Draft Climate Change Plan correspondence: EIR Review

Information requested

Original Request 202400393479

“A copy of all correspondence covering the period January 2023 to December 2023 between ministers, advisers, civil servants and external parties that mentions a delay to the Scottish Government's upcoming Draft Climate Change Plan.”

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) for documents relating to the delay to the publication of the Climate Change Plan, between January and December 2023. We apologise for the delay in responding to your request, we have undertaken an independent review of a large volume of complex information. I have noted your further clarification in your request for a review that you were not seeking information on the policy aspects of the Draft Climate Change Plan (either previously or in future), just the decision to delay it.
I have also noted that in requesting a review you have expressed dissatisfaction with the application of exceptions under regulations 10(4)(d), 10(4)(e) and 10(5)(e), I have therefore limited my review to consideration of the information previously withheld under these exceptions and have not given further consideration to the application of regulation 6(1)(b) or 11(2) of the EIRs.

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

Having reconsidered the withheld information, I can confirm that we no longer wish to rely on exceptions under regulation 10(4)(d) or regulation 10(5)(e) in relation to the information previously withheld.

I am, however, satisfied that an exception under regulation 10(4)(e) would continue to apply to some of the information. I note that the majority of the information included within the scope for this review forms part of an internal communication to which regulation 10(4)(e) can be appropriately applied.

As we noted in our response to you on 9 February 2024 an exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information you have requested because it is internal communication of the Scottish Government between individual Scottish Ministers and / or officials about the climate change plan. In undertaking my review, I have concluded that an exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information you have requested because it is internal legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege.

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.

Having concluded that an exception under regulation 10(4)(e) continues to apply to some of the information you have requested I have gone on to reconsider the application of the public interest test. Given the decision to delay the plan has now been taken and announced, I have identified documents and passages from documents relating to that decision where disclosure would enhance scrutiny of the decision-making process and thereby improve accountability and participation. I have therefore
concluded that for this information the public interest favours disclosure and have provided a copy of that information with this letter.

We have also found that, on balance, in some cases the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. 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, 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.

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.

EIR 202400399120 - Information Released - Annex

File type

108 page PDF

File size

1.0 MB