Minimum unit pricing uprate: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you supply all the evidence utilised by the Scottish Government to announce the minimum unit pricing uprate, including details and minutes of meetings held between officials and ministers to decide on the uprate as well as correspondence between officials, ministers and special advisers on the same topic?
-Can this include any cost/benefit analysis done on this topic?

2. Could you supply all the correspondence received and sent by the Scottish government regarding the minimum unit pricing uprate between Monday 5 February and the date of this FOI,including internal correspondence?

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested in your first question would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. This is because considerable resource would be required to retrieve and process the information requested in your first question due to the lack of timeframe provided. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request by specifying a narrower imeframe in order that the costs can be brought below £600. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

With regards to your second question, I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in the format you asked for at Annex B (attached separately).

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) 29(1)(d) (operation of any Ministerial private office), s.30(b)(i) (the free and frank provision of advice), s.30(b)(ii) (the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation), s.38(1)(b) (personal information) and s.36(1) (confidentiality) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained at Annex A (attached separately).

Additionally, some of the information you have requested is available using the links below. These are links to publicly available copies of documents that were attached within some of the emails released at Annex B:

• Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) Continuation and future pricing: Equality Impact Assessment - Results - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) Continuation and future pricing: Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) Continuation and future pricing: Island Communities Impact Assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) Continuation and future pricing: Stage 2: Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Continuation) Order 2024 (legislation.gov.uk)
• The Alcohol (Minimum Price per Unit) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2024 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Letter from the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee - 19 February 2024 - Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol - (parliament.scot)
• Meeting of the Scottish Parliament - Official Report - Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol - 8 February 2024
• Alcohol - Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) - continuation and future pricing consultation: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Alcohol - Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) - continuation and future pricing: consultation analysis - 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. 

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 - 202400398860 - Information released - Annex A

File type

2 page PDF

File size

85.4 kB

FOI - 202400398860 - Information released - Annex B

File type

72 page PDF

File size

1.2 MB