Publication - FOI/EIR release

Marine Scotland - Wild salmonid locational guidance and information: EIR review

Published: 2 October 2019
Directorate: Marine Directorate
Topic: Marine and fisheries, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI-19-01408 Review
Date received: 20 August 2019
Date responded: 16 September 2019

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

Information requested

1. Access to the aquaculture constraint and opportunity maps on the NMPi or other electronic platforms. If that cannot be provided without access to specialist software, please provide high resolution print outs or digital images of the wild salmonid mapping layers in the GIS.
2. All documents relating to any wild salmonid locational guidance sensitivity ‘heat maps’ being shown by Marine Scotland to Local Planning Authorities and any correspondence from Local Planning Authorities requesting sight of such wild salmonid sensitivity ‘heat maps’ or other spatial locational guidance from Marine Scotland/Marine Scotland Science.
3. Any information relating to the wild salmonid sensitivity ‘heat map’ published in 2013 by the River and Fisheries Trusts Scotland (RAFTS), including all internal communications on this subject within Marine Scotland/Marine Scotland Science, and correspondence with other Scottish Government departments or external agencies, and with any officials of Scottish public bodies of any type, including Local Planning Authorities, and with individual outside MS.

Response

I have concluded that a different decision should be substituted for point 1, and the original decision should be confirmed without modifications for points 2 and 3.

1. The layers you refer to, in the powerpoint presentation already provided, are not suitable for publication on the Marine Scotland information portal as previously indicated. During preparation of the presentation, higher resolution versions were produced, and these are provided with this letter. As you are aware the information in these maps was incomplete, the Technical Working Group is further developing these outputs, and the maps will not be used in the format provided here or in the presentation. These maps do not represent the Government’s view or position on the matter to which the information relates.
The Technical Working Group consultation on its proposals, expected later in 2019, will include an explanation of the proposed framework and example maps. These maps will not be the format that was used in the powerpoint presentations shown to you or provided here, as that information was incomplete.

2. Local Planning Authorities have been shown the same powerpoint presentations that were shown to you. No other documents have been shown to Local Planning Authorities. We have carried out searches and we do not hold any communication or correspondence on the project.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing this part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

3. As you note, the wild salmonid sensitivity ‘heat map’ was published in 2013 by the River and Fisheries Trusts Scotland (RAFTS). As it is now some time since the RAFTS project was completed, any communication or correspondence is likely to have been deleted in accordance with the retention schedule for that file on our electronic records and document management system. We have carried out searches and we no longer hold any communication or correspondence on the project.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing this part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
The Scottish Government does not have the information
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because:
Under point 2) No documents have been shown to Local Planning Authorities on this subject and following searches, we can find no records of communication or correspondence with Local Planning Authorities.
Under point 3) We have carried out searches and we do not hold any correspondence or internal communications relating to the 2013 RAFTS report.
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. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the information, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

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