Correspondence relating to rejected offer of EU vaccination program: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
1. Scottish Government Policy documents which set out the Scottish Government's preferred strategy for a vaccine programme at the time before and just after July 10th 2020, whether it was to pursue a U.K independent vaccine program or an EU one. The time scale for these documents would presumably be between two weeks before and two weeks after the UK governments announcement.
2. Correspondence sent to the U.K government by the Scottish Government concerning the U.K Government's decision to not join the EU vaccine program. The time frame for this information would be from the day the Scottish Government was informed of the decision to the days immediately following July 10th.
Response
Attached is a copy of information requested.
As the topic in question is a reserved matter, there was only a small amount of discussion around this topic as it is not the Scottish Governments prerogative to make decisions in this area. In the documents there is reference to an explanatory memorandum ( EM ), this document was previously published online and is available here: Microsoft Word - EM_EU Vaccine Strategy_Final (003)
(cabinetoffice.gov.uk).
An exemption(s) under section(s) 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption is for personal information of third parties, in this case of non-senior staff.
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 release because of the interest in upholding the principles of transparent and accountable governance. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protection of personal information.
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Contact
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Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
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