Correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs regarding the Stop and Search Code of Practice: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
(1) Any correspondence sent from Angela Constance on the proposed changes to the Code of Practice for how Scotland's police officers use stop and search powers.
(2) Any correspondence sent to Angela Constance on the proposed changes to the Code of Practice for how Scotland's police officers use stop and search powers.
Response
Some of the information you have requested can be found under Annex B of this response.
Exemptions under sections 29(1)(a) and 30(b)(i) apply to some of the information requested. The reason why these exemptions apply is explained in Annex A of this letter.
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (Personal Information) applies to some of the information 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 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.
In the interests of being helpful, I have included the standardised letters sent to stakeholders around proposed changes to the Code of Practice in Annex B. I have then included a list of the stakeholders that these letters were addressed to.
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