Correspondence on peat sales, Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and impact of wood burning stoves: EIR release

Information requested

1. ‘Could you supply all documentation held, including correspondence (internal as well), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings, analysis, policy notes, about the ban on peat sales, from the last three months?
2. Could you supply all correspondence between the Scottish Government and Michael Russell about the land reform bill?
3. Could you supply all analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government or for the government, about the impact of wood burning stoves on the environment and carbon emissions?
4. Could you supply all analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government or for the government, on the costs of hooking up wood burning stoves to heating system?
5. Could you supply all correspondence held and minutes from meetings held between the Scottish Government and island communities, representatives and organisations, about the wood-burning stove ban, from the last six months?’ 

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 exception 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 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, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I have noted the relevant legislation and/or regulation that would apply to each of your questions below for your convenience.

Question 1

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under the exception at Regulation 10(4)(b) of the EIRs, a public authority may refuse a request for information if it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’.

The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on the Regulation 10(4)(b) exception here says that there may “be instances where it is appropriate for the Commissioner to consider the proportionality of the burden on the public authority in terms of the costs and resources involved in dealing with a request when considering the application of this exception”.

In this case, carrying out your request under the EIRs would impose a significant resource and cost burden on the Scottish Government due to the volume of materials that would be considered as a part of said request. For these reasons, we consider that your request is manifestly unreasonable and so we are refusing it under Regulation 10(4)(b).

As the exception is conditional we have applied the ‘public interest test’. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing 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.

While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information regarding the ban of peat sales and all types of correspondence relating to it, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources by not incurring excessive costs when complying with information requests.

You may however wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order to make it more manageable. For example, this could be done by reducing the date range required or by requesting specific types of information. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website here.

Question 2

I have included copies of the information you have requested in Annex B.

On reviewing materials within the scope of your request, exemptions have been applied in line with EIRs. The exemptions applied can be found in Annex A.

Under Regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Some of the information you have requested can be found on the Community Land Scotland website:

• Own Yersel Scotland: Reimagining the future – Keynote Address by Michael Russell – Community Land Scotland

Question 3

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as the Scottish Government has not undertaken nor commissioned any research specifically on wood burning stoves.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

I have also applied Regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs in this part of my response as the Scottish Government does not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Below are links that you may find useful:

• Wood Fuel Demand and Usage in Scotland - 2021 report (forestry.gov.scot)
• Direct greenhouse gas emissions from low and zero carbon heating systems | ClimateXChange

Question 4

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information which could be offered in response as the majority of wood burning stoves would be stand-alone installations as room heaters.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

Question 5

I have included copies of the information you have requested in Annex C.

On reviewing materials within the scope of your request, exemptions have been applied in line with EIRs. The exemptions applied can be found 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 https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202400435616 - Information Released - Annex

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