Minutes of any Transport Scotland/CMAL Liaison meetings: FOI release

Information requested

• Minutes of any Transport Scotland/CMAL Liaison meetings held between 1 May 2014 and 31 July 2015.
• Minutes of any Tripartite (CMAL/Transport Scotland/CalMac) meetings held between 1 May 2014 and 31 July 2015.
• Any record of meetings that took place on 24 September 2014 between Transport Scotland officials and Transport Minister Keith Brown that took place, and/or any associated briefing/submission documents relating to the Ferguson shipyard or the procurement of new ferries. A “discussion” on this date was referenced on page 17 of 202300351474 EIR response but was not included in the response itself.
• Any record of meetings or correspondence/briefing/submission documents relating to the Ferguson shipyard or the procurement of new ferries from 24 August 2014. A “submission” on this date was referenced on page 17 of 202300351474 EIR response but was not included in the response itself.
• Any record of a conference call that took place between Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL on 19th June 2014.

Response

Although not part of your original request, you may also wish to consider the additional material describing key events of the procurement process from 2015 onwards, the build updates and the events leading to Ferguson Marine being taken into public ownership. Documents relating to these topics and progress since then can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.scot/collections/ferguson-marine-documents/

Minutes of any Transport Scotland/CMAL Liaison meetings held between 1 May 2014 and 31 July 2015.

Information requested is enclosed within Annex A.

Minutes of any Tripartite (CMAL/Transport Scotland/CalMac) meetings held between 1 May 2014 and 31 July 2015.

Information requested is enclosed within Annex B.

Within Annex A and Annex B, both of which have been sent under separate cover, we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of the FOISA (personal information of a third party) applies to some of the information requested 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 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 exception.

We are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 33(1)(b)) of FOISA (commercial sensitivity) applies as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person or organisation. An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it is likely to prejudice substantially the commercial interests of the parties. This has been applied to specific pieces of information related to commercial costs and budgets disclosed in the minutes of meetings and submissions to Ministers. We have applied this exemption as release of the information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of the commercial entities involved. Release of this information is likely to provide information regarding the operational run costs, procurement approaches and maintenance schedules of the involved business which could weaken their position, while providing commercially sensitive information to potential competitors. The information is not in the public interest given it could have a bearing on and potentially prejudice the commercial interests of the parties involved in terms of placing them at a competitive disadvantage.

It is in the public interest that these businesses can operate and negotiate effectively in commercial contexts to ensure the continued profitability and viability of the business. 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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which enter into Scottish Government contracts to ensure that we are always able to obtain the best value for public money.

Any record of meetings that took place on 24 September 2014 between Transport Scotland officials and Transport Minister Keith Brown that took place, and/or any associated briefing/submission documents relating to the Ferguson shipyard or the procurement of new ferries. A “discussion” on this date was referenced on page 17 of 202300351474 EIR response but was not included in the response itself.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

Any record of meetings or correspondence/briefing/submission documents relating to the Ferguson shipyard or the procurement of new ferries from 24 August 2014. A “submission” on this date was referenced on page 17 of 202300351474 EIR response but was not included in the response itself.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

Following review of page 17 of 202300351474 EIR response I can confirm that the 24 August date recorded was done so in error. We have confirmed with the sender that this should have read “20 August 2014.” No submission dated 24 August 2014 exists. Relevant sections of the submission from the 20 August 2014 was provided previously within 202300351474 EIR response.

Any record of a conference call that took place between Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL on 19th June 2014.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

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.