Correspondence regarding Nexo Scottish Championship golf event funding: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for:

‘Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 that the Scottish Government disclose all information it holds relating to the decision to award £180,000 in public funding towards the Nexo Scottish Championship golf event taking place at Trump International Scotland in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, in August 2025.’

‘The disclosure should include, but not be limited to, any minutes, notes, and briefings prepared for and after meetings with VisitScotland relating to the decision. It should also include, but not be limited to, any  correspondence with Trump International Scotland and the Trump Organisation between 1 May 2025 and the current date which relates to the tournament.’

‘The disclosure should also include, but not be limited to, any notes, minutes, or correspondence exchanged as part of the process in creating the press release announcing the funding that was distributed to the media on 26 July. This should include any previous unpublished drafts of the aforementioned release.’

Response

I would like to apologise for the delay in responding to your request, the delay has been caused by the number of cases we have been dealing with recently.

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested in the format you asked for. The answer to your question is provided in the attached PDF document.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested. I am providing details of the exemptions that apply and the reasons they are applied.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, 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.

An exemption under section 30(b)(1) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice and deliberation) apply to some of the information. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test’ and we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption in this particular case.

Exemptions under section 33(1)(b) (Commercial sensitivities) of FOISA also applies to some of the information you have requested. Information is exempt under section 33(1)(b) if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person. "Person" includes a public authority, company and partnership, in this case the Scottish Government.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. 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 and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money.

However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial and financial interests of the Scottish Government and our stakeholders, to ensure that we are always able to obtain the best value for public money. 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.

An exemption also applies to some of the information contained within the documents found as it falls outwith the scope of your request. These sections have been redacted accordingly.

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 202500478124 - Information released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

742.8 kB