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Publication - FOI/EIR release

Gender Reform Recognition Bill: FOI release

Published
15 August 2024
Directorate
Justice Directorate
Topic
Law and order, Public sector
FOI reference
FOI/202300385351
Date received
16 November 2023
Date responded
15 December 2023

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

Information requested

1. Full costs of the court case about the Gender Reform Recognition Bill, including expenses claims, and a full breakdown of these costs.

2. How many civil servants worked on the court case and what were their roles?

3. Correspondence between the Scottish Government, including internal correspondence, and Scottish Trans, between January 1 2023 and the date of this FOI about the Gender Reform Recognition Bill.

4. Could you supply all papers and reports submitted to the Court of Session in defence of the aforementioned bill?

5. All briefings prepared for ministers, and all notes and correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal correspondence, about the FiLiA women's Rights conference held in Glasgow between Friday October 13 and October 15, between August 2023 and the date of this FOI.

6. All briefings prepared for ministers, and all notes and correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal correspondence, about Andrew Miller, between October 2023 and the date of this FOI.

7. How much money has the Scottish Government spent on Healthier Scotland surrogacy and sperm donations campaign, with a breakdown of these costs?

Response

1. Full costs of the court case about the Gender Reform Recognition Bill, including expenses claims, and a full breakdown of these costs.

Most of the information you have requested is available from Gender recognition reform - Section 35 Order: judicial review costs - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). 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 because litigation is ongoing and it would be speculative to comment on what the total costs and expense of the challenge would be, or who will meet them. This is formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the information is not held.

2. How many civil servants worked on the court case and what were their roles?

In this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because we do not hold a record of the number and roles of staff who have been involved in the case. This is formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the information is not held.

3. Correspondence between the Scottish Government, including internal correspondence, and Scottish Trans, between January 1 2023 and the date of this FOI about the Gender Reform Recognition Bill.

I enclose a copy of the information you have requested in Document 1.

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 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.

4. Could you supply all papers and reports submitted to the Court of Session in defence of the aforementioned bill?

You are referring to the judicial review of the UK Government’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (Prohibition on Submission for Royal Assent) Order 2023. Most of the information information provided solely by the Scottish Government as part of the judicial review is already accessible to you. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you this information, however if you do not have internet access then please contact me again:

An exemption under section 37(1)(a)(i)) of FOISA (court records) applies to some of the information because it is lodged with the court for the purposes of proceedings in the case and was either lodged with the court or is held by the Scottish Government solely because of the court proceedings and not for any other business purpose. 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 28(1) of FOISA about relations with the UK also applies to some of the information. It is essential for the effective administration of the UK as a whole that there should be regular communications between the Scottish and UK Governments. Disclosure of this information will mean that frequent and open communication will be inhibited in the future. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. 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 maintaining relationships between the Scottish and the UK Governments, and in protecting the free exchange of information between the administrations.

5. All briefings prepared for ministers, and all notes and correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal correspondence, about the FiLiA women's Rights conference held in Glasgow between Friday October 13 and October 15, between August 2023 and the date of this FOI.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because we do not hold briefing or correspondence about the conference. This is formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the information is not held.

6. All briefings prepared for ministers, and all notes and correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal correspondence, about Andrew Miller, between October 2023 and the date of this FOI.

I enclose a copy of the information you have requested in Document 2.

An exemption under section 17(1) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount 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 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.

Exemptions under sections 30(b)(i) and 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank advice and exchange of views) apply to some of the information requested. These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. The exemptions recognise the need for Ministers to have a private space within which to seek advice and views from officials before reaching the settled public position. Disclosing the content of free and frank advice will substantially inhibit such advice in the future. These exemptions are subject to the ‘public interest test’. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions. 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 to Ministers. 

An exemption under section 36(1) of FOISA (confidentiality) applies to some of the information requested because it is legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege. This
exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release. However, this is outweighed by the strong public interest in maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between legal advisers and clients, to ensure that Ministers and officials are able to receive legal advice in confidence, like any other public or private organisation.

7. How much money has the Scottish Government spent on Healthier Scotland surrogacy and sperm donations campaign, with a breakdown of these costs?

Scottish Government health campaigns relate to egg and sperm donation and do not cover surrogacy. The current egg and sperm campaign is being delivered in partnership with NHS Scotland and a breakdown of the cost is as follows:

Paid-for-media
£49,301.60 inc VAT

Production
£1,218.00 inc VAT

Total: £50,519.60 inc VAT

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 - 202300385351 - Information released - Annex A
File type
PDF
File size
252.2 kB

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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