Proposals for the establishment of freeports in Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

Information relating to proposals for the establishment of freeports (including so-named “Green Freeports”) in Scotland.

1. All Correspondence (letters, emails, phone calls, etc) between the Scottish Government and the UK Government about the establishment of freeports in Scotland dating back to the beginning of 2020.
2. All internal correspondence between Scottish Government ministers regarding the establishment of freeports in Scotland dating back to the beginning of 2020.
3. The number of private businesses or individuals who have expressed an interest in investing in any region of Scotland which has put in a bid to the UK for freeport status to date (please provide the number broken down by the month and year when interest was expressed).

Response

1. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. Due to the broad nature of the request, covering all correspondence at official and ministerial level between Scottish Government and UK Government over a period of more than three years about this complex policy area, the cost of locating, retrieving and providing the information would reach £5400. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12. You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. This could, for example, be done by limiting the request only to correspondence between Scottish Government Ministers and UK Government Ministers. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website.
2. I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption exempts the personal data of a third party from disclosure, in this case the personal data of Scottish Government officials. 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.
3. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Information on investment interest or intentions would be held by Scottish Development International, as Scotland's Trade and Inward Investment Agency. You may wish to contact Scottish Development International directly.

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.

202200335368 - Part 2 - Information for Release - 2023-02-21

File type

31 page PDF

File size

1.2 MB