Media campaign fronted by Janey Godley: FOI Review

Information requested

With reference to the recent media campaign fronted by Janey Godley (JG), I am seeking the following information:
(1) Who initially proposed JG to front the campaign?
(2) All internal communications proposing and discussing the proposal for JG to front the campaign.
(3) All communications with the creative services agency related to JG fronting the campaign.
(4) What communication channels were used to communicate with the creative services agency with regard to the campaign (e.g. unrecorded telephone calls, email, recorded telephone calls, etc.) ?
(5) All documents signed by JG or JG's representative regarding this campaign.
(6) The review undertaken by the creative services agency of JG's social media activity - including any summary or conclusion of findings.
(7) All internal communications discussing or evaluating JG's social media activity or JG's direct style and use of profanities.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) in regard to a number of issues related to the recent media campaign which involved Janey Godley (JG).

You asked for:
1. Who initially proposed JG to front the campaign?
2. All internal communications proposing and discussing the proposal for JG to front the campaign.
3. All communications with the creative services agency related to JG fronting the campaign.
4. What communication channels were used to communicate with the creative services agency with regard to the campaign (e.g. unrecorded telephone calls, email, recorded telephone calls, etc.) ?
5. All documents signed by JG or JG's representative regarding this campaign.
6. The review undertaken by the creative services agency of JG's social media activity - including any summary or conclusion of findings.
7. All internal communications discussing or evaluating JG's social media activity or JG's direct style and use of profanities.

I have concluded that a different decision should be substituted.

In regards to the exemptions applied (specifically section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA which relates to the free and frank exchange of views), I have concluded that this exemption has not been applied in an appropriate way in all cases. While I recognise the need for Scottish Government officials to use honest and urgent communications in a way that supports delivery of activity, especially when there is a requirement to develop marketing activity at pace during a global health pandemic, I believe there to be two emails that were originally withheld which should now be released. These are included in the document attached.

I also note that the exemption under section 38(1) (personal data) of FOISA applies to some of the information within these emails, and this should have been explained in the initial response. This is because it is names and details relating to 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.

While reviewing the response, I note that we should have applied section 17(1) (information not held) of FOISA as detailed below to point 6 of your request above. The Scottish Government do not hold the information requested for this part of your request. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

I have also reviewed the information provided in response to your original request and believe it to be complete and accurate.

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 - 202100257829 - Information Released - Annex

File type

2 page PDF

File size

113.3 kB