STEM Teacher Recruitment Campaign objectives and strategy: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
FOI reference: FOI/17/02863
Date received: 24 November 2017
Date responded: 22 December 2017
Information requested
Any costings, policy plans and other documents around the 'Teaching Making People' campaign.
Any modelling that has been done on the projected or supposed take up of teacher places as a direct result of this campaign.
Response
I enclose copies of the information you requested under the first bullet point. The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested under the second bullet point. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 38(1)(b) (personal information), section 28(1) (relations within the UK), section 29(1)(a) (the formulation or development of government policy), and section 33(1)(b) (commercial interests) of FOISA apply to that information. The reasons why those exemptions apply are explained below.
| Annex | Title | Format | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Teacher Recruitment Campaign - Insight Review | 1.5MB | |
| B | Teacher Recruitment Campaign - Phase 2 | 823.4KB | |
| C | Marketing Brief 1 | 464.8KB | |
| D | Marketing Brief 2 | 464.9KB | |
| E | Teacher Recruitment Campaign - Debrief | 543.4KB | |
| F | Teacher Recruitment Campaign - Wash Up | 2.7MB |
Due to the file size of Annex F, copies can be provided on request by emailing ceu@gov.scot, quoting the FOI reference number FOI/17/02863
Reasons for not providing information
An exemption applies:
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. 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.
An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test:
An exemption under section 28(1) of FOISA (relations within the UK) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government. When scoping marketing campaigns, where possible we seek to learn lessons from what other governments and public bodies have done. In this case the material you have requested contains information the UK Government provided on a confidential basis to assist our research and planning. It is essential for the effective administration of the UK as a whole that there should be regular, and often private, communications between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the other devolved administrations. Disclosure of this information will mean that the UK Government is likely to be more reluctant to communicate or share information as frequently and openly with the Scottish Government in future.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in maintaining close working relationships between the Scottish Government and the UK Government, and in protecting the free exchange of information between the administrations to ensure that we keep each other fully and regularly informed about matters of mutual interest, such as teacher recruitment. There is no public interest in disclosing information when that will damage relationships and disrupt future communications as that may impact on the effectiveness of future policy development and implementation work.
An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test:
An exemption under section 29(1)(a) of FOISA (formulation or development of government policy) applies to some of the information requested because it relates to the development of the Scottish Government's policy on teacher recruitment.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the discussions on teacher recruitment will be disclosed in the near future, when it may undermine or constrain the Government's view on that policy while it is still under discussion and development.
An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test:
An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of several external agencies engaged in this campaign. Disclosing this information would be likely to give those agencies' competitors an advantage in future tendering exercises, which would substantially prejudice the agencies' ability to submit competitive tenders and so could significantly harm their commercial business.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which enter into Scottish Government contracts, to ensure that we are always able to obtain the best value for public money.
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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