Minutes of External Affairs Secretary meeting and Deputy Ambassador of Israel: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202500467390

1) Please can the Scottish Government provide minutes of the meeting between Angus Robertson and Daniela Grudsky, Israel's Deputy Ambassador to the UK, on 8 August 2024. This should include all draft minutes (created on 9 August 2024 and 14 August 2024) as well as the final agreed minutes on 30 August 2024.

2) Please also provide details of any correspondence relating to the minutes among Scottish Government officials and Ministers, including any suggested revisions.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for "an internal review of FOI response 202500467390 concerning the meeting between Angus Robertson and Israeli Deputy Ambassador Daniela Grudsky on 8 August 2024”.

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

Reviewing the material identified from searches and provided to you in response to your original request, I have found that:

• Some information (the job title of an accompanying official from the Embassy of Israel, noted in the Attendees section of the meeting minutes) was erroneously redacted under s38(1)(b) personal data of a third party from the meeting minutes partially released to you. This information is therefore released as part of my review at Annex A.
• On line-by-line reconsideration of the broader body of meeting minutes material at Review Stage, I consider it reasonable to release portions of texts from the two draft meeting minutes where this information was subject to release as part of the response to your original request. This information is therefore released as part of my review at Annex A.
• Some information (the email from Wednesday, August 14, 2024 11:35 AM) which was redacted under section 30(b)(ii) in the original response can be released upon review and is also contained within Annex A.

Response to your request

I enclose at Annex A a copy of some of the information you requested, with modifications from the response to your original request as outlined above.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are still unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA sections s.38(1)(b) (personal information); s.38(c) substantial prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs; and 32(1)(a) international relations between the UK and any other State applies to that information.

The reasons why these exemptions apply is outlined below.

An exemption under section s.38(1)(b) of FOISA – personal data of a third party – applies to some of the information you have requested. This applies to personal information of civil servants below Seniors Civil Service level and names of equivalent level staff from the Embassy of Israel. 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.

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA - Substantial prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs - applies to some of the information you have requested. This applies to information within the draft meeting minutes.

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 because of the interest in disclosing information as part of an open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting the space for ministers and officials to engage in full and frank discussions with their counterparts in other states.

An exemption under section 32(1)(a)(i) of FOISA - Substantial prejudice to international relations between the UK and any other State - applies to some of the information you have requested. This applies to information within the meeting minute and draft minutes.

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 because of the interest in disclosing information as part of an open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in the UK maintaining relations with the states it engages with. It is highly likely that releasing such information, exchanged through the course of conventional diplomatic engagement where a level of confidentiality is expected to be respected, would result in substantial prejudice to the UK-Israel relationship.

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 202500477077 - Information released - Annex A

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