Scottish Greens documentation about the budget: FOI release

Information requested

1. All correspondence and minutes/notes from meetings between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government about the budget in the last two months.

2. All documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about the block grant transparency report, between October 1 2025 and January 30 2026.

3. All documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about the network of international offices, since January 4 2026.

Response

Question 1 - Could you supply all correspondence and minutes/notes from meetings between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government, about the Budget, from the last two months?

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.

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(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) and section 30(c) (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained below.

Section 38(1)(b): 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. contact details of individuals and names of officials, 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.

Moreover, some information you have requested is exempt from release under section 30(c) of FOISA: prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs.

It is essential for Ministers to be able to communicate, often in confidence, with external stakeholders (such as opposition party spokespeople) on a range of issues, including the Scottish Budget 2026- 27. Disclosing this communication, particularly without the consent of the stakeholder, is likely to undermine their trust in the Scottish Government and will substantially inhibit communications on this type of issue in the future. These stakeholders will be reluctant to provide their views fully and frankly if they believe that their views are likely to be made public, particularly when these discussions relate to sensitive aspects of the Scottish Budget. This would significantly harm the Government’s ability to carry out many aspects of its work and could adversely affect its ability to gather all the evidence it needs to make fully informed decisions.

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. 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 Ministers and officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s policy position on the Scottish Budget until the Government as a whole can adopt a policy that is sound and likely to be effective. This private space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken based on fully informed advice and evidence, such as that provided by opposition party spokespeople on areas of shared priorities. Disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between the Scottish Government and these stakeholders, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy making process, which would not be in the public interest.

Question 2 - 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 the block grant transparency report, between October 1 2025 and January 30 2026?

While our aim is to provide the requested information wherever possible, in this instance, we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exemption under section 28(1) (relations within the United Kingdom) and section 38(1)(b) (personal information) applies. Further details about these exemptions have been noted below.

An exemption under section 28(1) of FOISA (relations within the UK) applies to the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, substantially prejudice relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government. It is essential for the effective administration of the UK as a whole that there should be regular, and often private, communications between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the other devolved administrations. Disclosure of this information will mean that the UK Government is likely to be more reluctant to communicate as frequently and openly with the Scottish Government in future.

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. 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 maintaining close working relationships between the Scottish Government and the UK Government, and in protecting the free exchange of information between the administrations to ensure that we keep each other fully and regularly informed about matters of mutual interest. There is no public interest in disclosing information when that will damage relationships and disrupt future communications as that may impact on the effectiveness of future policy development and implementation work.

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

Question 3 - 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 the network of international offices, since January 4 2026?

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. Following a provisional search by 5 members of staff out of a possible 70, using the term “international offices” and known terms that would be related to the work of the “network of international offices” this significantly exceeded the upper cost limit of £600. 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.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. You would have to significantly narrow the term of reference used in this search and the date range. 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.

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 202600507492 - Information released - Annex

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