Communications and governance oversight of key partners within the Scottish entrepreneurial and technology ecosystem: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202600511125

This is in relation to your request entitled Tech Ecosystem Governance, asking for copies of all official and unofficial communications (including emails, meeting notes, briefing documents, Microsoft Teams chats, and informal messages such as Telegram, WhatsApp or Signal) held by the Scottish Government that meet the criteria that you laid out between the 01/01/22 and 31/12/23.

Response

I am writing in connection with your request dated 28 April 2026 under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for an internal review of our response to FOI 202600511125.

In your request for a review, you clarified that you wished to correct an error in your previous correspondence relating to a named individual. As FOI 202600511125 did not ask about that individual, I have not considered this as part of my review.

Having reviewed the response to FOI 202600511125, I have concluded that:

• Part A: the searches conducted were complete and my review has identified no additional information that was in scope. However, I have found that the exemption applied in one of the documents was not correct and that the response to Part A should therefore be modified. An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information you requested because it is personal data of a third party (information shared by a third party via Dropbox) 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. A revised version of that document is attached.
• Part B: by referencing the responses to FOI 202600511127 and FOI 202600511131, the response did not make clear what information was being provided and which, if any, exemptions applied. Having reviewed the responses to FOI 202600511127 and FOI 202600511131 and conducted my own searches, I have identified no information that was in scope of FOI 202600511125, Part B. For clarity, I have treated Part B as distinct from Part A, which covers direct communications between the Scottish Government and the named individuals. I have therefore found that the response should be modified and can confirm, in line with section 17(1) of FOISA, that the Scottish Government does not hold any data within the scope of Part B of your request. No internal or external communications were identified regarding the named individuals in their capacities representing or operating the named organisations.
• Part C: the searches conducted were complete and my review has identified no additional information that was in scope. However, as the response did not reference section 17(1) of FOISA, I have found that it should be modified. I can confirm, in line with section 17(1) of FOISA, that the Scottish Government does not hold any data within the scope of Part C of your request. No communications, memos, or briefing notes were identified regarding complaints, allegations, or concerns of sexual harassment and/or misconduct pertaining to the named individuals, or occurring within the context of the named organisations.

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 202600515761 - Information released - Document

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