Suspensive condition to address outstanding Ministry of Defence objections for undetermined Section 36 applications: EIR release

Information requested

Any and all materials/correspondence relating to the use of suspensive condition to address outstanding Ministry of Defence objections for currently undetermined Section 36 applications. This should include, but is not limited to, objections related to the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array and materials which have not been made available on the Energy Consents Unit website.”

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

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, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested, entitled Annex A.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested owing to the following exception(s) under regulation(s) of the EIRs applies to that information:

• Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.
• An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information.
• An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communication) applies to some of the information.
• An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (commercially sensitive) applies to some of the information.
• An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) of the EIRs (material in the course of completion) applies to some of the information.

An exception 6(1)(b) of the EIRs (information already available) 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception, as the information is already publicly available.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception 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 exception.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communication) applies to some of the information requested. This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) applies to some of the information requested because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information where such confidentiality is provided for by law to protect a legitimate economic interest. 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) of the EIRs (material in the course of completion) applies to some of the information requested. This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

Please note, information on applications considered under the Electricity Act, which is suitable for publication, is routinely made publicly available on the Energy Consents Unit online portal to ensure sufficient transparency and visibility.

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 202500460126 - Information Released - Annex A

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PDF

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3.5 MB