Angus Robertson's meeting with Germany’s Ambassador: FOI release

Information requested

All briefing documents prepared for the meeting between Cabinet Secretary Angus Robertson and the German Ambassador to the United Kingdom on 17 November 2022, and all minutes/notes of the meeting. On 28 December 2022, I sought clarification that the information you were looking for was specifically that which refers to renewable energy, which you confirmed on 29 December.

Response

I attach a copy of the information you requested. Some of the information has been redacted because an exemption under section 28 (substantial prejudice to UK relations) and section 32(1)(a) (substantial prejudice to international relations) of FOISA applies to that information.

Section 28 – UK relations
An exemption under section 28 of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the Scottish Government and UK Government. The effective conduct of relations between administrations in the UK depends upon maintaining trust and confidence. In this case, disclosing information about specific engagement between these administrations on renewables would substantially prejudice relations because there is a need to maintain confidential dialogue to ensure that UK administrations are able to work together in a spirit of openness to discuss sensitive matters and protect and promote our interests. 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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in ensuring that the administrations of the UK are able to maintain good communications, in order to protect and promote our interests. There can be no public interest in jeopardising those relations by the Scottish Government disclosing this information.

Section 32(1)(a) – International relations
An exemption under section 32(1)(a) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the United Kingdom and Germany. The effective conduct of international relations depends upon maintaining trust and confidence between the UK Government and other states. In this case, disclosing information about UK/German engagement on renewables would substantially prejudice relations between the UK and Germany because there is a need to maintain confidential dialogue in order to ensure that future engagement can take place in a spirit of trust and openness.

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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in ensuring that the UK Government is able to maintain good relations with other states, in order to protect and promote UK interests. There can be no public interest in jeopardising those relations by the Scottish Government disclosing this information.

Section 38(1)(b) – Personal information
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party (i.e. names/contact details of 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.

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FOI 202200332804 - Information released

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8 page PDF

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