Fish health inspectorate’s (FHI) inspections data: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Information requested
“I’d like to submit an FOI regarding FHI inspections of aquaculture farms. In particular I’d like the following:
1. Internal policies, guidance, manuals, risk assessments, or standard operating procedures on inspection planning, including criteria for when notice will be given of inspection and when inspections will be cancelled/postponed.
2. Biosecurity risk assessments in the context of inspections.
3. Operational planning document such as annual surveillance plans.”
Response
We have interpreted your request to relate to inspections carried out for aquatic animal health surveillance purposes.
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 most of the information you requested. Please find enclosed 10 PDF items and one Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. These are copies of the fish health inspectorate’s (FHI) standard operating procedures (SOPs), a relevant risk assessment, the inspection schedule for 2025 and the recommendations of the healthier fish working group which forms the basis of guidance for planning unannounced inspections.
Some of the information you have requested is available from the FHI pages of the Scottish Government website. In particular, information on unannounced inspections and risk assessments to establish frequency of surveillance can be found at the following web link: Surveillance programme - Fish Health Inspectorate - gov.scot. In addition, information on minimum requirements of operators in relation to biosecurity practices on sites can be found at the following web link: Biosecurity Measures Plan - gov.scot.
Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.
Some of the information you have requested (e.g. completed surveillance frequency assessment forms and details of inspections of biosecurity measures plans) is included in case information recorded during Fish Health Inspectorate visits. The individual cases are published on our website at the link here:
Publication of Fish Health Inspectorate information - gov.scot.
Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.
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.
Additional information provided out with the EIRs
Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to advise you that, in addition to the enclosed SOPs, inspectors undergo an extended period of training following recruitment and prior to undertaking unaccompanied visits. During this initial, on-the-job training situational guidance is provided by mentoring inspectors relating to when it is appropriate to postpone or cancel inspections. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, considering multiple factors such as weather conditions, site biosecurity plans, current information on the health status of the site, staff availability and water temperature. Consideration is also given to the reason provided by the site if they are requesting a delay to the visit e.g., we would not wish our attendance to delay a planned treatment. In some cases an inspector will confer with a senior member of the FHI to decide whether it is appropriate to postpone or cancel a visit.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG