24-25/26

I refer to your request for information dated 23 July 2024 (FOI 24-25/26) in which you submitted various queries for “all minutes and papers” produced for the Professional Regulatory Assurance, Appointments and Education Committee since 2021 which we have handled under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA).

I confirm that GTC Scotland does hold information related to your request, specifically, in the form of agendas, minutes, draft policy documents, discussion papers, compiled and reported datasets, memoranda, surveys, analyses, performance, research, consultation and engagement reports, risk assessments and various internal documents and records held as appendixes to the papers sent to committee members prior to their meeting.

Whilst we do hold this information, I am unable to provide these to you as they are subject to various exemptions. Please see our explanations of the relevant exemptions below.

Section 30(b)(i) – free and frank provision of advice

I consider that the exemption contained within section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to the information contained within the identified records, specifically, those portions of the records containing suggestions, the rationale behind changes to existing policies, procedures and processes as well as advice given by participants and contributors to the Committee meetings.

The recommendations made to and within the Professional Regulatory Assurance, Appointments and Education Committees are written in such a way that that they are freely and frankly given on the understanding that the meetings are held in private and with an expectation that recorded suggestions and the resulting discussions will not be published. Were these to be disclosed into the public domain under FOISA, it is probable that those involved in the discussion will become more restrained in the advice they offer, becoming less detailed over time and far less useful to the relevant Committees in order for them to fulfil their functions and delegated responsibilities, as detailed in schedule 2 of the Standing order and committee scheme Publication would likely substantially inhibit the free and frank advice contained within the identified records and, ultimately, prevent GTC Scotland from effectively carrying out its statutory duties. duties.

There is a clear public interest in the transparent operation of public authorities and this is why we make our Council Minutes publicly available. However, there is also a significant public interest in contributors to the Committee meetings being able to freely give advice about strategic matters without the concern that these recorded suggestions will be made public.  We need a private space to develop strategies in the light of informed suggestion and internal analysis so that these can be robustly developed, discussed, tested and reviewed. Disclosure of the documents, which contain ongoing issues, would substantially inhibit that procedure. In this case and for these reasons, we consider that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

Section 30(b)(ii) – free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberations

I consider that the exemption contained within section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to the information contained within the identified records, specifically, those sections containing action and learning points, resource planning and allocation, court actions, risk management, discussions on Fitness to Teach decisions, deliberations on appointments to the Appointments Committee and comments on changes via an action tracker.

The views made to and within the Committee are written in such a way that they are freely and frankly given on the understanding that the meetings are held in private and with an expectation that views expressed will not be published. Were these to be disclosed into the public domain under FOISA, it is probable that those involved in the discussion will become more restrained in their candid critique during discussions on proposed policies and plans under development and debate becoming less detailed over time and far less useful to the relevant Committees. Publication would likely substantially inhibit the free and frank exchange of views contained within the identified records and, ultimately, prevent GTC Scotland from effectively carrying out its statutory duties.

As stated, there is a clear public interest in the transparent operation of public authorities and this is why we make our Council Minutes publicly available. However, there is also a significant public interest in contributors to the Committee meetings being able to exchange views free without the concern that these recorded suggestions will be made public. We need a private space to discuss strategies in the light of informed views and internal analysis so that these can be robustly developed, discussed, tested and reviewed. Disclosure of the documents, which contain ongoing issues as well as progress of various policies and processes undergoing review, would substantially inhibit that procedure. In this case and for these reasons, we consider that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

Section 30(c) – prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs

I consider that the exemption contained within section 30(c) of FOISA applies to the information contained within the identified records generally being the minutes and agendas prepared for the meetings as well as the appendixes connected to them containing sensitive internal governance and management information, industrial and employee relationships, financial and legal matters affecting the organisation and sensitive matters relating to the core functioning of GTC Scotland.

The records contain sensitive information, some of which relate to ongoing matters and are provided on the understanding that such meetings are held in private with an expectation that the records arriving out of them will not be published. Were these to be disclosed into the public domain under FOISA, it is probable that the effective conduct of GTC Scotland would be prejudiced substantially via the relevant Committees.

Again, while there is a clear interest in the transparent operation of public authorities there is also a significant public interest in contributors to the Committee meetings being able to carry out its statutory duties by considering sensitive and ongoing matters in a private space so that they can be developed, discussed, tested and revised. In this case and for these reasons, we consider that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

Section 36(2) – confidentiality

I consider that the exemption contained within section 36(2) applies to specific instances within the documents, specifically, information received from partner organisations, stakeholder engagement and relevant individuals to inform decisions, for example, Council Appointments.

Specifically, portions of the records contain information received from institutions and participating individuals who have taken part in surveys, consultations, opinion-taking and accreditations or applications to the position of lay members of the Council. To release this information under FOISA would amount to an actionable breach of confidence as contained within section 36(2) of the Act. Whilst this section of FOISA is not subject to the public interest test, we consider that releasing this information would be to the detriment of those who provided it as it was received in confidence by GTC Scotland. Accordingly, we have applied section 36(2) to those sections of the records containing information which had been communicated confidentially.

Section 38(1)(b) – third party personal data

Finally, the records contain information related to third parties which disclosure under FOISA would effectively identify. FOISA does not require us to provide this sort of information as it is exempt undersection 38(1)(b) and has therefore been withheld under this exemption.

If you are dissatisfied, you may contact informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk to request GTC Scotland conduct a review of this response. You should describe the original request and explain your grounds of review. You have 40 working days from receipt of this response to submit a review request. When the review process has been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you may use the Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on making an appeal to make an appeal to the Commissioner.