Scottish Government office usage: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
Request for a breakdown of government office usage over the past five years.
For example this would include the office name, total capacity, average daily number of people in, and used capacity, for the given year.
Response
I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested in excel format. The second Tuesday of each month has been used as a representative reference point for this data series.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reasons why we don't have the information are explained below.
The Scottish Government does not have all the information you have asked for because it does not retain data in relation to office usage for a period of time greater than 24 months. Furthermore, the Scottish Government can only provide data on those buildings where its own data systems are in place. Some locations have landlord data systems in place and the Scottish Government does not have access to that data. The data that is available is presented in the attached excel sheet.
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 an exemption under section 39(1)(Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or the safety of an individual) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies are explained below.
Your request asked for "total capacity, average daily number of people in, and used capacity". Providing the raw data in this regard could present a security risk and potentially jeopardise the physical safety of staff. The data has therefore been presented in % format.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG