Scottish International Development Association Head of Policy and Communications appointment: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202500446733

1. When the Scottish Government first became aware of the Scottish International Development Association’s appointment of Patrick Grady to the role of Head of Policy and Communications.

2. The initial response the Scottish Government drafted up for responding to press queries about this story and all subsequent changes and drafts including the final draft comment which was approved and sent out to journalists. Please state whether a Scottish Minister or special adviser gave the final sign off on this comment before being sent out.

3. Whether any Scottish Minister has held a meeting with Patrick Grady since 4 July 2024 and if so please state which ministers, when they met and any minutes or notes recorded of that meeting.

4. When a Scottish Minister last met with the Scottish International Development Alliance, the attendees at that meeting and the minutes of that meeting.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). As the dissatisfaction that you have raised is specifically related to the application of 30(b)(ii) of FOISA, I have only reviewed the information in the original response that was subject to that exemption. That information relates to the response to the second part of your request, which asked for:

“The initial response the Scottish Government drafted up for responding to press queries about this story and all subsequent changes and drafts including the final draft comment which was approved and sent out to journalists. Please state whether a Scottish Minister or special adviser gave the final sign off on this comment before being sent out.”

I have concluded that the public interest test decision for some of the information in your original response should be overturned. The original response to your request included an Annex detailing correspondence relating to the drafting of press lines regarding Patrick Grady’s appointment as Head of Policy and Communications for Scotland’s International Development Alliance. This response released the final version of the press lines issued, as well as some discussion around these press lines. The background to the press query was withheld under exemption 30(b)(ii), which exempts information which, if released, may substantially inhibit the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to obtain advice on and discuss the best means and timing for the release of information and responses to media stories and speculation, before reaching an agreed handling strategy. In this case, the original case handler judged that disclosing the content of officials’ discussions would substantially inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and/or exchange of views in the future, particularly as these discussions relate to ongoing, sensitive or controversial issues. This exemption is subject to the public interest test. In this case, I am overturning the original public interest test decision relating to the information in the background note. I am overturning this because I believe that as the background note does not contain sensitive information and is in line with information already publicly available, disclosing this is unlikely to substantially inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and/or exchange of views in the future.

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. Please note, while the decision to use exemption 30(b)(ii) of FOISA has been overturned, the personal data of civil servants at grades below Senior Civil Service remains redacted under s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA. This exemption is not subject to the public interest test.

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.

FOI 202500450926 - Information released - Annex A

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