Publication - FOI/EIR release

Meeting between Minister Ivan McKee and Minister Hubert Aiwanger of Bavaria: FOI release

Published: 12 January 2024
Directorate: External Affairs Directorate
Part of: Public sector
FOI reference: 202200329873
Date received: 12 November 2022
Date responded: 6 December 2022

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Information requested

All briefing documents prepared in advance of the meeting between Minister Ivan McKee and Minister Hubert Aiwanger of Bavaria on 13 June 2022, and all minutes/notes/letters of intent arising from the meeting.

Response

A copy of the information you requested is attached, as follows:

Submission to Scottish Government Ministers regarding the proposal to sign a letter of intent with Bavaria
Ministerial briefing for the meeting
Engagement report of the meeting
Scotland – Bavaria letter of intent (in English)
Scotland – Bavaria letter of intent (in German)
SHFCA – H2.B strategic co-operation agreement

Some of the information in document 2 has been redacted because an exemption under section 30(b)(i) (Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice) of FOISA applies to that information.

Section 30(b)(i) – Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice
Exemptions under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA apply to some of the information in document 2 because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice for the purposes of deliberation. The section 30(b)(i) exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to seek advice and discuss options before reaching a settled public view. Disclosing the content of such advice/discussions will substantially inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and/or exchange of views in the future, particularly while discussions are ongoing and decisions have not been taken, and/or if those discussions relate to sensitive or controversial issues.

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.

Section 38(1)(b) – Personal information
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party (i.e. 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.

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.