McDivitt, Carol From: Sent: To: Subject:

McDivitt, Carol 26 September 2016 15:10 'Pauline Keith'

Pauline Many thanks for letting me know.

Carol Mrs Carol McDivitt Response & Information Unit Crown Office

Edinburgh 0844 561 3691

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—Original Message— From: Pauline Keith Sent: 26 September 2016 15:07 To: McDivitt, Carol Subject:

Dear Carol

I refer to your email below to Euan McCulloch on 20 September 2016.

case. I have Thank you for the additional submissions. We have considered these and have now closed emailed this afternoon to explain that the Commissioner can't accept his application on the basis that section 48(c) applies.

Thank you for your assistance. Regards

Pauline

Pauline Keith Validation Officer

Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road St Andrews, KY16 9DS

Tel: Fax:

01334 464610 01334 464611 1

Email: Web: www.itspublicknowledge.info Twitter: @FOIScotland

—Original Message— From: Pauline Keith [mailto: Sent: 20 September 2016 15:25 To: Work Pro Subject: 2016 09 20 COPFS view s48(c) applies to all info held in register From: McDivitt, Carol [mailto:Carol.McDivitt Sent: 20 September 2016 08:55 To: Euan McCulloch Cc: Pauline Keith Subject: RE: New Application received from

Euan

Thanks for your email. The COPFS view is that all of the information is held in the Register of Interests to ensure our prosecution decision making is not compromised.

Carol Mrs Carol McDivitt Response & Information Unit Crown Office

Edinburgh

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company's charge From: Euan McCulloch Sent: 07 September 2016 17:16

To: McDivitt, Carol Cc: Pauline Keith Subject: FW: New Application received from

Carol Can I just ask you to clarify, please, whether all of the information in the register relates to prosecutorial decision making. Is there, for example, any information on the interests of staff not directly involved in prosecution, held for

other purposes? Thanks Euan McCulloch Deputy Head of Enforcement

Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road St Andrews, KY16 9DS 2

Tel: Fax:

01334 464610 01334 464611

Email: Web: www.itspublicknowledge.info Twitter: @FOIScotland

From: McDivitt, Carol [mailto:Carol.McDivitt Sent: 30 August 2016 16:01 To: Pauline Keith Subject: RE: New Application received from

Pauline I refer to previous correspondence and now attach our reply.

Carol Mrs Carol McDivitt Response & Information Unit Crown Office Edinburgh 0844 561 3691

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company's charge From: Sent: 26 August 2016 09:36 To: McDivitt, Carol Subject: Re: New Application received from

Our Ref: 201601442

Your Ref: R013379 26 August 2016

Dear Carol

application to the Commissioner and about seeking I refer to my call this morning to let you know about the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) view on why s48(c) applies to this request.

Please find attached my letter querying this, along with a copy of the request and initial response. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Pauline

3

Pauline Keith Validation Officer Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle Doubledykes Road St Andrews KY16 9DS

Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 E-mail:

www.itspublicknowledge.info
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www.itspublicknowledge.info or email: [email protected]

Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS Tel: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611

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Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

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Crown Office, 25 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1LA Response and Information Unit

Pauline Keith Validation Officer Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS

0131 226 2626 or Tel: 01389 739 557 RNID Typetalk prefix: 18001

Fax:

Your ref: Our ref:

201601442 R013379

30 August 2016

Dear Ms Keith

APPLICATION FOR DECISION BY THE SCOTTISH INFORMATION COMMISSIONER APPLICANT:

Thank you for your letter dated 25 August in which you advised me of an application about an information request which he made you have received from to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on 10 June. request were as follows:

The terms of

"I would like to make a Freedom of Information request for information contained in any register or recordings of business interests & directorships, shareholdings and property related dealings of COPFS staff including prosecutors and 15 members of staff previously identified by COPFS as having made declarations of interests in the past two years. " As you have noted, our original response indicated that in our view no application could be made to the Commissioner. COPFS considered that section 48(c) of FOISA applied as the information requested is held by the Lord Advocate as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland. You have now asked us for our views on why we consider that to be the case.

I can confirm that COPFS holds a Register of Interests which extends to all members of staff. The Register is held on behalf of the Lord Advocate in order to guard against conflict of interest in prosecutorial decision making. The register of interests is designed to ensure that impartiality can be demonstrated in relation to any individual making prosecutorial decisions or involvement in the preparation or presentation of any case. Given the register is held on this basis, we consider that the information is held by the Lord Advocate in his capacity as the Head of the systems of criminal prosection and investigation of deaths in Scotland.

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Coincidentally, this issue has recently been considered by the COPFS Executive Board and a decision has been taken that the register should not published. To provide information about the personal interests of prosecution staff could compromise the security of individual staff members, undermine their ability to do their job and create conflict with our obligations under the Data Protection Act. We intend, however, to provide a public statement of explanation about why we do not publish details of the Register of Interests on our website within the next 6 weeks and I will ensure that you are provided with a link to this when it is published.

