Discussions regarding Scottish Fiscal Commission's August Fiscal Update: FOI Review

Information requested

Orginal Rquest 202400430336

I would be grateful if you could include the content of all discussions between Scottish Government civil servants and / or ministers regarding the Scottish Fiscal Commission's August Fiscal Update, prior to its publication on August 27. Please include all emails, WhatsApps and any other form of communications on this topic.

Response

I have now completed my review of your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for Review of 202400430336: Discussions between SG civil servants and Ministers re Scottish Fiscal Commission's August Fiscal Update.

I have concluded that while the exemptions applied in relation to your original request were broadly correct, they should not have been applied to the related documents in their entirety and that there is a public interest in releasing some of the information you have requested. I therefore attach the relevant documents captured by your original request with the necessary redactions applied. The exemptions applied to the documents are as follows:

Exemptions under section 30 b (i)(free and frank provision of advice )and- 30(b) (ii) of FOISA (exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) apply to some of the information requested.
An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice) 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. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to Ministers and/or other officials before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, I have considered if the public interest in disclosing some information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. I have found that, onbalance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, but not, as was the case with your original request, to the documents in their entirety. I recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing part of the information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank advice to Minsters and other officials which is why some redactions have been applied.

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) applies to some the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. Disclosing the content of free and frank discussions will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, I have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. I have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, but not, as was the case with your original request, to the documents in their entirety. I recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing part of the information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can exchange views which is why some redactions have been applied.

Section 38(1)(b) – Personal Data 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, i.e. names and contact details, 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.

Section 30(c) - would otherwise prejudice substantially, or be likely to prejudice substantially, the effective conduct of public affairs applies to some of the information requested because it included draft versions of documents which had not been fact checked. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, I have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. I have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption as the public interest is found in the final published version of documents and there would likely be prejudice to the effective running of public affairs if drafts of documents required to be released before completion.

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.

FOI 202400435629 - Information Released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

684.1 kB