up of Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers and promotes best practice in electoral administration and supports the electoral community across Scotland. More information on the EMB can be found here: https://www.emb.scot/.

Section 38(1)(b)
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to a small amount of some of the information requested 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. 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-202000098245 - Information released

File type

92 page PDF

File size

1.5 MB