Pardoning of witches: FOI review

Information requested

You asked for review of our failure to respond to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for:

1. A full list of those affected by the decision who were convicted under the Witches Act.
2. Any email, chat group, written correspondence, memos or reports associated with or referencing the decision to pardon Witches.
3. A breakdown of the Civil Service time, and estimated cost in salaries and resources associated with the research and planning prior to the decision and announcement by the First Minister.
4. The cost/benefit analysis of the project, the title of the originating officer and titles of any person on the project team.
5. Confirm whether external legal advice was sought, and the cost.
6. Any analysis of the risks arising from the pardon, of any descendants seeking repetitions or compensation, and any likely costs.

Response

I can now provide our response to your original request.

Although your request has asked for information relating to a ‘Pardon’, no pardon was given. In your email of 15 April, you said that the word “pardon” should be replaced with the word “acknowledge” in your request. It is the Scottish Government’s aim to provide information wherever possible and as such we have interpreted your request as seeking information regarding the apology issued by the First Minister, on behalf of the Scottish Government, on 8 March 2022 to people persecuted under the Witchcraft Act 1563.

The answers to your request are:

1. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. This is because the Scottish Government does not hold either current or historical records of trials and convictions in Scotland’s courts. The National Records of Scotland hold some records of court proceedings; however, in this instance, as the trials were held many hundreds of years ago and many records relating to the trials may been lost, destroyed or no record was kept at the time of the trial. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government do not hold the information that you have requested.

2. I enclose a copy of some of the information you have requested. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 29(1)(a) (policy formulation), section 29(1)(b) (Ministerial communications), section 30(b)(i) (free and frank exchange of views), 30(b)(ii) (free and frank provision of advice for the purpose of deliberation) and section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why the exemptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.

3. Staff time and costs are is not record in the way you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government do not hold the information that you have requested.

4. Staff time and cost are not recorded in the way you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government do not hold the information that you have requested.

5. No legal advice was sought on the legal implications of making an apology to those convicted of witchcraft. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government do not hold the information that you have requested.

6. We have interpreted your request as seeking information regarding an the apology issued by the First Minister, on behalf of the Scottish Government, on 8 March 2022 to people persecuted under the Witchcraft Act 1563. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government do not hold the information that 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.

FOI 202200295186 Information released

File type

24 page PDF

File size

2.3 MB