Director-General Strategy and External Affairs and Director for Culture and External Affairs correspondence regarding Historic Environment Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

All contact including but not limited to emails, whatsapp and teams between Director-General Strategy and External Affairs Shona Reich and Director for Culture and External Affairs Kenneth Hogg from December 2025 which relates to Historic Environment Scotland.

Response

I enclose a copy of the information you requested.

In accordance with the Scottish Government’s data management policies, whatsapp and other similar messaging services, are no longer allowed on government devices. As such, there was no contact between Shona Riach and Kenneth Hogg on such messaging services.

Additionally, individuals within the Scottish Government may meet on an ad hoc basis to discuss topics; meeting notes are not typically recorded for informal discussions.

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 under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

ANNEX

An exemption applies

Exemptions under sections s38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This information contains personal data 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.

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 202600514557 - Information released - Annex

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