Correspondence between Scottish Government and General Medical Council (GMC) mentioning specified criteria: FOI release

Information requested

Please can you provide copies of any email correspondence (including attachments) between the Scottish Government and the General Medical Council which meet the following criteria:

•  Date range: 15th July 2025 - 22nd August 2025
•  Contain the phrase "physician assistant" OR "leng review" in the email title or body

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested in Annex A; please note that I expanded the search term to include the abbreviation “PA(s)”. The following exemptions apply to the information provided:

All emails: section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies is because it contains personally identifiable information. 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.

Email chains 2 and 4: section 30(c) of FOISA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some of or all of that information. The reason why that exemption applies is because it is essential for officials to be able to communicate, often in confidence, with external stakeholders on a range of issues, including the recommendations from Professor Leng’s review of the anaesthesia associate and physician associate roles.

Disclosing the content of these communications, particularly without the consent of the stakeholder, is likely to undermine their trust in the Scottish Government and will substantially inhibit communications on this type of issue in the future. These stakeholders will be reluctant to provide their views fully and frankly if they believe that they are likely to be made public, particularly while these discussions are still ongoing and decisions have not yet been taken. This would significantly harm the Government’s ability to carry out many aspects of its work, and could adversely affect its ability to gather all of the evidence it needs to make fully informed decisions.

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 officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Scottish Government’s position on the recommendations.

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 202500481705 - Information released - Annex A

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