Correspondence relating to Blue Hydrogen: FOI release

Information requested

Any correspondence (including emails, attachments, typed or handwritten notes, letters, notes/records of phone calls, minutes of meetings, briefings or otherwise) between Ministers of the Scottish Government and members of the Scottish Green Party regarding blue hydrogen from 6 May 2021 to date.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. 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 exemptions under sections of FOISA applies to that information.

An exemption under section 29(1)(a) of the FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. Section 29(1)(a) exempts information from release if it relates to the formulation or development of government policy. Given the scope of your request regarding blue hydrogen, some of correspondence relates to discussions around the formulation and development of government policy, such as the draft Hydrogen Action Plan, the NFP4 and the Cooperation Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group.

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 on the grounds of transparency around governmental decisions. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that government is able to freely explore all options while in the process of formulating and developing policy.

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of the FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. Section 30(b)(ii) exempts information from release if disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. Given the scope of your request regarding blue hydrogen, some of the correspondence includes deliberation on government policy on blue hydrogen between Scottish Ministers and members of the Scottish Green Party.

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 on the grounds of transparency around governmental decisions. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that free deliberation can occur between Scottish Ministers and members of the Scottish Green Party regarding the development of blue hydrogen production in Scotland.

An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of the FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. Section 33(1)(b) exempts information from release if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person. The exemption applies in this instance because some of the information you have requested would require disclosure of commercially sensitive information relating to carbon capture, utilisation and storage in Scotland.

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 general public interest that information is accessible. However, in this instance, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring release does not substantially prejudice legitimate commercial interests.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it relates to personal data of a third party. This exemption applies to information if disclosure 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.

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 202200298051 - Information released

File type

17 page PDF

File size

765.7 kB