I hope this explantion is of assistance to you and I look forward to hearing from you in due course. Yours sincerely

MRS C MCDIVITT Response and Information Unit

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McDivitt, Carol From: Sent: To: Subject:

Pauline Keith 29 August 2016 12:20 McDivitt, Carol RE: New Application received from

Dear Carol

Thanks for the update. As you know, I finish up today for a fortnights holiday. Could I ask that an email is still sent to me on what COPFS thoughts are on this, as my emails will be getting checked by colleague's. Many thanks.

Pauline

Pauline Keith Validation Officer Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road St Andrews, KY16 9DS 01334 464610 Tel: 01334 464611 Fax: Email: Web: www.itspublicknowledqe.info Twitter: @FOI Scotland

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From: McDivitt, Carol [mailto:Carol.McDivitt Sent: 29 August 2016 09:05 To: Pauline Keith Subject: RE: New Application received from

Pauline Many thanks for your email on Friday and letter about the application you have received from

I will need to discuss this with the Deputy Crown Agent (Operational Support) and Head of Policy and Engagement and therefore I regret that we will not be in a position to reply by tomorrow. We will however, respond as soon as possible.

Carol

Mrs Carol McDivitt Response & Information Unit Crown Office Edinburgh

I

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company's charge From: Sent: 26 August 2016 09:36 To: McDivitt, Carol

Subject: Re: New Application received from

Our Ref: 201601442 Your Ref: R013379

26 August 2016 Dear Carol

application to the Commissioner and about I refer to my call this morning to let you know about seeking the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) view on why s48(c) applies to this request.

Please find attached my letter querying this, along with a copy of the request and initial response.

I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards Pauline

Pauline Keith Validation Officer

Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle Doubledykes Road St Andrews KY16 9DS

Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 E-mail: www.itspublicknowledqe.info

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Correspondents should note that all communications to or from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for lawful purposes. Unless expressly indicated, the views or opinions contained within this e-mail do not necessarily reflect those of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

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If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted. Any email including its content may be monitored and used by the Scottish Information Commissioner for reasons of security and for monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email monitoring or blocking software may also be used. The Scottish Information Commissioner cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks. www.itspublicknowledae.info or email: [email protected]

Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KYI 6 9DS Tel: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611

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Our Ref

201601442

Your Ref

R013379

Ms Carol McDivitt Information Adviser Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service 25 Chamber Street Edinburgh EH1 1LA 25 August 2016

Dear Ms McDivitt

Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner Applicant:

has applied to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision. He is dissatisfied with the way in which the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) handled his information request (10 June 2016).

was advised that an application couldn’t be made to In the initial response of 7 July 2016 the Commissioner as 48(c) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) applied and that the information appeared to fall into that category. We haven’t decided yet whether the information falls into that category, but would be interested to know your reasons why the information is excluded.

I attach a copy of information.

request of 10 June 2016 and the COPFS response of 7 July 2016 for

I am on leave from 30 August, returning on 12 September 2016. If possible could a response be provided before I finish up? Thank you in advance for your assistance. Yours sincerely

Pauline Keith Validation Officer

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Crown Office, 25 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1LA Response and Information Unit

M IN DEFEN5J

0131 226 2626 or Tel: 01389 739 557 RNID Typetalk prefix: 18001

Fax: Your ref: Our ref:

R013379

Date: 07 July 2016

Thank you for your request dated 10 June 2016 under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for the undernoted information: "I would like to make a Freedom of Information request for information contained in any register or recordings of business interests & directorships, shareholdings and property related dealings of COPFS staff including prosecutors and 15 members of staff previously identified by COPFS as having made declarations of interests in the past two years. " The COPFS has maintained a "Register of Interests" record since June 2010. requirement to declare and register any potential conflicts of interest applies at all times and the register is kept on a rolling basis. I am unable to provide you with any further detail about the information contained in the Register of Interests as it is exempt under Section 38(l)(b) of FOISA. This exemption applies because the information is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. This exemption is an absolute exemption under FOISA and I am not required to consider the public interest regarding release of the information.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been handled, you do have the right to ask us to review it. Your request should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this letter and we will reply within 20 working days of receipt. If you require a review of our decision to be carried out, please e-mail us at [email protected]

The review will be undertaken by staff not involved in the original decision making process.

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If our decision is unchanged following a review and you remain dissatisfied with this, please note that although generally under section 47(1) of FOISA there is a right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, where the information requested is held by the Lord Advocate as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland, under section 48(c) no application can be made as respects a request for review made to the Lord Advocate. The information you have requested appears to fall into that category, although ultimately it would be for the Commissioner to decide whether that was the case should you refer the matter to her.

In circumstances where section 48(c) does not apply and the Commissioner accepts an appeal, should you subsequently wish to appeal against that decision, there is a right of appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law only. Yours sincerely

F SHAND Response and Information Unit

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McDivitt, Carol From: Sent: To:

Subject:

10 June 2016 15:58 FOI Enquiries FOI request

I would like to make a Freedom of Information request for information contained in any register or recordings of business interests & directorships, shareholdings and property related dealings of COPFS staff including prosecutors and 15 members of staff previously identified by COPFS as having made declarations of interests in the past two years. As registers of interest are published and have been disclosed by other public bodies including the Police, the contents of any registers of interest maintained by COPFS is sought in this FOI request.

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