Information regarding Interpol general assembly: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for information contained in any communications, meetings, discussions and notes regarding the Scottish Government's involvement in any discussions relating to, the hosting, preparation and any lobbying for the Interpol general assembly which is to be hosted in Glasgow next year (2024) including information contained in any communications, meetings and discussions with Scottish policing agencies, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and UK Police authorities including the Home Office, and UK Government and any other organisation or authority from January 2022 to the date of this FOI request.

Response

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

Some of the information you have requested is available from: Correspondence on Interpol Glasgow Conference: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). An exemption under section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because we intended to publish that information within 12 weeks of the date of your request. This information has now been published at the link provided. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Exemptions under sections: s.30(c); s.30(b)(ii); s.38(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested.

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. The effective conduct of public affairs relies on officials being able to provide advice and exchange views and disclosure of this information would create a chilling effect on their ability to do so.

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 very little public interest in release because it relates to a discussion about the design of a logo. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in creating a space where officials can deliberate and share views that could be seen to be controversial outside of the context in which they were shared.

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA (otherwise prejudice effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because the information requested would provide public access to private meetings which would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs which, at times, relies on privacy. We consider there to be very little public interest in accessing private meetings.

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, e.g. 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.

Our aim is to provide information whenever possible. However, in this instance, some of the information you have requested is not held by the Scottish Government for the purposes of FOISA because we received it in confidence from the UK Government. This means that, under the terms of section 3(2)(a) (ii) of FOISA, we are unable to disclose it in response to your request. However, you may wish to submit a new request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) to Home Office who should be able to help you further.

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 202300384398 - Information Released - Annex

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47 page PDF

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496.0 kB