Information relating to Prestwick Airport: FOI Release

Information requested

1. Correspondence between Scottish Government communications officers and officials relating to Prestwick Airport and/or the newspaper The National on Friday, March 15.
2. Correspondence between Scottish Government officials and Prestwick Airport between Friday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 19.
3. Correspondence between the First Minister and/or his officials to Prestwick Airport or officials within the Scottish Government with responsibility for Prestwick Airport since February 1 relating to "Israeli Air Force" and/or "Israel" and/or "IAF680".

I would like you to provide this information in the following format: Word document.

Response

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.
Where there are duplicate documents included within correspondence, we may have only provided one copy of that document.
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. While our aim is to provide information wherever possible; on this occasion, after reviewing the information on a line-by-line basis, we are unable to provide some of the information requested. This is due to statutory exemptions applying under FOISA. Details on what exemptions apply and why can be found in Annex A.

ANNEX A

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

Section 30(b)(ii) – Free and frank of exchange of views

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to discuss and explore options before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank discussions concerning media interest into commercial matters regarding the operation of Prestwick Airport will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future, particularly because officials are continuing to work on providing advice on a range of commercially sensitive matters regarding Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

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 allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to explore and refine the Government’s position on commercial matters regarding the operation of Glasgow Prestwick Airport until the Government as a whole can adopt a decision that is sound and likely to be effective. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process, which would not be in the public interest.

Section 30(b)(ii) – free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to discuss issues and options with external stakeholders before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of these discussions with Glasgow Prestwick Airport on media interest into commercial matters regarding the operation of Glasgow Prestwick Airport will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future, because these stakeholders will be reluctant to provide their views fully and frankly if they believe that those views are likely to be made public, particularly while officials are continuing to work on providing advice on a range of commercially sensitive matters regarding Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

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 allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s position on commercial matters regarding the operation of Glasgow Prestwick Airport until the Government as a whole can adopt a decision that is sound and likely to be effective.

This private space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken based on fully informed advice and evidence, such as that provided by Glasgow Prestwick Ariport. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between the Scottish Government and these stakeholders, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process, which would not be in the public interest. There is also an important public interest in avoiding the loss of stakeholder confidence in cases where they thought they were providing comments in confidence, which would be inevitable if an individual’s contribution was released against their wishes.

Section 30(c) – Substantial Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some of the information requested. It is essential for Ministers and officials to be able to communicate often in confidence, with external stakeholders on a range of issues, including on sensitive matters such as interest from potential purchasers in acquiring ownership of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Disclosing the content of these communications particularly without the consent of the stakeholder, is likely to undermine their trust in the Scottish Government and will substantially inhibit communications on this type of issue in the future. These stakeholders will be reluctant to engage with officials over the future status of Glasgow Prestwick Airport and may be disinclined to proceed with formal bids for the airport if they believe that their views are likely to be made public, particularly while Ministers and officials are considering a range of advice on whether it would be appropriate to seek a purchaser for Glasgow Prestwick Airport This would significantly harm the Government’s ability to carry out many aspects of its work, and could adversely affect its ability to gather all of the evidence it needs to make fully informed decisions.

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 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 allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s position on future ownership of Glasgow Prestwick Airport until the Government as a whole can adopt a decision that is sound and likely to be effective. This private space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that decisions can be taken based on fully informed advice and evidence, such as that provided by parties who have expressed an interest in purchasing Glasgow Prestwick Airport as well as commercial advice the airport’s future. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between the Scottish Government and these stakeholders, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision-making process, which would not be in the public interest.

Section 38(1)(b) – Third Party Personal Information

This exemption applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section34(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 third party, i.e. names and contact details, 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

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.

Information for release

File type

47 page PDF

File size

3.3 MB