The Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2025 documentation: FOI release

Information requested

All documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about The Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2025, between April 1 2025 and July 1 2025.

Response

I enclose a copy of all correspondence we have on the Order. I’ve also attached a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, as well as a link below to the Order. Both were attached within the correspondence:

The Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2025

Exemptions under section 28 (substantial prejudice to UK relations) and section 38 (personal data relating to third party) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained below.

Exemptions under section 28 (substantial prejudice to UK relations) apply to some of the information requested. This is because it relates to discussions between the Scottish and UK governments held in a confidential space. 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 disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in allowing a private space within which officials and Ministers from different governments can exchange views and information freely. Disclosure of this type of information could lead to a reduction in the comprehensiveness and frankness of such discussions in the future, which would not be in the public interest as it would substantially prejudice the ability of Scottish and UK government Ministers and Scottish Government and UK Government officials to engage with each other.

Section 38 (personal data relating to third party) apply to some of the information requested. Personal data is exempt from disclosure if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the UK GDPR and in section 34(1) of the DPA 2018. The exemption is absolute, so it is not subject to the public interest test in section 2(1) of FOISA.

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 202500482891 - Information released - Annex

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