Various questions regarding COVID-19: FoI release

Information requested

1. How many of Humza Yousaf's cabinet use their personal emails for government business? List of who does.

2. What was the final outcome of Ruth Charteris investigating into missing WhatsApps as referenced here: https://news.sky.com/story/scotlands-first-minister-humza-yousaf-to-fully-investigate-concerns-messages-not-handed-to-uk-covid-inquiry-12993150

- Could you supply any documents to back up the fact she launched a probe in the first place?

3. All correspondence, including internal correspondence, notes and briefings written, sent between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Covid Bereaved, from between October 1 2023 and the date of
this FOI?

4. How much did the Scottish Government spend on its test and trace app overall, with a breakdown of these costs?

Response

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

2. The Sky News article you refer to in question 2 relates to the First Minister’s request of 26 October 2023 for the Permanent Secretary to ensure all steps are being taken to meet the UK Covid-19 inquiry’s
requests and for the Solicitor General to satisfy herself that the Scottish Government has met all its legal obligations. In response to both parts of question 2, please find attached a copy of the letter sent
by the Permanent Secretary to the First Minister on 29 December 2023 in relation to the First Minister’s requests.

3. I enclose a copy of all correspondence, including internal correspondence, sent between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Covid Bereaved, between October 1 2023 and the 9 January
2024 as you requested.

• Letter from Cab Sec Health 16 October 2023
• Letter from Scottish Covid Bereaved - 27 October 2023
• Correspondence from the First Minister 31 October 2023
• Letter to Humza Yousaf 10th November 2023
• Letter from DFM to to Covid Bereaved Families - 10.11.23
• Correspondence from the First Minister 8 December 2023
• Internal email chains regarding Scottish Covid Bereaved

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 30(b)(i) and 30(b)(ii) (free and frank exchange of views), section 38(1)(b) (personal information) and section 30(c) (otherwise prejudice effective conduct of public affairs) of FOISA applies.

Section 30(b)(i) and 30(b)(ii)
These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. These exemptions recognise the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to Ministers before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank advice on Scottish Government engagement with the Scottish Covid Bereaved Group, which is a Core Participant of the Scottish and UK Covid Inquiries, regarding matters that relate to the independent investigation of those Inquiries will substantially inhibit the provision of such advice in the future, particularly because the Scottish and UK Covid 19 Inquiries investigations are still ongoing and the release of matters currently under investigation by those inquiries is likely to cause harm to the ability of either inquiry to conduct its investigations as effectively and thoroughly as required under its terms of reference. For these reasons, I have concluded that the exemption applies.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances f 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, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank advice to Ministers as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s position on engagement with another Core Participant of the Scottish and UK Covid-19 Inquiries, This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the Scottish Government’s engagement with the other Core Participants of the Inquiry which is likely to cause harm to the ability of either inquiry to conduct its investigations as effectively and thoroughly as required under its terms of reference, which would not be in the public interest.

Section 38(1)(b)
An exemption 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 exemption.

Section 30(c)
An exemption under section 30(c) - prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs applies to a small amount of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosing the content of the 
discussions between Core Participants of the Scottish and UK Covid Inquiries, regarding matters that relate to the independent investigation of those Inquiries will substantially inhibit those discussions in the
future, particularly because the UK Covid 19 Inquiries investigations are still ongoing and the release of matters currently under investigation by the inquiry is likely to cause harm to the ability of the inquiry to
conduct its investigations as effectively and thoroughly as required under its terms of reference. For these reasons, I have concluded that the exemption applies.

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, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the process of how the Scottish and UK Covid-19 Public Inquiries
conduct their investigations. Premature disclosure of this information is likely to undermine the quality of the Scottish Government’s engagement with other key witnesses of the Inquiry which is likely to cause
harm to the ability of either inquiry to conduct its investigations as effectively and thoroughly as required under its terms of reference, which would not be in the public interest.

4. The total cost of the test and trace app was £740,011.  £450,000 was to develop the app, with the remaining costs devoted to running the app and ensuring it was interoperable with other parts of the UK and Common Travel Area.

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 202400392573 - Information released

File type

45 page PDF

File size

3.5 MB