Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in Aberdeen: EIR release

Information requested

Copies of all emails sent to and from Scottish Government housing staff between February 25 and April 1 which mention Aberdeen and the term RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete).

Response

As the information you have requested 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. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

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 differentregimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested in the format you asked for.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party 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 exception 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 exception.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception relates to ‘policy in the process of formulation’ and applies to emails discussing and agreeing the policy position of the Scottish Government in relation to certain matters discussed in the relevant emails.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs also applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception relates to ‘internal communications’ and applies to certain internal emails sent by Scottish Government officials discussing the issue of RAAC in Aberdeen.

Finally, an exception under regulation 10(5)(f) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This relates to material which if released may create ‘prejudice to the interests of the person who provided the information’. This exception has been applied to information that has been provided by Aberdeen City Council to aid the Scottish Government’s response to the issue of RAAC in housing in Aberdeen. However, the release of this information would likely be harmful to the interests of Aberdeen City Council and their ability to coordinate an appropriate response to the issue of RAAC in their housing stock. The exception has also been applied to information that has been provided by the Scottish Housing Regulator. The release of this information would likely be harmful to the interests of the Regulator and their ability to carry out their role in responding to the issue of RAAC.

Exceptions under regulations 10 (4)(d), 10(4)(e) and 10(5)(f) of the EIRs are 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 exceptions. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because the issue of RAAC in housing is of interest to the public. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in the flow of free and frank discussions within Government and formulation of an appropriate response in dealing with RAAC in housing.

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 202400407162 - Information released - Annex

File type

96 page PDF

File size

1.8 MB