Publication - FOI/EIR release

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 27 September 2023: EIR release

Published: 12 March 2024
Directorate: Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate
Topic: Farming and rural, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202300378332
Date received: 27 September 2023
Date responded: 15 November 2023

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

All briefing notes that were provided to Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, in advance of her appear of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 27 September.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

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, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response to your request

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

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance weare unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exceptions under regulation 10(4)(e) (internal communications) and regulation 11(2) (personal data of a third party) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why these exceptions apply are explained below.

Some of the information you have requested is available online already and so weblinks to where the information can be found publicly already have been included within the item 1 briefing document released to you:

four of these weblinks can be found on page 5 in “Section A – Letter from RAI Committee and responses.”
a further eleven weblinks (to published Parliamentary Questions (PQs)) can be found in “Section D - Scottish Veterinary Service PQs.”

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.

Exceptions apply

Regulation 10(4)(e) – internal communications in relation to general policy and decisionmaking
An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information you have requested because it is internal communication between Scottish Government Ministers and officials about areas that are still subject to live Ministerial decision making or where an issue is still in development. This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the discussions will be disclosed in the near future, when it may undermine or constrain the Government’s view on an issue while it is still under discussion and development.

Regulation 11(2) – applicant has asked for personal data of a third party
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party 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 exception 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 exception.

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.