Prison officer correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

All correspondence (including emails, letters, meetings and phone calls) between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service and/or prison officers regarding prison officer pay. Please limit the date of this correspondence to 9 December 2021 to the present date and include any minutes of meetings and records of phone calls.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you 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 exemptions under sections s.30(b) and 30(c) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why those exemptions apply are explained below.

An exemption under section s.30(b)(i) of FOISA applies to some the information you have requested. Information is exempt under sections 30(b) if disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially: (i) the free and frank provision of advice (section 30(b)(i)) or (ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation (section 30(b)(ii)). Although the exemption will often be applied to advice or to an exchange of views, it can apply to other types of information. What is important is whether the disclosure would have an inhibiting effect on the provision of advice or on the exchange on views. Information is exempt under section 30(c) of FOISA if disclosure would otherwise prejudice substantially, or be likely to prejudice substantially, the effective conduct of public affairs.

These exemptions are 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 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 as part of open, transparent and accountable government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in avoiding substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice, in particular when the information is forming part of live and on-going negotiations and disclosure might prejudice such negotiations.

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 202200310054 - Information released - Annex

File type

45 page PDF

File size

1.5 MB