Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Dear Madam

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

Thank you for your information request dated 8 November 2022 and received on 8 November 2022. Our reference is FOI 2022-0975. This is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

We are considering your request. We may be in touch soon to ask for further clarification or to offer advice and assistance if we are not able to fulfil your request in its present form.

The legislation allows us up to 20 working days from the date that we receive a valid request, including any clarification we need to make a final response. We will be in touch within 20 working days of receipt of your initial request to provide our response or to seek clarification where necessary. We hope to give you the information you are looking for at an earlier date if possible.

Regards

Katy Russell-Duff
Administrative Officer/FOI Co-ordinator
Strategy, Performance and Business Solutions
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Telephone (01856) 873535 Extension 2210

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Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Madam

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

I refer to your email dated 8 November 2022 and received on 8 November 2022; our reference is FOI 2022-0975.

I am pleased to give the information you requested and hope that it meets your requirements.

1) Per School, please provide the number of pupils that have received gender reassignment recognition.

a) Please break the numbers down per school for male pupils identifying as female?

b) Please break the numbers down per school for female pupils identifying as males?

As some of these figures are low, disclosure of this information would be unfair for the purpose of the first data protection principle and is exempt in terms of s.38(1)(b) read in conjunction with s.38(2A)(a) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. As such we have removed some of the answers to the questions asked. We hope you understand our position.

Under FOISA, if you are dissatisfied with our response, you may ask the Council to review its handling of your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your request for review within 40 working days of receiving this email. Please make your request for review to Service Manager (Governance), Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY or email to [Orkney Islands Council request email]. Your request must be in permanent form (letter, email, audio tape etc) and should state:

That you are asking for a review of this decision, and
Why you are unhappy with the response you have received.

We will issue a full response to your request for review within 20 working days of our receiving it.

Where the outcome of the review fails to resolve the matter to your complete satisfaction, you then have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision. You have six months in which to do so following receipt of our review outcome – see www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal.

Regards

Paul Kesterton
Information Governance Officer
Strategy, Performance & Business Solutions
Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Telephone: 01856 873535 Extension: 2241
www.orkney.gov.uk

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Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Dear Madam

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

Thank you for your request for review dated 27 December 2022 and received on 28 December 2022.

We are considering your request. We may be in touch soon to ask for further clarification or to offer advice and assistance if we are not able to fulfil your request in its present form.

We will be in touch within 20 working days of receipt of your initial request to provide our response or to seek clarification where necessary. We hope to give you the information you are looking for at an earlier date if possible.

Regards

Katy Russell-Duff
Administrative Officer/FOI Co-ordinator
Strategy, Performance and Business Solutions
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Telephone (01856) 873535 Extension 2210

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Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Review

I refer to your email dated 27 December 2022, with reference to your FOI
2022-0975.

Thank you for your request to review the information provided to you as
part of your Freedom of Information Act request. 

Under S.38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
information is exempt from disclosure if it constitutes the data of a
third party and would contravene any of the data protection principles in
Article 5(1) of the UK GDPR.  Although your request asks for statistical
information it has been established through case law that disclosure of
numbers or statistics can lead to living people being identified, and if
it does, then the information will constitute their personal data. 

Orkney Islands Council is currently the smallest Local Authority in
Scotland, and serves a small island community where it is considerably
easier to identify an individual through the triangulation of the data
sought.  Guidance from the Scottish Information Commissioner indicates
that authorities will need to take account of matters such as population
size and population density when deciding if disclosure would lead to
individuals being identified.

Although, as you reference, other authorities may have provided
information even when figures were low, when set against their employee
numbers and population size their risk of individual identification would
likely be less significant.  When dealing with extremely low figures,
alongside any provision of more detailed answers to your questions, we
would be of the view that this data taken together may allow for the
identification of specific third parties.

We can however provide the following table of information which displays
the categories with a zero return. Any categories which contained a number
of below five are not stated for the reason given above.

1. No. of 1. a) For 1. b) For 2. No. of 2. a) For 2. b) For
pupils that Q1, no. of Q1, no. of pupils that Q2, no. of Q2, no. of
have male pupils female have males females
received identifying pupils received identifying identifying
gender as female identifying gender as female as male
reassignment as male reassignment with name with name
recognition recognition change change
that each recorded recorded
school have
supported
and has
changed
gender name
officially
recorded on
the school
system
*
2019/20 (non-binary) 0 0 * 0 0
*
2020/21 (non-binary) 0 0 * 0 0
2021/22 * 0 * * 0 *
2022/23 0 0 0 0 0 0

*Figures are below 5 and therefore are not being disclosed due to possible
identification of individuals.

If you are still dissatisfied with the Council’s response to your
requirement for a review, you are entitled, under section 47 of the
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to apply to the Scottish
Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has
been dealt with by the Council in accordance with Part 1 of the Act.  Your
application must be submitted in writing or in another form capable of
being used for subsequent reference and should be submitted before the
expiry of six months after the date of your receipt of this letter.  Your
application can be sent to the Commissioner at
[1]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal or at the following address:

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610

Email:   [2][email address]

You also have the subsequent right of appeal to the Court of Session, on a
point of law only, if dissatisfied with a decision issued by the
Commissioner.

Regards

Hazel Flett

Service Manager (Governance)

Strategy, Performance and Business Solutions

Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY

Tel: 01856 873535 Extension 2208 Direct Dial: 01856 886463

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