Publication - FOI/EIR release

Meeting with various house builders in the past two years: FOI release

Published: 1 July 2021
Topic: Building, planning and design, Housing, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202100208933
Date received: 2 June 2021
Date responded: 30 June 2021

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

Please can you detail any meetings in the last two years between members of the Scottish Government and CALA, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt, Robertson Homes, Miller Homes, Homes for Scotland, Westpoint, Expresso Property and Artisan.

Please can you provide any emails (including their attachments), text messages and WhatsApp messages, briefing notes, minutes, presentation slides and any other accompanying papers.

Response

Attached is a copy of some of the information requested.

Meetings with CALA Homes
Please see attachments A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which contain details of meetings Scottish Government officials or Ministers have had that involved CALA Homes over the past two years. In the case of attachment F, Miller Homes was also involved in this meeting.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some information because exemptions under the section(s) 38(1)(b) (personal information) and 33(1) (b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests of FOISA apply to that information. There is also some information in the contained documents that is out-with the scope of your request. Where this is the case, the text has been redacted.

Meetings with Taylor Wimpey
Please see attachments H, I, and J which contain details of meetings Scottish Government officials or Ministers have had that involved Taylor Wimpey over the past two years.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some information because of exemptions under the section(s) 38(1)(b) (personal information). Where this is the case, the text has been marked [REDACTED].

Meetings with Barratt
Please see attachment K which contains details of a meeting Scottish Government officials have had that involved Barratt over the past two years.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some information because of exemptions under the section(s) 38(1)(b) (personal information) and 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests of FOISA apply to that information. Where this is the case, the text has been redacted.

Meetings with Robertson Homes
Please see attachments L and M which contains details of a meeting Scottish Government officials have had that involved Robertson Homes over the past two years.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some information because of exemptions under the section(s) 38(1)(b) (personal information). Where this is the case, the text has been marked [REDACTED].

Meetings with Miller Homes
Some of the information you have requested has been published on The Scottish Government website in response to previous information requests. You can access the information from the links below:

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

Attachment F under the CALA Homes response also includes Miller Homes.

Meetings with Homes for Scotland
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The Scottish Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has required regular meetings and dialogue with Homes for Scotland and the wider construction industry. Unfortunately in the case of Homes for Scotland it would take staff more time than considered reasonable to retrieve and provide all the information requested.

Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may however wish to access information published on The Scottish Government website in relation to meetings and correspondence with Homes for Scotland which has been released in response to previous Freedom of Information requests where the scope was much smaller (i.e. during a shorter timeframe or relating to meetings on specific dates). These are detailed in the links below:

You may also wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. For example, by significantly shortening the timeframe. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

Meetings with Persimmon, Expresso Property, Artisan, or Westpoint
No information found within the scope of your request for the above companies.

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.