Police Scotland communications concerning the Prostitution (Offences and Support) Bill: FOI release

Information requested

All communication between the Scottish Government and Police Scotland concerning the Prostitution (Offences and Support) Bill.

This should include emails, meeting notes, and any other form of communication.

Response

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 apply, and these are outlined further below.

The e-mails attached relate to updates from Police Scotland ahead of the evidence sessions at the Criminal Justice Committee and the debate on the member’s Bill on prostitution, which we requested given our ongoing joint work in this area.

Exemptions apply to some references within the e-mails attached under section 35(1) of FOISA, which allows public authorities to apply this exemption if disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially one or more of a wide range of law enforcement functions and activities. The scope of Section 35(1)(a) (prevention or detection of crime) includes information relating to wider strategies for crime reduction and detection - where there are such references in the e-mails attached these have been redacted.

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 would be likely be a risk of substantial prejudice to the prevention of crime if this information were to be released.

In the e-mails attached exemptions have also been applied in relation to section 38(1) Personal information- regarding personal data consisting of names and contact details of individuals which is exempt from disclosure under section 38(1)(b) (personal information).

Exemption under Section 38 (personal information) of FOISA contains four exemptions, all relating to personal information. Information is exempt from disclosure if it is:

• the personal data of the person requesting the information (section 38(1)(a));
• the personal data of a third party – but only if other conditions apply (section 38(1)(b));
• personal census information (section 38(1)(c));
• or a deceased person's health record (section 38(1)(d)).

The exemptions in sections 38(1)(a) and (b) regulate the relationship between FOISA, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Processing of personal data must be fair as well as lawful, so fairness needs to be considered separately. Guidance issued by the ICO in relation to the UK GDPR states that fairness means public authorities should only handle personal data in ways that people would reasonably expect and not use it in ways that have unjustified adverse effects on them. Public authorities should therefore consider the following:

• Whether the individual expects their role to be subject to public scrutiny. Consideration should be given to the person’s seniority, whether they have a public profile and whether their role requires a significant level of personal judgement and individual responsibility.
• Whether any distress or damage would be caused to the data subject as a result of the disclosure.
• Any express refusal by the data subject.
• Whether the information relates to the data subject’s public or private life. A person’s private life is likely to deserve more protection.

Therefore, to protect those individuals from unexpected public scrutiny and potential distress or damage caused by disclosure, it is considered that the exemption, detailed above, is applicable in these circumstances.

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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 202600504858 - Information released - Documents

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