Former First Minister meetings with international leaders concerning human rights: FOI release

Information requested

A list of all the occasions on which First Minister Humza Yousaf has met with international leaders or senior foreign representatives; whether the First Minister raised human rights concerns at these meetings; and for copies of any briefing notes prepared for the First Minister before meetings with international leaders or senior foreign representatives which specifically included lines to raise on human rights.

Response

Information on which foreign representatives the First Minister has met is available from https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

The First Minister raised human rights concerns at the following meetings:

• High Commissioner of India (28 September 2023)
• UAE Minister for Environment and Climate Change (4 December 2023)
• Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK (13 December and 17 December 2023)
• Consul General of China (16 January 2024)

I enclose a copy of the briefings prepared for the First Minister’s meetings with international leaders or senior foreign representatives which specifically included lines to raise on human rights. These were for the following meetings:

• High Commissioner of New Zealand (30 May 2023)
• Prime Minister of Iceland (17 August and 20 September 2023)
• High Commissioner of India (28 September 2023)

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information within these briefings because exemptions under sections 32(1)(a) (substantial prejudice to international relations), 33(1)(b) (commercial interests and the economy) and 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information.

The briefing for the First Minister’s meeting with the Consul General of China (16 January 2024) has been withheld because an exemption under section 32(1)(a) (substantial prejudice to international relations) applies to that information. I set out the reasons for these exemptions in more detail below.

Section 32(1)(a) – International relations

An exemption under section 32(1)(a) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice  substantially relations between the UK and the governments of other states. The effective conduct of international relations depends upon maintaining trust and confidence between the UK Government and other states. In this case, disclosing information about Scottish Government engagement with Iceland, New Zealand, China and India would substantially prejudice relations between the UK and these states because there is a need to maintain confidential dialogue in order to ensure that future engagement can take place in a spirit of trust and openness.

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 ensuring that the UK Government is able to maintain good relations with other states, in order to protect and promote UK interests. There can be no public interest in jeopardising those relations by the Scottish Government disclosing this information.

Section 33(1)(b) – Commercial interests

An exemption under Section 33(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial information and thus cause substantial harm to
the stakeholder’s commercial interests. Disclosing this information would be likely to prejudice our relations with the stakeholder and make it more difficult for future engagement to take place in a spirit of trust and openness.

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 and transparent government. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of stakeholders with which we engage and to maintain engagement based on trust.

Section 38(1)(b) – Personal information

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party (i.e. names/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.

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FOI 202400394434 - Information released - Attachments 1 - 3

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