Single-sex spaces (Public Sector) speech information: FOI Review
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
Original request 202500457222
1. Kaukab Stewart and Shirley-Anne Sommerville’s draft speech for the debate entitled “Single-sex Spaces (Public Sector)” held on 12 March 2025.
2. Official notes prepared for Kaukab Stewart and Shirley-Anne Sommerville for their speech for the debate entitled “Single-sex Spaces (Public Sector)” held on 12 March 2025.
3. Any correspondence sent by or sent to Kaukab Stewart and Shirley-Anne Sommerville related to the debate entitled “Single-sex Spaces (Public Sector)” held on 12 March 2025.
Response
I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for:
1. Kaukab Stewart and Shirley-Anne Sommerville’s draft speech for the debate entitled “Single-sex Spaces (Public Sector)” held on 12 March 2025.
2. Official notes prepared for Kaukab Stewart and Shirley-Anne Sommerville for their speech for the debate entitled “Single-sex Spaces (Public Sector)” held on 12 March 2025.
3. Any correspondence sent by or sent to Kaukab Stewart and Shirley-Anne Sommerville related to the debate entitled “Single-sex Spaces (Public Sector)” held on 12 March 2025.
I have concluded that the original decisions should be confirmed with some modifications.
I have provided all the information in respect of question 1.
I have provided some of the information you requested in relation to questions 2 and 3. However some of the information has been withheld under the exemption Section 30(b)(i) – free and frank provision of advice and other information under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information). The response (formed of five Pdf attachments) shows where these redactions have been applied.
An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to Ministers before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank advice on the content of parliamentary debates will substantially inhibit the provision of such advice in the future, particularly because these discussions relate to a sensitive or controversial issue. 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 allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank advice to Ministers, as part of the process of preparing for parliamentary debates. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision-making process, which would not be in the public interest.
In addition, an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some the information relating to questions 2 and 3 because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. the names and individual telephone and email contact details of officials within the Scottish Government or UK government departments, 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 exemption 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 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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG