University of St Andrews draft ordinances correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

I am requesting copies of all correspondence and records of communication held by the Scottish Government concerning the University of St Andrews’ recent ordinance review and proposed draft ordinances.

This request includes correspondence, emails, attachments, meeting notes, records of calls, internal notes, comments, tracked changes, legal or policy observations, and any preliminary, draft or final comments provided by the Scottish Government in relation to the proposed ordinances.

The request covers Draft Ordinance Nos. 135, 136, 137, 138 and 139, including any existing ordinances, enactments, statutory provisions or approval processes which those draft ordinances proposed to revoke, replace, amend or rely upon.

In particular, I am seeking information relating to:

1. Draft Ordinance No. 135, concerning the composition of the University Court, including the proposed removal or replacement of the Rector’s Assessor and the proposed substitution of that role with an additional Students’ Association representative or nominee;

2. Draft Ordinance No. 136, concerning the election or tenure of the Chancellor;

3. Draft Ordinance No. 137, concerning the election of the Rector;

4. Draft Ordinance No. 138, concerning academic titles;

5. Draft Ordinance No. 139, concerning General Council membership, registration and meetings;

6. Any discussion or analysis of the legal competence of altering statutory offices, statutory nomination rights, statutory Court membership, or the powers, duties, jurisdictions and privileges of chancellors, rectors or assessors under the Universities (Scotland) Acts 1858, 1889 and 1966, the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016, and any other relevant enactment, ordinance, Order in Council or statutory instrument.

7. Any discussion, commentary or analysis concerning the statutory implications of removing the Rector’s Assessor from the composition of the University Court, including whether this would affect a statutory office, statutory nomination right, or the constitutional relationship between the Rector, the Rector’s Assessor and the University Court;

8. Any discussion, commentary or analysis concerning the proposed replacement of the Rector’s Assessor with an additional Students’ Association representative or nominee, including whether such a substitution was considered legally competent through the ordinance process;

9. Any discussion or analysis of whether a Students’ Association representative or nominee is legally or constitutionally equivalent to an assessor nominated by the Rector;

10. Any correspondence or analysis concerning the role of the Privy Council, approval by Order in Council, or consultation with the Scottish Government in relation to the proposed ordinances.

The relevant period is from January 1st 2023 to the date of this request. This timeframe is intended to capture any early discussions, preliminary advice, informal consultation, statutory consultation, draft comments, final comments, and follow-up correspondence concerning the ordinance review.

For clarity, I am requesting both:
(a) correspondence and records of communication between the Scottish Government and the University of St Andrews; and
(b) internal Scottish Government correspondence, notes, comments or analysis concerning the University’s proposed draft ordinances.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you have requested under Annex A.

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

An exemption under section 36(1) of FOISA (confidentiality in legal proceedings) 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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open and transparent government, and to inform 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.

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 202600519070 - Information released - Annex A

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