Ministerial car journeys made on Wednesday 22 September 2020: FOI release

Information requested

Details of all ministerial car journeys on Wednesday 22 September 2021. The documentation would include all records of which Minister / Cabinet Secretary / First Minister travelled by ministerial car on September 22 2021 and may also include information on the journey distance and the specific event or reason for each journey.

Response

Below is a copy of some of the information requested.

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, after consideration of the public interest test, we consider that exemptions under sections s38 (1) (b) (third party data) and s39(1) (health and safety) of FOISA apply.

The reason why we consider that these exemptions apply is explained in the Annex. 

Annex
An exemption under section 38(1) (b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The disclosure of personal addresses of Ministers and officials would contravene any of the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the UK GDPR.

An exemption under section 39(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The disclosure of journeys for the First Minister, could allow the identification of journey patterns and would, or would likely to, endanger the safety of an individual.

These exemptions are subject to the 'public interest test'. 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 either of the exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions. We recognise that there is some public interest in release, because the public may wish to know the journey information of the First Minister. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the safety of individuals.

Government Car Service journeys 22 September 2021

Date	Minister	From	To	Distance (miles)	Event	Reason for journey
22/09/21	Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care	Personal address	Scottish Parliament	68	Ministerial engagements (Parliament)	Following medical advice.
22/09/21	Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care	Scottish Parliament	Personal address	68	Ministerial engagements (Parliament)	Following medical advice.

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.