First Minister's meetings during July and August 2023: FOI release

Information requested

1. All minutes and briefing notes taken at Humza Yousaf's alcohol harm meeting on July 31, plus a list of all attendees. Also supply proposed outcomes and plans following the summit

2. All minutes and briefing notes taken at the Celtic Forum in August, attended by Shona Robison, plus a list of all attendees.

3. Cost of all events held by the Scottish Government to commemorate the Edinburgh Festival plus list of all events held by the government, with a breakdown of these costs and which minister attended.

4. All minutes and briefing notes taken at Humza Yousaf's meeting with US ambassador Jane Hartley on August 4.

5. All minutes and briefing notes taken at Humza Yousaf's meeting with Australian High Commissioner Stephen Smith on August 9.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. However I should explain that there is no single Edinburgh Festival: we have interpreted question 3 to cover the programme of festivals held in Edinburgh during August - sometimes collectively known as the Edinburgh Festivals.

Some of the information you have requested was included in a response to your previous FOI with the reference 202300372377. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have a copy of this information please get in touch.

An exemption under section 38 (1) (b) (Personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested as this is the names and personal information of Scottish Government staff.

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.

Exemptions under sections 29 (1) (a) (policy formulation) and section 30 (b) (i) (substantial inhibition offree and frank advice) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested as this relates to sensitive early discussions around the Scottish Government's policies and advice on relations with external partners.

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 in the interests of transparency. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting a private space to develop policies without prejudicing any final decisions made.

Exemptions under sections 28 (substantial prejudice to UK relations) and 32 (1) (a) (substantial prejudice to international relations) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested as this includes private discussions with international partners and the Welsh 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 in the interests of transparency. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting a private space for intergovernmental engagement.

An exemption under section 30 (c) (other substantial prejudice to public affairs) of FOISA applies to a small amount of the information you have requested as this relates to unconfirmed plans for ministerial engagements with stakeholder(s).

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 in this instance. We recognise that there is some public interest in release in the interests of transparency. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in avoiding prejudicing future plans and protecting relationships with stakeholder(s).

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 202300374367 - Information Released

File type

28 page PDF

File size

2.2 MB