Ministerial Roundtable on Spiking: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202300384168

1. The dates of all the meetings of the ministerial roundtable on spiking.

2. Who attended these meetings.

3. The agenda, minutes and any supporting papers discussed at the meeting.

4. Please can you also provide any ministerial briefings on spiking for the last three years.

5. Please can you provide the internal correspondence that led to the decision being taken to postpone the planned October spiking roundtable.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for the following information for the last three years:

1. The dates of all the meetings of the ministerial roundtable on spiking.
2. Who attended these meetings.
3. The agenda, minutes and any supporting papers discussed at the meeting.
4. Please can you also provide any ministerial briefings on spiking for the last three years.
5. Please can you provide the internal correspondence that led to the decision being taken to postpone the planned October spiking roundtable.

I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed, with modifications.

Some of the information you requested had already published in a response to FOI request 202300338809. That request was dated 19 January 2023 and broadly covered points 1-3 in the request under review. The response to your request of 8 November 2023 therefore considered information relating to points 4 and 5, as well as any information relating to 1-5 in the period between the two requests.

I have reconsidered the application of exemption under section 30(b)(i) (free and frank provision of advice) of FOISA to some of the information you requested, in light of the points made in your review request. I have concluded this was appropriately applied on the whole. Reasons are set out in the response dated 7 December 2023:

"This exemption applies to the request for minutes, papers, Ministerial briefings and internal correspondence because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for partners and officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to Ministers and other officials before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view."

"This exemption is also 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 allowing a private space within which partners and officials can provide full and frank advice to Ministers and other officials as part of the Government policy process."

"This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers, officials and partners, on a sensitive area of policy."

I recognise the public interest in this area of work, as you have set out in your email, but I have also considered the importance of a private thinking space for officials and key stakeholders (including those working with and representing victims) to develop and provide free and frank advice to ministers. That process of policy development is still live and the issues involved are sensitive. I have therefore concluded that the greater public interest lies in not disclosing this information at this time.

I have also considered the application of the exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information), and have concluded this was appropriately applied, for the reasons set out in the response dated 7 December 2023.

However, I have concluded that some documents which were withheld in their entirety in the original FOI response can be partially released with redactions relating to the two exemptions already mentioned, as well as that under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation), and also section 25(1) (information already published).

The section 30(b)(ii) exemption applies if disclosure is likely to substantially inhibit free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This can be applied to meetings of the Ministerial roundtable on spiking, and the public interest test met, for the reasons set out above.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. I have provided weblinks where this exemption has been applied. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

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 202400393148 - Information released - Annex

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108 page PDF

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510.5 kB