Correspondence regarding Energy Profits Levy: EIR release

Information requested

I would like to request the following information for the period of 01/04/2024 [edited to 01/01/2024]to now [request – 10/11/2025]:

• All internal documents include notes, briefings, agendas, minutes, slides and/or attendance lists of all meetings held between representatives of OEUK and ministers and/or officials of the Scottish Government about the Energy Profits Levy.
• Any correspondence — including emails, letters, texts, WhatsApp and Signal messages -- about the EPL between OEUK representatives/employees and ministers and/or officials of the Scottish Government.

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. 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, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.

We have interpreted your request to include documentation (including briefing material and notes) regarding meetings between Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials and Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) where the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) is referenced as an agenda item; and correspondence between Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials and OEUK and their attachments which reference the EPL.

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to provide you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. Some information has been releasedpreviously  through another EIR, this can be found here: Harbour Energy meetings and materials: EIR release - gov.scot. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed below, then please contact me again and I will send a paper copy.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) [Internal Communications] applies to some of the information requested because it relates to internal communications. This exception is subject to the 'public interest test' and, taking into account all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. The information withheld relates to particular elements of briefing materials for Scottish Government Ministers relating to wider energy policy. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs [personal information] applies to some the information requested because it is personal data of a third party 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 exception 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 exception.

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 202500492888 - Information released - Annex A

File type

PDF

File size

3.3 MB