Criminal Justice Committee communications concerning the Prostitution (Offences and Support) Bill: FOI release

Information requested

All communication between Siobhan Brown, Minister for Community Safety and the Criminal Justice Committee (Scottish Parliament) concerning the Prostitution (Offences and Support) Bill.

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

Response

Some of the information you have requested is available online, please see links below:

• Criminal Justice Committee 31st Meeting, 2025 | Scottish Parliament Website (agenda and public papers)
• Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website (Letter dated 5 December from Minister for Victims and Community Safety to Criminal Justice Committee)
• Scottish Government Response to the Committee's Stage 1 Report on the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you are unable to access the links I have included, to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide all of the information you have requested because an exemption under Section 29(1)(b) (Ministerial Communications) of FOISA apply to some of that information. In this instance one item of direct correspondence between the Minister for Victims and Community Safety and the Criminal Justice Committee has been identified in relation to the above and can be found at Annex A. Please note that a further exemption under section Section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained below.

Section 29(1)(b) – Ministerial Communications

Information is exempt under section 29(1)(b) if it relates to communications between Ministers. This includes communications relating to proceedings of the Scottish Cabinet (or of any committee of that Cabinet). “Minister” includes junior Scottish ministers as well as members of the Scottish Government.

The exemption covers information “relating to” Ministerial communications, which covers more than just direct communications between Ministers. It could also cover things like: (i) records of discussions between Ministers (ii) drafts of letters/documents, whether or not these were finalised or sent.

Section 38(1)(b) (Personal Information)

Section 38 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) contains four exemptions, all relating to personal information. Information is exempt from disclosure if it is: (i) the personal data of the person requesting the information (section 38(1)(a)); (ii) the personal data of a third party – but only if other conditions apply (section 38(1)(b)); (iii) personal census information (section 38(1)(c)); or (iv) a deceased person’s health record (section 38(1)(d)).

“Personal data” is defined in section 3 of the DPA 2018 (and Article 4 of the UK GDPR) as any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual, who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to: (i) an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data or an online identifier, or (ii) one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the individual.

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 202600504860 - Information released - Annex A

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