Information relating to National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication: FOI Review
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
Further to my letter of 4 August, I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for correspondence, records or minutes of any meetings regarding discussions over protests at the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication, including discussions between the Scottish Government, Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland about how to facilitate protests and which sites should be allocated to protesters or protest groups.
Response
I have considered your request for review of the use of exemptions and the explanation for their application.
I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed with modifications. In reaching my conclusion I have reviewed the application of exemptions and reconsidered the public interest test where appropriate. There has been no change in circumstance since the time of the original decision which would affect this test.
I have therefore upheld the decision to apply the exemption under Section 30(b)(i) (the free and frank provision of advice) of FOISA. I acknowledge that in terms of the application of section 30(b)(i) our response could have been more helpful in explaining why the exemption applied. I have provided a fuller explanation at Annex A.
I have modified our response to apply exemptions Section 25 (information otherwise accessible), Section 30(c) (the effective conduct of public affairs) and Section 38(1)(b) (personal information). I have considered that these exemptions are more appropriate for some of the information within the scope of the request rather than the exemptions applied in the original response. An explanation for the use of these exemptions is provided at Annex A.
Following reconsideration of the use of the exemptions in this case I have concluded that some of the information captured within your request should be released. This is enclosed at Annex B.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback