Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity answer (parliamentary question: S6T-00960): FOI release

Information requested

On 15th November 2022, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, Lorna Slater, gave the following answer in the Scottish Parliament, in response to a question from Liam Kerr MSP:

https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-inparliament/meeting-of-parliament-15-11-2022?meeting=13988&iob=126730#orscontributions_M16215E355P844C2440402

This FOI request concerns her statement that: "Ministers became aware of the issue on Tuesday 8 November ahead of the publication of the report by These Islands."

The above statement is either true, or it is false.

If the statement is true:
Please explain how the statement is consistent with an email sent to Liam Kerr by Angus Robertson's Deputy Private Secretary on 22nd February 2023, which reads:

Good morning Mr Kerr
Please see the below response from Mr Robertson.
Thank you for your follow up email of 7th February 2023, please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you.
Officials emailed advice to my private office against using the 25% statistic, noting that it was poorly evidenced, on the 28th September 2022.
Kind regards.

If the statement is false:
Please explain why Lorna Slater has not made a correction, either in the Scottish Parliament or to the Official Report, despite numerous points of order questioning the accuracy of her answer.

Response

FOISA gives you the right to request recorded information held by the Scottish Government at the time when you make your request. As your enquiry is a direct question regarding the accuracy of a statement, and does not request recorded information held by the Scottish Government, there is no relevant information I can provide you with under FOISA. This is a formal notice under S.17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

I can however confirm the statement made by Ms Slater in the Chamber that Ministers became aware of the report by These Islands on 8 November.

If you wish to make any future Freedom of Information requests, you may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx

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