Documentation regarding First Minister's trip to Outer Hebrides: FOI release

Information requested

Could you supply all briefings written for John Swinney, his itinerary and minutes/notes from meetings for/from John Swinney's trip to the Outer Hebrides between August 14 and August 16 2025?

Response

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

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide all of the information you have requested because a number of exemptions under Section 29(1)(a) – “formulation or development of government policy” and/or “Section 30(b)(1) “the free and frank provision of advice” apply.

These exemptions are 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 exemptions. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because the basis on which certain options were considered is of interest. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which Scottish Government staff can provide full and frank advice to Ministers to ensure they are fully briefed in order that they may engage productively in a program of visits and events. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good policy 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 First Ministers visits and events, which would not be in the public interest.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) has also been applied. This exemption applies because the information is the personal data of third parties (members of staff and individuals contacted by those members of staff) and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles set out in Article 5(1) of the UK 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.

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FOI 202500494094 - Information Released - Documents

File type

PDF

File size

1.9 MB