Prestwick Airport bids and Coul Links golf course plans: FOI release

Information requested

1. All correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal, notes and briefings held, about bids for Prestwick Airport, between September 1 2023 and the date of this FOI.

2. How much money has the Scottish Government given to Prestwick Airport in each of these years, with a breakdown of what the money was spent on: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024?

3. All correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal, notes and briefings held, about Coul Links golf course plans, between September 2023 and the date of this FOI.

Response

Question 1

All correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal, notes and briefings held, about bids for Prestwick Airport, between September 1 2023 and the date of this FOI.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives everyone the right to ask Scottish public authorities for the information they hold, subject to various provisions and exemptions. It's important to note that the right applies to information, not to documents.

In relation to questions 1 and 2 of your request, while our aim is to provide you information wherever we can, on this occasion after reviewing the information on a line-by-line basis we are unable to provide you with some of the information you have requested as statutory exemptions under FOISA apply. Details on what exemptions apply and why can be found in the annex attached.

Some of the information you have requested is available from the source listed below. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to provide you with 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;

SG - Gaelic - Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy (parliament.scot)

Question 2

How much money has the Scottish Government given to Prestwick Airport in each of these years, with a breakdown of what the money was spent on: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024?

Most of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government via the following link: Costs relating to the sale of Prestwick Airport: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

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.

No Scottish Government funding has been provided to Glasgow Prestwick Airport since 2019.

We have reimbursed Glasgow Prestwick Airport for professional fees incurred during the period 2020- 2023, answered in FOI 202300364968. No additional funds have been provided to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, since 4 July 2023, the date of the previous FOI request.

Question 3

All correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, including internal, notes and briefings held, about Coul Links golf course plans, between September 2023 and the date of this FOI.

Please note, As the information you have requested in Question 3 is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations.

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, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Information on the Coul Links planning application is available here:
https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseDetails.aspx?id=124499.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception applies because the information is internal communications between the Scottish Ministers and their officials which were intended only to inform the considerations of the Scottish Ministers.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, the information relates to a live planning application which has been called in by the Scottish Ministers for their determination.

We consider that the public interest in releasing the information is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that the information does not misinform the public or give a misleading impression of the Government’s view or position on the matter to which the information relates. There is also a greater public interest in high quality decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation of policies. This means that the Scottish Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications.

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 202400396646 - Information released - Attachments 1 - 3

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