Publication - FOI/EIR release

Marine Scotland SARF project on aquaculture: EIR release

Published: 13 March 2018
Directorate: Marine Directorate
Topic: Marine and fisheries, Public sector

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

FOI reference: FOI/18/00275
Date received: 28 January 2018
Date responded: 26 February 2018

Information requested

All information held by Marine Scotland in relation to [the SARF project on aquaculture consenting] including any meetings held, details of tendering for the project, any scoping of the project, terms of reference, details of interim and final delivery and so on. This should also include all correspondence between MS and SARF and/or other SARF members.

Response

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 of exceptions under EIR regulations 11(2) (personal data relating to third parties), regulation 10(4)(d) (material in the course of completion) and regulation 10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information). The reasons why these exceptions apply are explained below.

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

10(4)(d) (material in the course of completion)

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) (material in the course of completion) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because the information is held in draft only. 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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because interest in this review may be significant . However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that documents that have not yet been agreed to are not released to reduce the possibility for misunderstanding and misinformation.

10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information)

An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This is in relation to a completed application form for the project which is considered to be commercially sensitive. 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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because the full details of the application may be of interest to some parties. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that the applicant is not disadvantaged by the release of commercially sensitive information and more generally that any future applicants have faith that similar bidding processes will not disadvantage them through the subsequent release of such information.

11(2) (Personal data relating to third party)

An exception under regulation 11(2) (personal data relating to third party) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. In several cases individuals' names, phone numbers and/or email addresses have been redacted.

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