Correspondence regarding Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care's use of ministerial cars: FOI release

Information requested

All documentation held by the Scottish Government about Neil Gray's use of ministerial cars, including correspondence sent to and by the government, including internal correspondence, minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, between January 6 2024 and the date of this FOI, that being 5th February.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you have asked for. Redactions have been made where appropriate and these are described below.

Material has been redacted where it is not within the scope of your request, i.e. it relates to matters other than that which you have asked about.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it relates to people below the grade of a senior civil servant, or members of the public.

Exemptions under section 29(i) (formulation of policy) and section 30(b)(ii) (free and frank exchange of views) have been applied to some of this information. These exemptions are 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 exemptions. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, but it could adversely impact officials’ ability to freely discuss the detail of cases and proposed approaches to responding, and drafting advice to Ministers. This private thinking space also allows for all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken.

An exemption under section 39(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because disclosure would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual. This relates specifically to the Government Car Service emails where we have released the journey details but withheld the journey times. 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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and this is evidenced by release of the journey locations and dates, but the releasing of journey times could lead to the establishment of a pattern of behaviour, which presents a security risk.

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 202500451287 - Information Released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

1.8 MB