Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) meetings and correspondence: FOI release

Information requested

I am requesting access to any documents held by the Scottish Government related to the most recent meeting(s) of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). Specifically, I am seeking:

Minutes or notes from the recent SNCT meeting(s) that took place within the past six months, including any discussions related to teacher recruitment, over-recruitment, teacher numbers, or associated policy matters.

Any documents, reports, or evidence shared or discussed in the meeting that were submitted to the Scottish Government, or produced by the Scottish Government in relation to the SNCT's discussions.

If the minutes or evidence were not directly produced by the Scottish Government, please provide any communications or documents where the Scottish Government has referenced or responded to the discussions in the SNCT meeting.

Response

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

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 section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA apply to that information.

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 (staff 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.

Some of the information you have requested is available on the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) website. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. 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.

With regard to Enclosure 01.9, SNCT Meeting 15 May 2024 – Draft Note, you may wish to note that the Scottish Government has been assured that the final version of the minute of the May meeting, as was agreed at the October meeting, will be published shortly on the SNCT website.

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 202400445585 - Information released - Annex A

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