Publication - FOI/EIR release

Correspondence from the Directorate for Justice regarding various queries: FOI release

Published: 23 April 2026
Directorate: Justice Directorate
Topic: Law and order, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202600505829
Date received: 10 February 2026
Date responded: 10 March 2026

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about Non-fatal strangulation not being a standalone offence in Scotland, from the last three months?
Could you supply any analysis or briefings written by or for the government, about public safety after early prisoner release schemes, from the last six months?
Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about a grooming gang inquiry, from the last month?
Could you supply all correspondence received by the Scottish Government regarding its trans prison policy, from the last two months?
Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about fire station closures, from the last month?

Response

I have provided an explanation of what information we have been able to provide for each question, outlining the reasons why some information has been redacted or deemed as out of scope of your request.

I enclose a copy of the information that has been provided.

Question 1 – Some information released

The request relates to policy being developed on the non-fatal strangulation. Subsequent to the request being made, a Scottish Government consultation has been published which presents the position of the Scottish Government - Improving protections in the justice system for women and girls - gov.scot.

Several exemptions apply to the information requested. The exemptions include:

Exemption under section(s) 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This relates to the personal data of a third party. 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.
An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA and an exemption under section 30(c) applies to some of the information you have requested. These exemptions are the free and frank provision of advice exemption and prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs exemption.

These exemptions are 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 exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because it is important where possible there is transparency in how the Scottish Government considers issues. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring officials and Ministers have private space to consider policy before it is presented to the public and Parliament.

Question 2 – Some information released

Several exemptions apply to the information requested. This is clearly identified in the information that has been provided. The exemptions include:

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, 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 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.

Exemptions under section 30(b)(i) and section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) applies to some of the information you have requested. These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. The exemptions recognise the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to both other government officials and Ministers when discussing SPS policy relating to the management of transgender prisoners.

The above exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all of the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank advice to Ministers, to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good decisions can be taken. Disclosing the content of such free and frank exchange of views will substantially inhibit the communication of such matters in the future, which would not be in the public interest.

Question 3 – No information released

Some of the terms you have specified under this questions led to a high number of search results. To locate and retrieve that information we would need to conduct a search of all of the records of the Scottish Government.

Under Section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600.

For example, you could shorten the time frame of the correspondence, narrow the subject matter search terms you are interested in, or restrict your request to a specific business area of the Scottish Government, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would require to be conducted.

You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

Question 4 – some information released

Whilst 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 under section 38(1)(b), section 30(b) (i), and section 32(1)(b)(ii) of FOISA apply to elements of the correspondence you requested.

The reasons why these apply are explained below.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, 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.

Exemptions under section 30(b)(i) and section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) applies to some of the information you have requested. These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. The exemptions recognise the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to both other government officials and Ministers when discussing SPS policy relating to the management of transgender prisoners.

An exemption under section 36(1) of FOISA (confidentiality of communications) applies to some of the information requested because it is legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege.

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, although we recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open and transparent government, and to inform the public debate. However, this is outweighed by the strong public interest in maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between legal advisers and clients, to ensure that Ministers and officials are able to receive legal advice in confidence, like any other public or private organisation.

Question 5 – some information released

You may be aware that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service launched its Service Delivery Review consultation with 23 options for change in summer 2025. Some of these options relate to possible fire station closures. Documentation that we hold, in the period requested, relates to the wider Service Delivery Review and its mechanics.

We have identified one piece of correspondence to Scottish Government that explicitly mentions a potential fire station closure and we have released both the incoming correspondence and our reply which I trust is helpful.

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.