Attendance at committee sessions relating to Higher History exams: FOI release

Information requested

Information related to recent discussions and correspondence (e-mails, letters, meeting notes or minutes, briefing papers, memos, etc) about attendance at the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee to give evidence on the topic of Higher History SQA exams. I am looking for:

1. All correspondence between Jenny Gilruth MSP (Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills) and Fiona Robertson (Chief Executive of the SQA) between [1 September 2024 – present].

2. All correspondence involving Jenny Gilruth MSP, Fiona Robertson, or other officials in the Scottish Government or SQA about the scheduling or potential refusal of attendance at an additional meeting of the Education, Children and Young People Committee on this subject.

For context, I understand that Fiona Robertson attended a committee session on 25 September 2024 to answer questions on Higher History exams. However, Jenny Gilruth MSP has not yet attended a session to provide evidence on this issue. This request seeks to understand any discussions or decisions about attendance at committee sessions relating to this matter.

Response

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

For information, while questions were raised during Fiona Robertson’s attendance at the Education, Children and Young People Committee (ECYP) on 25 September, she was there to provide evidence on the Education (Scotland) Bill. Fiona Robertson and the Cabinet Secretary for Educations and Skills were subsequently invited to give evidence to the ECYP Committee on the Higher History Review and attended on 4 December. Exchanges in relation to this invitation are included within the attached Index of Enclosures.

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 exemptions under the following sections of FOISA applies to that information: 30(b)(ii) (free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) and 38(1)(b) (personal information).

Exemptions under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) apply to some of the information provided. These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation, as part of relationships which remain vital in supporting the programme of education reform in Scotland.

This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to discuss issues and options with external stakeholders before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of these discussions could substantially inhibit such discussions in the future, because these stakeholders will be reluctant to provide their views fully and frankly if they believe that those views are likely to be made public.

This exemption 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 exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of an open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s policy position.

Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues within and between the Scottish Government and these stakeholders, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision-making process, which would not be in the public interest. There is also an important public interest in avoiding the loss of stakeholder confidence in cases where they thought they were providing comments in confidence, which would be inevitable if an individual’s contribution was released against their wishes.

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.

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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 202400443018 - Information released - Index of Enclosures

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