Information on Paul Lowe leaving his role as Chief Executive of NRS: FOI release

Information requested

1. When did the Scottish Government find out that Paul Lowe was leaving his role as chief executive of NRS and what were the reasons given for his departure?
2. Will he receive a pay-off/redundancy package/any sort of financial benefit for leaving his role? If so, how much money will he get?
3. All correspondence (including emails, whatsapps, texts and phone calls) between the Scottish Government and NRS regarding him leaving his role?

Response

Whilst I am able to supply some of the information that you requested, I am unable to provide all that you asked for as an exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of that information. This is formal notification that an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested at Questions 1 and 3 because it is personal data of a third party 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 applies because it is personal data of a third party and the names/contact details 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.

1. Conversations took place in November 2022 confirming Paul Lowe stepping down from his role as CE NRS at his request. This followed the re-evaluation of the NRS and some other agency Chief Executive roles from SCS1 to SCS2. The Permanent Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary were notified on 9th December 2022. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide any further information regarding the reasons for his decision to step down. This is because, as explained above, an exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information.
2. Paul Lowe has not been made redundant or been paid any other financial compensation for leaving his role with NRS. He remains a permanent civil servant with the Scottish Government.
3. I attach correspondence you have requested from the Scottish Government, regarding Paul Lowe leaving his role, in redacted form. As explained above, whilst 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 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies. This is because personal information such as phone numbers, staff names, email addresses, as well as personal information were included in email chains. We have carried out the legitimate interest test and concluded that this weighs in favour of the exemption being applied to protect the rights and freedoms of the third parties involved and so have been redacted. I understand that you have submitted the same request to National Records of Scotland. NRS is a separate non-ministerial office that is not considered to fall within Scottish Ministers’ FOISA Public Authority and will therefore respond separately.

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.

Attachments to question 3 response redacted fv - 202300347942

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13 page PDF

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321.6 kB