Public Interest Tests: FOI release

Information requested

1. Monthly, from January 2023 to present date, the number of Scottish Government FOI responses sent that invoked a public interest test in deciding whether to uphold an exemption. (A response that invoked more than one test would still count as a single instance)

2. Monthly, from January 2023 to present date, the number of Scottish Government FOI responses sent that upheld an exemption after invoking a public interest test. (A response that upheld an exemption on more than one matter would still count as a single instance)

3. Monthly, from January 2023 to present date, the total number of Scottish Government FOI responses sent.

4. Monthly, from January 2023 to present date, the number of Scottish Government FOI responses sent that invoked an exemption due to information not being held.

5. Monthly, from January 2023 to present date, the number of Scottish Government FOI responses sent that invoked an exemption for free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views.

Response

By way of background, it might be helpful to provide an explanation of the Public Interest Test and when it’s applied.

Please note, there is no definition of the public interest within the legislation. The following has been drawn from the OSIC briefing guidance:

“ …it has been described elsewhere as “something which is of serious concern and benefit to the public”, not merely something of individual interest. It has also been described as “something that is “in the interest of the public”, not merely “of interest to the public.” In other words, it serves the interests of the public.

When applying the test, the public authority is deciding whether it serves the interests of the public better to withhold or disclose information.”

Questions of disclosure require a balancing act between the public interest in disclosure and other interests which require that information be withheld. Information should only be withheld where the interest in withholding it outweighs the interest of openness. There are two kinds of exemptions within the legislation: absolute and qualified.

Absolute exemptions: these are exemptions which are not subject to the public interest test. Where an absolute exemption applies, a public authority is entitled to withhold the information without going on to consider the public interest.

Qualified exemptions: these exemptions are subject to the public interest test. The information must be disclosed unless the public interest in disclosing the information is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption. You can read about this in greater detail from the OSIC website:

PublicInterestTestFOISA_2023.pdf
PublicInterestTestEIRs_2023.pdf (foi.scot)

Please note: the application of exemptions field is one recorded within our case management system. In order to provide a response to your request, we have used this field to identify responses where qualified exemptions have been specified. There may be cases where the field has not been updated to reflect a change in the handling of the request as this can change during the life cycle of a FOI/EIR and may not have been corrected before release of the final response.

Questions 1-5

Please find information that answers to your remaining questions in the attached Annex.

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 - 202400415303 - Information released - Annex A

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5 page PDF

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170.4 kB