Preparation of the letter that Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands sent to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee: EIR release

Information requested

All correspondence that relates to the preparation of the letter that Mairi Gougeon sent to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 24 September 2024.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

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.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exceptions under regulations 10(4)(d) (material in the course of completion) and 10(4)(e) (internal communications) of the EIRs applies to that information.

Regulation 10(4)(d) – material in course of completion, unfinished documents or incomplete data

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) of the EIRs (unfinished or incomplete information) applies to some of the information you have requested because they were early drafts of the letter which the Cabinet Secretary finally approved, or comments on these drafts.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that unfinished drafts which are still being worked on are not disclosed when these might give a misleading impression of the Government’s view or position on the matter to which the information relates. The letter which was sent was published on the Scottish Parliament’s website on 25 September 2024 and is available at Pre-budget scrutiny 2025 to 2026 | Scottish Parliament Website.

Regulation 10(4)(e) – internal communications in relation to general policy and decisionmaking

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information you have requested because it is internal communication between Scottish Government Ministers and officials about areas that are still subject to live Ministerial decision making or where an issue is still in development.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the discussions will be disclosed in the near future, when it may undermine or constrain the Government’s view on an issue while it is still under discussion and development.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202400433564 - Information released - Annex

File type

14 page PDF

File size

127.7 kB