Information pertaining to recruitment processes and public appointments: FOI release

Information requested

1. Who was the commissioner who was involved in the decision making hear.
2. How many appointment have been made in devolved power posts which where interim appointments to later be confirmed as a permeant appointment since the opening of the Scottish Parliment as Mr Thomson Director general has been in Scottish government since it was established.
3. How many post or boards have I applied for in Scottish Government since being terminated about whistleblowing about currption and fire regulation failures is a Scottish Local Authority?
4. Having to educate a senior staff member of Strategy & External Affairs about factual devolved powers in the last year, later confirmed in legal case law, I am concerned you don't want a "factual boat rocker" you want a back to standstill don t make waves move along to get along expert with no lived experience of Scottish government entrenched discrimination transparency avoidance , which filters down to local authorities, opening the government up to money laundering risk.
5. How many suspicious activity reports has National records offices submitted to the National Crime Agency or Serious Fraud Office in light of the recent hight court decision in relation to public common good assets register in Scotland?

Response

Our response to those parts of your request that asked for information are as follows.

1. Paul Gray was the Civil Service Commissioner who chaired the Chief Executive National Records of Scotland recruitment process. The Civil Service Commission website explains its role in providing assurance that civil servants are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Should you wish to raise any questions with the Commission, you should direct these to info@csc.gov.uk where the Secretariat team will be best placed to respond.
2. The information that you have requested since the opening of the Scottish Parliament regarding the number of interim appointments that were subsequently made permanent is not held by the Scottish Government and cannot be compiled from readily-available sources. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
3. I requested clarification on this question on 14 March 2023 but you did not respond. However, I have since been advised that this is not a request for information as it relates to your personal data. This means that an exemption under section 38(1)(a) of FOISA (personal information) applies to the information requested because it is personal information of which you are the data subject, and so it is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation and 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.
   
   Your question is therefore being considered as a Subject Access Request and you will be contacted by Data Protection and Information Assets Team colleagues about that separately. Should you require to contact them in the meantime, their contact details are:
   
   Data Protection and Information Assets Team
   The Scottish Government
   V Spur
   Saughton House
   Broomhouse Drive
   EDINBURGH
   EH11 3XD
   Telephone: 0131 244 8487
   
   All of your personal information will be accessible to you unless it is covered by an exemption.
4. On your fourth point, I note that you express a concern rather than make a request for information.
5. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because your question relates to National Records of Scotland which is a separate non-ministerial office that is not considered to fall within Scottish Ministers’ FOISA Public Authority. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. You may therefore wish to get in touch with National Records of Scotland separately either via the contact us page on their website, via their main switchboard (0131 334 0380) or by writing to: National Records of Scotland, Information Governance Team, Ladywell House, Ladywell Road, Edinburgh, EH12 7TF.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.