Correspondence regarding Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs & Culture meeting with former chair of Historic Environment Scotland (HES): FOI release

Information requested

You asked for “Did Kenneth Hogg pass on this invitation to Angus Robertson? If so, on what date was it passed on? And how was it passed on?

Please also provide all correspondence, by email or direct messaging application, in which the above referenced email was forwarded, quoted, or responded to, by Scottish Government civil servants, special advisers, or ministers.

Please also provide any minutes/notes recording what was discussed at the 24th July meeting between Dr Hugh Hall and Shona which is mentioned in the above referenced email.”

Response

Response to your first request

The answer to your first question is no, the invitation was not passed on to Mr Robertson, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, External Affairs and Culture, because of a number of issues running concurrently at Historic Environment Scotland (HES) which would have made a Ministerial meeting with the Board inappropriate at that time.

Response to your second request

In answer to your second request, I have enclosed a copy of most of the information you requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under sections s.38(1)(b) (personal information) and s36(2) (actionable breach of confidence) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Response to your third request

In answer to your second request, I have enclosed a copy of the information you requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under s36(2) (actionable breach of confidence) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

ANNEX

An exemption applies

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

An exemption under s.36(2) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because the information requested because it was obtained from Historic Environment Scotland and disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence. This is because the information is confidential, was provided in circumstances which imposed an obligation on the Scottish Government to maintain that confidentiality, and unauthorised disclosure would be to the detriment of the Historic Environment Scotland who provided the 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.

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 202500492731 - Information Released - Documents

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