Discussions concerning Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) interim report: FOI release

Information requested

1. Details of all the discussions between Scottish Ministers and the OECD on the subject of its producing an interim report (including copies of all correspondence, documents, reports, minutes, letters and emails).

2. A copy of all the internal Scottish Government discussions (including with Scottish Government agencies such as Education Scotland) on the topic of an interim report from the OECD (including internal correspondence, documents, reports, minutes, letters, briefings, emails).

Response

Attached is a copy of the information requested.

In relation to your first question, we have interpreted this as being a request for details of discussions at Ministerial level i.e. ones in which Ministers personally discussed the specified subject with the OECD. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there have been no direct discussions between Scottish Ministers and the OECD on the subject of the production by the OECD of an interim report.

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

In relation to your second question, 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 an exemption applies under:

Section 38(1)(b) (Personal data)
Section 25(1) of FOISA (Information already publicly available)

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. the names/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.

Some of the information you have requested is publicly available on the Scottish Parliament website (the text of the Government Inspired Question referred to in Enclosure 1). Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. However, for ease a hyperlink to this information has been provided within Enclosure 1. 

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.

FOI202000120882 - Information released

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17 page PDF

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617.6 kB