HISTORIC~SCOTLAND
Longmore House
Salis bury Place
Bye-mail
Edinburgh
EH91SH
Alison McKenzie
ReQuest-10003-
Direct Line: 0131 6688775
[email address]
Direct Fax: 0131 6688765
Switchboard: 0131 6688600
[email address]
Our ref:
HGGj AjLAj2770
08 May 2009
Dear Ms McKenzie
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002
BUTE HOUSE, CHARLOTTE SQUARE, EDINBURGH
Thank you for your e-mail of 30 March asking for copies of all
correspondence between Historic Scotland and the Office"ofthe First
Minister (or other Scottish Government officials) regarding any planned
work, renovations or maintenance to Bute House, Charlotte Square,
Edinburgh including estimated costs. We apologise for the slight delay in
responding to your request.
Information Otherwise Accessible
We have responded to various listed building consent application
consultations in the past for works to Bute House as a statutory consultee
under the Planning System. You may view details of consent applications
already submitted for works to the property online by doing a property
address search via the link below:
http:// citvdev-porta1.edinburgh.gov.uk
We hold one further document which falls within the scope of your request
and whilst we have tried to be as open as possible in our response to you,
we have withheld it in accordance with exemptions set out under the Act:
Confidentiality
Under section 36(2) of the Act, information is exempt information if it was
obtained by a Scottish public authority from another person (including
homecomingscotland2009.oom
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
HISTORIC_SCOTLAND
another such author:ity) and its disclosure by the authority so obtaining it to
the public (otherwise than under this Act) would constitute a breach of
confidence actionable by that person or any other person. This is an
absolute exemption and, therefore, we do not need to apply the public
interest test.
Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs
Under section 30 (c)·ofthe 2002 Act, information is exempt information if its
disclosure under the Act would otherwise prejudice substantially, or be
likely to prejudice substantially, the effective conduct of public affairs. The
document we hold is still in draft form and is still under discussion with
stakeholders.
We consider that premature disclosure of the document may
constrain debate and close down future options.
As this is not an absolute exemption, we have to consider the public interest
in releasing the document.
On balance, we consider that there is greater
public benefit in protecting the space within which government officials can
explore all options available to them without being inhibited.
If you think our decision not to release the document is wrong, you do have
the right to request us to review it. Any request for a review should be made
within 40 working days of receipt of this letter, and we will reply within 20
working days of rece~pt. If our decision is unchanged following a review and
you remain dissatisfied with this, you then have the right to make a formal
complaint to the Scottish Information Commissioner.
If you require a review of our decision to be carried out, please write to Chief
Executive, Historic Scotland, Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh,
EH9 lSH. The review will be undertaken by staff not involved in the original
decision making process.
Yours sincerely
--------
)
DONNA STEWART
Inspectorate Administration Team Leader
homecomingscotland2009.com
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
Ir<."VF.5TOR
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PEOPLE
Document Outline
