Publication - FOI/EIR release

Correspondence sent to the Minister for Housing from various councils: FOI release

Published: 16 September 2025
Directorate: Local Government and Housing Directorate
Topic: Housing, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202500463941
Date received: 29 April 2025
Date responded: 22 May 2025

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

Any email correspondence sent to the Minister for Housing since 8 May 2024 from any of the following councillors:-

Cllr Christian Allard – Aberdeen City Council
Cllr Jim Lynch – Argyll and Bute Council
Cllr Ellen Forson – Clackmannanshire Council
Cllr Mark Flynn – Dundee City Council
Cllr Douglas Reid – East Ayrshire Council
Cllr Cecil Meiklejohn – Falkirk Council
Cllr Susan Aiken – Glasgow City Council
Cllr Raymond Bremner – Highland Council
Cllr Kelly Parry – Midlothian Council
Cllr Marie Burns – North Ayrshire Council
Cllr Grant Laing – Perth and Kinross Council
Cllr Iain Nicolson – Renfrewshire Council

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some the information you have requested. The reasons why we don't have the information are explained below.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because there was no email correspondence from the Councillors listed below to the Minister for Housing during the period of your request:-

Cllr Christian Allard – Aberdeen City Council
Cllr Jim Lynch – Argyll and Bute Council
Cllr Mark Flynn – Dundee City Council
Cllr Douglas Reid – East Ayrshire Council
Cllr Cecil Meiklejohn – Falkirk Council
Cllr Susan Aiken – Glasgow City Council
Cllr Kelly Parry – Midlothian Council
Cllr Marie Burns – North Ayrshire Council
Cllr Grant Laing – Perth and Kinross Council
Cllr Iain Nicolson – Renfrewshire Council

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

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 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies is explained below.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested regarding email correspondence sent from Cllr Ellen Forson (Annex 1 and 1A) and Cllr Raymond Bremner (Annex 2 and 2A). The exemption removes the third party personal details from documents i.e. assistants and officials as well as direct telephone numbers etc.

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.

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.