By email: Rev. Stuart Campbell

30 May 2025

Dear Rev Stuart Campbell

Request for Review under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

I refer to your email of 14 April 2025, requesting a review under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA)

I am conducting the review on behalf of OSCR as I was not involved in considering or responding to your original request.

Your request and this review relate to the charity, LGBT Youth Scotland, SC024047. Your request was for the following information:

Copies of any letters, emails or other communications you sent to LGBT Youth Scotland in order to investigate this matter;

Copies of any letters, emails or other communications you received from them regarding the matter;

Copies of any internal findings of any investigation which was conducted, or internal communications regarding whether to conduct an investigation at all.

Format of the Review

In responding to your request for review under Sections 20 and 21 of FOISA, I have checked whether we:

Responded to your request within 20 working days;

Disclosed what information was held;

Stated that some of the information held was exempt;

Stated why particular exemptions apply; and

Set out why the public interest is in favour of not releasing the information.

Original decision

Your request dated:	17/03/2025

Response date:	14/04/2025

The 20 working days was met.

The FOISA officer advised you that OSCR held information related to your request. They advised that this information was being withheld under section 30 of FOISA, Prejudice to the Effective Conduct of Public Affairs, and specifically FOISA S30 (b)(i)(ii). They explained why this exemption had been applied.

The public interest test, required under section S30 (b)(i)(ii) of FOISA was then applied in respect of the exemption and explanatory information was provided.

My Review

Having reviewed the information held by OSCR and your request, I am now partly upholding the original decision; and releasing a number of pieces of information to you. Certain information contained within the documents I am releasing has been redacted or blanked out, as I have applied a number of exemptions to its release.

Section 30 of FOISA, Prejudice to the Effective Conduct of Public Affairs

I have considered the use of section 30 of FOISA, Prejudice to the Effective Conduct of Public Affairs, and specifically FOISA S30 (b)(i)(ii) and the Public Interest test used in our original response and believe that it was correctly applied given that our Inquiry into the charity was ongoing at the time of your request.

As part of my review, and given that our inquiry is now concluded, my view is that FOISA S30 (c) is now also applicable to the information held. I have therefore applied this in determining what information should be released to you.

Section 38 (1)(b) and 38 (2)(A)(a)) of FOISA Personal Information

In accordance with Section 38 of FOISA Personal Information, all personal data has been removed from the information released. This is because we believe that disclosure of the personal data would contravene the data protection principles in the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. The processing in this case is the disclosure of information under FOISA, and is therefore exempt under sections 38(1)(b) and 38(2A) (a) of FOISA.

This is an absolute exemption, meaning the public interest test was not considered.

Section s36 (2) (a) and (b) FOISA – Confidentiality

Some of the information we hold was given directly to, and received by us, under conditions that imply a duty of confidence. This information is confidential, not publicly known, and if it were to be disclosed it would cause substantial prejudice to our ability to carry out regulatory function. If OSCR cannot expect such information to be held in confidence, then in future people may be reluctant to provide OSCR with information about charities, which would impede our investigatory work, and impact on it’s quality. This would not be in the public interest.

This is an absolute exemption meaning the public interest test has not been applied.

Public interest test

I have reviewed the public Interest test in respect of the use of S30 (b)(i)(ii) and S30 (c) as follows:

Public interest in disclosing the information:

Public interest in disclosure:

Disclosure would contribute to ensuring that OSCR is adequately discharging its regulatory functions.

Disclosure would provide evidence of the thoroughness of our investigation process.

Disclosure would provide openness and transparency in the decision making process.

Public interest in not disclosing the information:

The release of the information under FOISA – and therefore to the public - may be damaging to the charity, its trustees and reputation without the protection afforded by OSCR’s inquiry process or the courts

Releasing this information may damage the willingness of the public and others to provide us with information in confidence. This unwillingness to provide information may seriously undermine the robustness of our inquiry process.

OSCR must have the confidence of individuals and organisations when carrying out our statutory functions. Should organisations or individuals believe that information would routinely be made public, without the protection afforded by relevant criminal or civil proceedings, confidence in OSCR and our ability to regulate effectively

will be undermined.

On balance, I believe that the public interest in maintaining the exemption and withholding the information is stronger in this instance.

Your Right of Appeal

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of a review, you have a right under the Act to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. If you wish to do so, you must appeal to the Commissioner within six months following the date of receipt of the review notice stating the reason(s) for you are seeking a review of the outcome. The Commissioner’s contact details are as follows:

Scottish Information Commissioner,

Kinburn Castle,

Doubledykes Road,

St Andrews,

Fife KY16 9DS

E-mail: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info

Telephone: 01334 464610

Fax: 01334 464611

A requirement for review must be in writing or in another form which, by reason of it having some permanency, is capable of being used for future reference (as, for example, a recording made on audio or video tape);

State your name and an address for correspondence; and specify—

(i) the request for information to which the requirement for review relates; and

(ii) the matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction mentioned in the request.

More information on the appeals process – including a further right of appeal to the Court of Session – is available from the Scottish Information Commissioner’s office.

http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Unhappywiththeresponse/AppealingtoCommissioner.aspx

Yours sincerely

Judith Hayhow | Head of Corporate
Email: Judith.hayhow@oscr.org.uk Tel: 0131 376 3592
Web: www.oscr.org.uk | Sign up for our newsletter