DIRECTORATE FOR JUSTICE
DJUST : Civil Law and Legal System
abcd
J MacIver
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our Reference: 202100187091
23 April 2021
Dear J MacIver,
REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002 (FOISA)
Thank you for your request dated 27 March 2021 under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002 (FOISA).
Your request
You asked for al correspondence between the Scottish Government and the Equality Network and
Scottish Trans Al iance about the consultation on the Gender Recognition Reform Bil since 17 March
2020.
Response to your request
Some of the information you have requested is available from our website at: Gender Recognition Act
progression: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). In particular, this published information includes a
letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Shirley-Anne Somervil e MSP,
to LGBT organisations, dated 1 April 2020.
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 wil send you a paper copy.
I enclose further information held by the Scottish Government fal ing within the scope of your request.
Scottish Ministers, special advisers and the Permanent Secretary are covered by the terms of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016. See
www.lobbying.scot
St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
www.gov.scot
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal data of a third party) of FOISA applies to some of the
information you have requested because it consists of the names and email addresses of Scottish
Government officials, and the contact details and signatures of individuals, 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.
Your right to request a review
If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal
review of the response, by writing to Neil Rennick, Director of Justice, Room GW-02, St Andrew's
House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG or by email to xxxx.xxxxxxx@xxx.xxxx. Your review
request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 40
working days from the date when you received this letter. We wil complete the review in accordance
with FOISA as soon as possible, and not later than 20 working days from the day fol owing the date we
receive your review request.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish
Information Commissioner. More detailed information on your appeal rights is available on the
Commissioner's website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Unhappywiththeresponse
/AppealingtoCommissioner.aspx.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Duncan
CLLS : Family Law
Scottish Ministers, special advisers and the Permanent Secretary are covered by the terms of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016. See
www.lobbying.scot
St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
www.gov.scot