Publication - FOI/EIR release

Correspondence relating to council tax freezes: FOI release

Published: 12 March 2024
Directorate: Local Government and Housing Directorate
Topic: Housing, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202300381631
Date received: 19 September 2023
Date responded: 16 November 2023

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

Information requested

On the 18th October 2023, the Finance Minister Shona Robison made the claim that the decision to freeze Council Tax rates was made less than 48 hours before Humza Yousaf’s announcement and that the decision was made without following the normal consultation and communication methods. I would like to make a Freedom of Information Request regarding Shona Robison’s claims. May I request the following:

Any official guidance from the Scottish Government as to the correct approach to consulting stakeholders before making a policy announcement.
All Scottish Government correspondence (9th October 2023 – 17 October 2023) related to Council Tax in Scotland, including between Ministers, Civil Servants, Special Advisers and local authorities or their representative body COSLA.
All correspondence related to proposals for freezing council tax for the next financial year of 2024-25, including between Ministers, Civil Servants, Special Advisers, and external parties dated between 1 August 2023 and 17 October 2023.
All minutes of the ‘political cabinet’ that was referenced by the Deputy First Minister on 19 October 2023 that made the decision to freeze council tax for the next financial year.

Response

1. Any official guidance from the Scottish Government as to the correct approach to consulting stakeholders before making a policy announcement.

The Scottish Government has published internal guidance on managing stakeholders. Annex A provides a full copy of this guidance, as accessed on 13 November 2023. Please note that hyperlinks to other internal Scottish Government webpages have been removed.

2. All Scottish Government correspondence (9th October 2023 – 17 October 2023) related to Council Tax in Scotland, including between Ministers, Civil Servants, Special Advisers and local authorities or their representative body COSLA.

In undertaking your request, the costs of searching, sifting and redacting the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. Under Section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under Section 12. I have outlined the cost associated in Annex B.

3. All correspondence related to proposals for freezing council tax for the next financial year of 2024-25, including between Ministers, Civil Servants, Special Advisers, and external parties dated between 1 August 2023 and 17 October 2023.

Annex C provides a copy of some of the information you have requested. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide all the information you have requested because under FOISA some of that information is exempt.

In this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under sections s.29(1)(a) (Formulation or development of Scottish Government policy applies to that information), s.30(b)(i) (Free and frank provision of advice) and s.38(1)(b) (personal data of a third party), of FOISA apply to that information.

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, ie names and 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.

An exemption under section 29(1)(a) of FOISA (formulation or development of government policy) applies to some of the information requested because it relates to the formulation and development of policy on Council Tax.

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. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information 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.

An exemption under sections 30(b)(i) (Free and frank provision of advice) and 30(b)(ii) (free and frank exchange of views for the purpose of deliberation) of FOISA applies to some the information you have requested.

These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. 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. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide free and frank advice and views before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of such free and frank exchange of views will substantially inhibit the communication of such matters in the future, which would not be in the public interest.

4. All minutes of the ‘political cabinet’ that was referenced by the Deputy First Minister on 19 October 2023 that made the decision to freeze council tax for the next financial year.

We are unable to provide you with this information under Section 17 of FOISA as this information is not held by the Scottish Government. As noted by the Deputy First Minister, the decision to freeze council tax was not made by the Scottish Cabinet, therefore there are no minutes held by the Scottish Government.

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