Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport engagement with Network Rail: FOI release

Information requested

Please can you provide details of the following meetings attended by Transport Minister Michael Mathieson and Andrew Haines, Network Rail, on the 4 November 2020 and 16th December 2020.

Details being sought include

• Pre meeting briefing(s)
• Agenda(s)
• Minutes or notes from meetings
• Post meeting action points

Response

Annex A – Documents held in relation to the meeting between Michael Matheson and Andrew Haines on 4 November 2020

4 November 2020
Information requested	Details	FOISA Exemption
Pre meeting briefing	Yes, included in Annex A	Section 30(b)(i) - Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice Section 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests Section 38 (1)(b) – Third party data
Agenda	Yes – not as separate stand alone document but included within the pre meeting briefing under the “What” section i.e. Update on Network Rail on the Interim Report.
Minutes or notes from meetings	Yes	Section 30(b)(i) - Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice Section 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests Section 38 (1)(b) – Third party data
Post meeting action points	No	Section 17 – Information not held

Annex B – Document held in relation to the meeting between Michael Matheson and Andrew Haines on 16 December 2020

16 December 2020
Information requested	Details	FOISA Exemption
Pre meeting briefing	Yes	Section 30(b)(i) - Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice Section 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests Section 38 (1)(b) – Third party data
Agenda	Yes – not as a stand alone document but included within the pre meeting briefing under the “Background / Purpose” section.
Minutes or notes from meetings	Yes	Section 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests Section 38 (1)(b) – Third party data
Post meeting action points	Yes included within the minutes / notes taken from the meeting held on 16 December 2020.

From the above you will see that some information has been redacted in line with FOISA.

Section 17 – Information not held
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have post meeting action points for the meeting that took place 16 December 2020 because there were no post meeting action points compiled for this meeting.

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

Section 30(b)(ii) - Substantial inhibition to free and frank exchange of views
An exemption section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (substantial inhibition to free and frank exchange of views) applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption has been applied is outlined in Appendix A.

Section 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests
An exemption section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (Substantial prejudice to commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption has been applied is outlined in Appendix A.

Section 38 (1) (b) – Third party data
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. names and contact details of individuals and companies, 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.

For ease, the information that has been redacted in line with section 30 (b)(ii) and Section 33(1)(b) has been clearly marked as follows: -

Section 30(b)(ii)
Section 33(1)(b)

The remaining information that has been redacted is that which falls into the exemption of section 38 (1) (b) – third party data.

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.

FOI202100232192 - Appendix A

File type

1 page PDF

File size

153.4 kB

FOI202100232192 - Annex A & B

File type

12 page PDF

File size

450.9 kB