Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education) (Scotland) Bill meetings: FOI release

Information requested

Details of all meetings held between officials and/or the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and stakeholders during which any of the following topics were discussed, between July 2025 and December 2025:

• religious observance in schools;
• the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested in 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 because an exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies are explained below.

S.38(1)(b) determines that information is exempt from disclosure if it is the personal data of a third party. As such, the names of some meeting attendees have been redacted.

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 outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

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 202500498500 - Information released - Annex A

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PDF

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124.4 kB