Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic declined requests for comment: FOI release

Information requested

1. From 1 January 2023 to present, copies of all reports which the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic had discretion over publication, was given the option of publication, and declined to publish.

a. Along with this, please provide communications relating to this decline to publish.

2. From 1 January 2023 to present, a list of all requests for comment (such as from Journalists) to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic which were declined.

Response

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

The role of Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic came into place in May 2024 therefore the response to your request is based on searches from then onwards.

With regards to points 1. and 1a. of your request, a search has been conducted and there are no instances that meet the parameters of your request. As a consequence there are no reports or copies of communications to be provided.

For point 2 of your request, please find attached a table listing instances where the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic has declined request for comment. Please note the Scottish Government policy is to respond to relevant media requests seeking a written response. However, broadcast bids can be declined for several reasons, including the Minister being unavailable at the time and location requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information included in the table because an exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal data of a third party) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Annex to the standard response letter - Reasons for not providing information

An exemption applies

An exemption under section s.38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information included within the table provided. This exemption is relating to personal data of a third party and has been used in this instance to redact personal details such as names, email addresses and company names, 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.

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 202400437559 - Information Released - Table

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