Freedom of Information (FOI) training materials: FOI release

Information requested

Documentation provided to Government employees for the purpose of training to deal with FOI requests.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

We have interpreted your request to mean training materials used for Scottish Government-wide training sessions. The attached information comprises the documents provided to Scottish Government civil servants attending the in-house core skills handling course, which provides an initial grounding in how to respond to FOI/EIR requests. Also included is a copy of the mandatory training undertaken by all civil servants, which trains them in how to identify a FOI/EIR request if they receive one. In addition to training sessions and materials, civil servants can access intranet-based guidance on specific elements of the process, individual exemptions etc. Some business areas may also provide local training from time to time. Civil servants are also directed to consult the guidance provided by the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner (OSIC).

It should be noted that our guidance is constantly evolving. Some of the information provided here, notably the content of a former SharePoint site, has been partially superseded in custom and practice but is retained for its value in some key areas

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. Where documents refer to further documentation not included here, that information is no longer held and has yet to be updated. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names/contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 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 202300374455 - Information released - Attachments

File type

416 page PDF

File size

5.4 MB