Independence Referendum Bill Supreme Court Correspondence: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
Any correspondence between special advisers, senior civil servants within either the constitution or legal directorate, and ministers within the Scottish Government and SNP party officials around the Supreme Court reference of the independence referendum bill. This should cover the calendar year of 2022 and exclude MSPs.
Response
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, exemptions under 30(b)(i) (substantial inhibition of free and frank provision of advice), 30(b)(ii) substantial inhibition of free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) and 38(1)(b) (personal data of a third party) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why these exemptions apply is explained in Annex A of this letter.
Some of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Parliament and SNP websites. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. However, in the interests of being helpful, we have provided links to the relevant material below:
Meeting of the Parliament: 23/11/2022 | Scottish Parliament Website
Nicola Sturgeon’s address about Scotland’s future — Scottish National Party (snp.org)
Some of the information you have requested is enclosed within Annex B of this letter. This includes redactions as explained above.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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