Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act - Children 1st correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for "copies of correspondence between the Scottish Government and Children 1st concerning the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill/Act, between 01 October 2019 and 05 December 2019, including letters, and emails" and "copies of internal documents relating to the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill/Act, which involve or mention Children 1st, from the same period, including emails, minutes from meetings, notes and memos."

Response

I enclose at Annex A some of the information you requested. This comprises:

Document 1: extract from email from a Scottish Government official to Children 1st on 7 October 2019 at 15:42
Document 2: extract from email from Children 1st to a Scottish Government official on 5 December 2019 at 11:21
Document 3: extract from email from a Scottish Government official to Children 1st on 5 December 2019 at 12:26
Document 4: extract from email from a Children 1st to a Scottish Government official on 5 December 2019 and 13:37
Document 5: extract from agenda for the Implementation Group meeting held on 28 November 2019
Document 6: minutes of Implementation Group meeting held on 23 September 2019. These will be published on the Scottish Government website shortly and are attached separately.

Some of the information you requested is available from https://www.fph.org.uk/media/2674/openletter-children-equal-protection-from-assault-scotland-2.pdf. At this link you will find an open letter from the Faculty of Health co-signed by Children 1st.

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 27(1) (information intended for future publication), 30(b)(i) (free and frank provision of advice), 30(b)(ii) (free and frank provision of views), 38(1)(b) (third party personal data) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained below.

Exemption under s27(1)
The exemption under section 27(1) applies where there is a plan by a public authority to publish the information within the next 12 weeks. This is the case in relation to some of the information you have requested. 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 some public interest in release due to the public interest in the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that information which is disclosed is full and accurate.

Exemption under s30(b)(i)
This applies where disclosure of information would, or would be likely to, cause substantial harm to the free and frank provision of advice. 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 some public interest in release due to the nature of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring advice can be offered freely and frankly, including that which relates to legislation and involvement with or discussion of external stakeholders.

Exemption under s30(b)(ii)
This applies where disclosure of information would, or would be likely to, cause substantial harm to, the free and frank exchange of views. This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'.
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 some public interest in release because of the debate on the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that free and frank advice can be exchanged as part of the development of approaches to legislation and its implementation.

Exemption under s38(1)(b)
In this instance we are also unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section s.38(1) (b) (third party personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because some of the information you have asked for is the personal data of third parties and disclosing it (such as names or personal details) would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. 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.

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/201900008926 - Annex A

File type

1 page PDF

File size

86.7 kB

FOI/201900008926 - Implementation Group meeting minutes - 23.09.19

File type

3 page PDF

File size

87.1 kB