Minutes of the meeting between Minister for Public Finance and GFG Alliance: FOI release

Information requested

I would be grateful if you could comply with the following request in relation to the ministerial statement on 11th September 2025, made by the Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee MSP to Parliament about the status of GFG Alliance businesses in Scotland, mainly those based in Lochaber and Dalzell.

1. During that statement, the Minister stated that he had spoken with Jeff Kabel of GFG Alliance on the 9th September. Please provide me with a copy of the minutes of that meeting as well as any briefings, internal correspondence and other relevant documents sent by civil servants and special advisors to the Minister ahead of that conversation.
2. The Minister stated during his statement that “We are monitoring with interest the steps that the UK Government has taken in relation to Liberty Speciality Steels and my officials are engaging with the relevant UK Government departments to understand their plans for the business. I assure members that we have contingency plans in place to cover any eventualities for the Scottish businesses and that our priority is to see them being operational, employing skilled staff and providing economic benefits in their respective regions and across Scotland.” Please provide me with a a) copy of those contingency plans and b) a copy of correspondence, phone calls, handwritten notes or other such documentation between Scottish and UK Government officials about the intervention the UK Government made in relation to Liberty Speciality Steels and the UK Government’s plans for the business.
3. Mr McKee also stated during his 11th September statement, “There are no immediate risks to Lochaber and Dalzell from the court cases in England”. Please provide me with a a) a copy of any advice that the Scottish Government has received which would back up this statement and b) a copy of any correspondence, phone calls, handwritten notes or other such documentation in relation to any advice the Scottish Government received about the impact on GFG Alliance businesses in Scotland from the court cases GFG Alliance is going through in England.'

Response

Please find attached the response to your request. For clarity some of the information on the documents is out of scope and is therefore redacted. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, certain information has been redacted.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some the information you have requested. This exemption applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details, 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’, therefore we are not required to consider if public interest in disclosing the information outweighs public interest in applying the exemption.

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to discuss and explore options before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank discussions on the Scottish Government’s position regarding contingency planning and its relationship with the GFG Alliance will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future.

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 Ministers and officials a private space within which to explore and refine the Government’s contingency planning and its policy regarding the GFG Alliance. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process, which would not be in the public interest.

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some of the information requested. It is essential for Ministers and officials to be able to communicate, often in confidence, with external stakeholders on a range of issues, including the Government’s contingency planning in relation to the Scottish businesses owned by the GFG Alliance and our position towards them. 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 communicate freely with the Scottish Government if they believe that their views are likely to be made public, particularly while these discussions are still ongoing and relate to sensitive issues. 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 Ministers and officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s contingency plans and our position regarding the Scottish assets owned by GFG. This private space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken based on fully informed advice and evidence. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between the Scottish Government and these stakeholders, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process, which would not be in the public interest.

An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of the Scottish businesses owned and operated by the GFG Alliance. Disclosing this information would affect the ability of the GFG Alliance to effectively operate.

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 and transparent government. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which contribute to the Scottish economy to ensure that jobs and businesses are protected.

An exemption under section 36(1) of FOISA (confidentiality in legal proceedings) applies to some of the information requested because it is legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege.

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 as part of open and transparent government, and to inform public debate. However, this is outweighed by the strong public interest in maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between legal advisers and clients, to ensure that Ministers and officials are able to receive legal advice in confidence, like any other public or private organisation.

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FOI 202500485956 - Information Released - Annex

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