Creative Scotland budget: FOI release

Information requested

• A list of all meetings involving the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development relating to Creative Scotland’s Budget since her appointment
• All notes, agendas and minutes relating to these meetings
• All correspondence relating to these meetings

Separately, I would like to request the following information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2002

• A list of all meetings involving the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development relating to the World Cycling Championship since her appointment
• All notes, agendas and minutes relating to these meetings
• All correspondence relating to these meetings

Response

Regarding the first part of your request, the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development attended one meeting relating to Creative Scotland’s budget during the period between the date of her appointment and your request. This was a regular meeting with Creative Scotland held on 13 June 2023. Please find enclosed a copy of all notes, agendas, minutes, and correspondence relating to this meeting as 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 30(b) and 38(1)(b) of FOISA apply to that information.

Regarding the second part of your request, the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. The Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development did not attend any meetings relating to the World Cycling Championship in the period between the date of her appointment and your request.

Exemptions

An exemption under section 30(b) (free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is designed to avoid the release of any information held that would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice if it were released. 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.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal data of a third party) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested, as disclosure would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation. The Scottish Government has a policy of not disclosing the personal data of officials who are not senior civil servants. This exemption means that the names and contact details of officials have been redacted. 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 202300379573 - Information Released - Annex

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