Correspondence regarding concert at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium: FOI release

Information requested

Any internal or external correspondence, including any attachments, memos, OneNotes, minutes, agendas, appendixes or other correspondence, relating to the Taylor Swift concert at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in June.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested for reasons I have set out in detail below.

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice, as part of relationships which remain vital in supporting the processing of financial claims.

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 exemptions. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions.

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 issues can be explored and refined to enable the Government as a whole to reach a decision that is sound and likely to be effective. This private thinking space also allows for all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names, professions and contact details of individuals, 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.

In addition, some information was deemed to be out of scope of the FOI request and has therefore been redacted accordingly.

The annex, attached separately, outlines our response to your request, subject to the exception under section 30(b)(ii) and section 38(1)(b) as noted above.

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 202400407579 - Information Released - ANNEX

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