Correspondence between the SG and the UK Government covering the issue of HPMAs: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
“I would like to ask for the correspondence between the Scottish government and the United Kingdom Government covering the issue of HPMAs since 01 December 2022, up to the present. Specifically I would like sight of this correspondence if possible, should that not be possible I would like the date and the name/position of the people involved in the correspondence.”
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
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, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
Response
I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested: items 1 to 4.
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) 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 exception 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.
One item has been withheld in full. This was a document attached to item 4. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are refusing part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reason why that exception applies is explained below.
Our aim is to provide information whenever possible. However, in this instance, some of the information you have requested is not held by the Scottish Government for the purposes of the EIRs because we received it in confidence from the UK Government. This means that, under the terms of regulation 2(2) of the EIRs, we are unable to disclose it in response to your request.
This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the information contained within the withheld attachment, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
However, you may wish to submit a new request under the UK Environmental Information Regulations 2004 to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) who should be able to help you further:
Defra, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
defra.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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