Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons documentation, Building a New Scotland papers costs and the Scottish Government's ‘route back into EU’ analysis: FOI release

Information requested

3. Could you supply any documentation held by the Scottish Government about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), from the last six months?

4. How much money has been spent on EU languages summaries for the Building a New Scotland set of papers, with a breakdown of these costs?

5. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including briefings, analysis, correspondence (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, about the Building a New Scotland set of papers, from the last three months?

6. What is the Scottish Government's ‘route back into EU’ and could you supply the most up to date analysis of how long this would take an independent Scotland to do this?

Response

Part 3: “Could you supply any documentation held by the Scottish Government about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), from the last six months?”

All of the information you have requested has previously been published in response to another Freedom of Information request. Please see the link below for further details:

Constitutional Futures Division documents mentioning the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: FOI Release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the link above, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Part 4: “How much money has been spent on EU languages summaries for the Building a New Scotland set of papers, with a breakdown of these costs?”

The summaries of the Building a New Scotland (BANS) series have been translated into a range of different languages, both for countries within the EU and non-EU countries. The Scottish Government does not have details of the translation costs for only EU countries however, the total costs of all translations for each paper in the BANS series can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at:

Building a New Scotland papers: costs - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Part 5: “Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including briefings, analysis, correspondence (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, about the Building a New Scotland set of papers, from the last three months?”

Some of the information you have requested can be located in Annex B.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (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 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.

Exemptions under Section 30(b)(i), 30(b)(ii) and 30(c) applies to some of the information requested. The reason why these exemptions apply is explained in Annex A of this letter.

Part 6: “What is the Scottish Government's ‘route back into EU’ and could you supply the most up to date analysis of how long this would take an independent Scotland to do this?”

As outlined in the Building a New Scotland paper “An independent Scotland in the EU”, this Scottish Government would apply to join the EU as soon as possible after independence. The EU’s approach to enlargement is a merit-based process. Scotland’s unique position – having been part of the EU for over 47 years with a positive record of implementation of EU legislation and a high level of alignment with EU law – makes it well placed to move through the accession process quickly.

In the meantime, this Scottish Government will continue to align with EU law and keep pace with future EU developments, where possible and appropriate. Scottish ministers will use their powers, which include a discretionary power to align Scots law with EU law in the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, to keep Scotland close to our European partners, to uphold the EU’s core values, and to protect and advance high standards across a range of policy areas. Doing so should also facilitate the process of Scotland’s future return to the EU.

An exemption under section 30(C) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. The reason why this exemption applies is outlined in Annex A.

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 202400429546 - Information released - Annex A and B

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28 page PDF

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