Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development meetings July 2022: FOI release

Information requested

“1) All internal and external correspondence within and sent or received by the Scottish Government including attached documents, meeting handouts, memos, briefings to ministers, attendee lists, location of meeting, notes, minutes, or OneNote memos, linked to the following meetings:

1a) Neil Gray's meeting with the inter-ministerial group on UK-EU issues on July 4, 2022

1b) Neil Gray's meeting with the COSLA presidential team on July 11, 2022”

Response

“1a) Neil Gray's meeting with the inter-ministerial group on UK-EU issues on July 4, 2022”
I attach a copy of some of the information you requested in PDF format.

An exemption under section 28(1) (Relationships between UK administrations) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. It has long been understood that these meetings are confidential and that each administration will only release its own comments. Releasing more information is liable to substantially inhibit efforts to stand up further talks.

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 there is some public interest in transparency. However, this is outweighed by the greater public interest in maintaining and developing relationships between UK administrations.

An exemption under 38 (1) (b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because it includes the contact details of staff and/or names of staff below Senior Civil Service (SCS) level.

An exemption under section 28 (1) (Relationships between UK administrations) and section 32 (1) (a) (International relations) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because it describes ongoing negotiations with the European Union (EU) and was received with an expectation of discretion. Releasing this information could prejudice negotiations and undermine relationships with the UK Government.

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 there is some public interest in transparency. However, this is outweighed by the greater public interest in maintaining and developing relationships between UK administrations.

An exemption under section 30 (c) (other significant prejudice to public affairs) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because it this contains sensitive statements about the ongoing Northern Ireland talks, and there is a greater public interest in protecting a space for administrations to discuss these issues.

“1b) Neil Gray's meeting with the COSLA presidential team on July 11, 2022”
I attach a copy of some of the information you requested in PDF format.

An exemption under 38 (1) (b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because it includes the contact details and personal information of individuals who are not part of the Senior Civil Service (SCS).

Within the attached documents, there were additional documents embedded. I have included these additional documents as separate PDFs – they are not accessible from the attached documents themselves.

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 202200331311 - Information Released - Annex

File type

56 page PDF

File size

1.6 MB