Timeline and account of Ministerial Decisions on Tax Policies and Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) considerations: FOI Review

Information requested

Original Request 202500451954

Please provide a timeline of when ministerial decisions were officially made regarding tax policies for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget.

For each of these decisions, please provide an account of all work done to consider the impacts of that tax policy by the Scottish Government, commissioned by the Scottish Government, or otherwise provided to ministers for the purposes of making decisions on that tax policy in the budget before that ministerial decision date.

Please provide an account of all policies that the Scottish Fiscal Commission were asked to consider the impact and cost of for the 2025-26 budget that were not eventually included in the published draft budget.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) in which you ask the following:

1. In your response to points 1 and 2 from my original request, you say that ‘most of the information you have requested is available from the link(s) set out below’. This implies that not all of it is available from the link set out below. For each, please either provide the rest of this information, confirm there is no other information, or state what exemption is being applied to not provide it and why.

2. I contest that:

a) The section s30(b) exemption does not actually apply to all of the information I have requested in part 3 of my original request, and merely to some at most.
b) You have wrongly applied the public interest test. You have ascribed a too low magnitude to the positive public interest of disclosing this information and a too high magnitude to the positive public interest in not disclosing it compared to what is actually the case regarding the magnitude of impact on the public interest in both cases. It is greatly in the public interest to disclose this information as greater openness in government is a default good to the public and greater information around the inclinations of elected ministers towards tax policy is vital information for voters to utilise to decide how to cast their vote properly – this hits at the very core of the good functioning of our system.

I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed, with modifications.

For point 1 of your original request I can inform you that a final ministerial decision on Scottish Landfill Tax policy was made on 11th November 2024, and final ministerial decisions on all other taxes that are subject to forecasting by the Scottish Fiscal Commission were made on the 19th November.

For point 2 of your original request, having reviewed the files I could find no additional impact assessments over and above those referred to you in the original reply, so it is my view that the all of the relevant information was provided.

For point 3, I agree with the original decision to withhold information. My understanding is that the original decision was to withhold information under 30(b)(i)(free and frank provision of advice). However upon review, I think Section 29(1)(a) – formulation or development of government policy is the more appropriate exemption for the information you have requested.

An exemption under section 29(1)(a) of FOISA (formulation or development of government policy) applies to all of the information requested because it relates to the development of the Scottish Government’s policy on devolved taxes, including rates, bands and other aspects of tax policy.

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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the discussions on policy relating to the full range of devolved taxes will be disclosed in the near future, when it may undermine or constrain the Government’s view on that policy while it is still under discussion and development.

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.