Correspondence regarding SSEN’s Kintore to Tealing Overhead Line: EIR release

Information requested

I request copies of all correspondence and information relating to meetings between:

• the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy or any other Scottish Government minister or official (including officials within the Energy Consents Unit and any other relevant Scottish Government directorate) and
• the Chief Executive of Aberdeenshire Council and/or the Head of Planning and Economy at Aberdeenshire Council during the period from 5 December 2024 to 5 December 2025, concerning SSEN’s Kintore to Tealing 400 kV Overhead Line (OHL) Section 37 application (Energy Consents Unit reference ECU00005225).

This should include, but not be limited to:

1. All letters, emails, briefings, memos, WhatsApp or other messaging exchanges, and notes of phone calls or online/virtual meetings.

2. Agendas, minutes, attendance lists, and any papers or presentations associated with any such meetings.

3. In particular, I request copies of the three letters pertaining to the decision‑making process that resulted in Aberdeenshire Council’s recommendation not to object to the Kintore to Tealing 400 kV OHL application.

If any of the information requested is already publicly available, please provide the exact URL or reference where it can be accessed.

If you consider that any exemptions apply, please provide the information that can be released and clearly explain which exemptions you are relying upon for any withheld material, including your reasoning and any public interest test carried out.

I would prefer to receive the information in electronic format by email.

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.

Response to your request

I shall address each of your points in turn.

Point 1 – I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested, entitled Annex A.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested owing to the following exemption:

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of 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.

Point 2 - The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested as our searches have not identified any correspondence therefore there is nothing for us to release.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have.

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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

Point 3 – You can view the documents ‘which resulted in Aberdeenshire Council’s recommendation not to object to the Kintore to Tealing 400 kV OHL application’ via the ECU portal at the following link: Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit - Application Details.

Click the ‘Documents’ tab, then the ‘Consultation Responses’ tab, then select ‘Page 4’ where you will find the ‘Aberdeenshire Council Consultation Response’. This document includes the Covering Letter, Report of handling, Appendix 1 Draft Condition Schedule and Appendix 2 Elected Members comments. The Energy Consents Portal allows for full transparency of each application made by publishing all documents relating to an application, including the decision.

An exception under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs (information already available) applies to some of the information requested because we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.

This 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception, as the information is already publicly available.

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.

EIR 202500496928 - Information Released - Annex A

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