Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care meeting with Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for all information held relating to Neil Gray MSP's meeting with Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited on 30 January 2025 (Scottish lobbying register).

This should include:

• Meeting agenda, attendee list, briefing materials, minutes/notes (including handwritten notes)
• All correspondence (emails, instant messages including WhatsApp/Signal) before and after the meeting
•  Any presentations or documents provided by Merck Sharp & Dohme
•  Records of commitments made or follow-up actions agreed

Additionally, please provide:

•  Details of any other meetings between Neil Gray MSP and Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (or MSD) from 1 February 2024 to present
•  All correspondence between Neil Gray MSP's office and Merck Sharp & Dohme during this period

Response

Please find attached documents in response to your request as follows:

Document 1 – Briefing, for Cabinet Secretary for meeting with MSD, 30 January 2025
Document 2 – Briefing distributed for Cabinet Secretary, including documents 3 and 4
Document 3 – Input from Cancer and Rehab Policy
Document 4 – EPIC outcomes 2024 (Section.25 (1) - information otherwise accessible) 
Document 5 – Email chain
Document 6 – Note of meeting with Cabinet Secretary and MSD, 30 January 2025
Document 7 – Collaborative Working Agreement (redacted - Section 33 (1)(b))
Document 8 – Email chain
Document 9 – Kate Forbes and Neil Gray – letter from MSD

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 exemptions under the following sections have been applied.

Section.25 (1) (information otherwise accessible) – this exemption applies where the requester can obtain the information without asking for it under FOISA, even if a requester needs to pay for it. Some of the information you have requested is available from Early prehabilitation reduces admissions and time in hospital in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer - PubMed.

Section 28 (1) – Relations within the United Kingdom - this exemption focusses on the harm to relations between UK administrations.

Section 30 (b)(i) – Free and Frank provision of advice - this exemption applies if disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice.

Section 33 (1)(b) – Commercial Interests and the economy - this exemption applies where disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person or organisations.

Section 38 (1)(b) – Personal Information - applies to some of the information you have requested. This relates to any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual, who can be identified, directly or indirectly.

This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test,’ therefore we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. All other exemptions noted above 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 exemption. We recognise there is some public interest in release because of the interest in open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in not undermining fair competition and disadvantaging companies in the market place, to support sustainable research dissemination, and undermining constructive relations for upholding application of exemptions.

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 202500495085 - Information Released - Documents 1-9

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