Ending conversion practices in Scotland consultation questions: FOI release

Information requested

1) Minutes of all meetings which took place during 2023 with anyone outwith the Scottish Government which informed the content of the consultation document.

2) Details of any written communication during 2023 with anyone outwith the Scottish Government which informed the content of the consultation document.

3) Details of any engagement on sections of the consultation document in draft form with anyone outwith the Scottish Government in whatever form and at whatever stage during 2023 not already covered above.

In each case, the external organisation being represented should be clearly identified. Where someone is being engaged in a personal capacity, the nature of their expertise should be clearly expressed.

Response

The answer to your questions are as follows:

Request 1
Your request asks for “minutes of all meetings which took place during 2023 with anyone outwith the Scottish Government which informed the content of the consultation document”. We interpret this to include formal meeting minutes from any meetings in 2023 with individuals and organisations external to the Scottish Government where the consultation on banning “conversion therapy”, or “conversion practices” was discussed, as all input from external stakeholders is considered to have informed the consultation document.

I enclose a copy of most 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 section 38(1)(b) (personal information) or section 28 (relations with the United Kingdom) of FOISA apply to that information. The reasons why those exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Redactions have also been applied to any information which is outwith the scope of your request, i.e. any information relating to discussion on matters which do not relate to the consultation on ending conversion practices has been removed.

We also wish to note that there was additional informal engagement with stakeholders throughout 2023 which we do not hold any formal minutes for.

Request 2
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under request 2 the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is that to locate and retrieve that information we would need to conduct a search of all of the records of the Scottish Government. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

Your request asks for “details of any written communication during 2023 with anyone outwith the Scottish Government which informed the content of the consultation document.”. We interpret this to include any written correspondence with individuals and organisations external to the Scottish Government in reference
to banning “conversion therapy”, or “conversion practices”, as all communication with external stakeholders is considered to have informed the content of the consultation document. We have conducted a partial search for correspondence relevant to the request. For example – the Scottish Government corresponded with many stakeholders and stakeholder groups throughout the process of developing our legislative proposals. A search in the inbox of one staff member for correspondence with the individuals and organisations from only one specific stakeholder group returned 1,112 results, indicating that the correspondence could be relevant to your request.

For this example, we estimate it would take 15 minutes per document to locate, determine relevance, retrieve and read, apply any redactions and provide the documents. At a cost of £18 per hour of staff time this brings the cost estimate to £5,004.00 using the initial search as an example. This search would need to be repeated across other relevant information management files, computer files and email mailboxes across the Scottish Government.

As a result, providing all the information requested would exceed the estimated figure. This example was based on search queries used in the inbox of one staff member. We expect that a significant number of further documents would be found through a full search of all relevant files.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. You may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: https://www.itspublicknowledge.info/how-do-i-ask.

Request 3
You request “details of any engagement on sections of the consultation document in draft form with anyone outwith the Scottish Government in whatever form and at whatever stage during 2023 not already covered above.” We interpret this to apply to any written correspondence or meetings in 2023 where a draft version of the consultation document was provided to individuals or organisations external to the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government did not provide any individuals or organisations external to the Scottish Government with the consultation document or sections of the consultation in draft form.

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
Exemption under section 38(1)(b) ‘Personal Information’

An exemption under section 38(1) (b) ‘Personal Information’ of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This has been applied to names, email addresses, contact numbers, pronouns and salutations where necessary.

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.

Exemption under section 28 ‘Relations within the United Kingdom

An exemption under section 28 ‘Relations within the United Kingdom’ of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This applies to any information relating to the relationship between the Scottish Government and 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 whether 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 would be greater transparency of information. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining confidential relations between the Scottish and UK governments, in this case information pertaining to UK Government policy.

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 202400394755 - Information Released - Annex

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