Correspondence between Scottish Government Officials mentioning Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse: FOI release

Information requested

1. "Any correspondence (including emails, letters, phone calls, handwritten notes, WhatsApp messages or any other documents) between the office of the First Minister and any Scottish Government Official with a rank of Deputy Director or higher regarding the following terms “Hamilton”, “Larkhall”, “Stonehouse” or “Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse”. Information should include but not be limited to a detailed timeline (with dates) of any contact between these individuals. Please provide this information between the dates of 27 March 2025 and 5 June 2025 inclusive.

2. Any correspondence (including emails, letters, phone calls, handwritten notes, WhatsApp messagesor any other documents) between any Scottish Government Officials with a rank of Deputy Director or higher regarding the following terms “Hamilton”, “Larkhall”, “Stonehouse” or “Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse”. Information should include but not be limited to a detailed timeline (with dates) of any contact between these individuals. Please provide this information between the dates of 27 March 2025 and 5 June 2025 inclusive."

In handling your request I have proceeded upon the assumption that I set out in my letter of 13 June: that you are seeking information relating to the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Scottish parliamentary by-election held on 5 June 2025. As a result, I have excluded from the scope of your request any search results that do not relate to the by-election (i.e. a reference to one or more of the named towns in a context unrelated to the by-election).

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in an Annex. This identifies where exemptions under sections 30(b)(i) (on free and frank provision of advice) and 38(1)(b) of FOISA (on the personal data of third parties) apply to some information you have requested.

The exemptions under section 30(b)(i) – Free and frank provision of advice - of FOISA apply to some of the information you have requested. Information is exempt under section 30(b)(i) if disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. 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 some public interest in release, however this is outweighed by the public interest in preventing the inhibition of the free and frank provision of advice.

The exemption under section 38(1)(b) - personal data - of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of individuals included within the correspondence and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation. 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. Redactions have been made where that is the case.

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 202500470140 - Information released - Annex

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