Annual payments to Trade Unions for Union Learning: FOI release

I also note that you submitted an email to the Central Enquiry Office on 10 August 2018 in relation to this Freedom of Information Request concerning “failure to respond within statutory timescales and attempting to put off the requester by seeking clarification which was evidently clear in the initial request, thus delaying the response”.  

You asked to be provided with the total annual payments to Trade Unions for Union Learning in accessing skills and lifelong learning opportunities for workers in Scotland, from FY 2013/14 until the end of FY 2018, broken down by financial year; a copy of the conditions of funding to trade unions in electronic format; and to be advised which unions have benefited from this initiative. You subsequently clarified that this request was in relation to the annual Scottish Union Learning funding.

Response

I have now completed a review of our decision to seek clarification in relation to your request under section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

In accordance with section 21(4) of FOISA, I have also reached a decision on your request.

I have provided most of the information you have requested at Annex A, specifically:

• the total annual payments to Trade Unions from the Scottish Union Learning grant from FY 2013/14 until the end of FY 2018
• which unions have benefited from this initiative

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested, specifically, “the conditions of funding to trade unions in electronic format”. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained below.

Having given further consideration to our request for clarification under section 1(3), I am satisfied that we were entitled to seek further information in order to identify and locate the information you had requested. I did so as I wanted to be certain the reference to Union Learning was indeed pertaining to Scottish Union Learning. Please be assured this was in no way an attempt to delay the response.  

When you provided the clarification sought on 27 July 2018, you did not make any reference to the matter you have subsequently raised on 10 August 2018 in your response and as such, the timescale for concluding the request was extended, in good faith, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Reasons for not providing information

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. This is because the STUC are responsible for managing the awards it makes to trade unions, under the Scottish Union Learning Programme, in accordance with the conditions of the grant. The Scottish Government does not hold information specific to the conditions placed on individual awards which the STUC make to trade unions. You may wish to contact the STUC directly regarding these. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information. 

For reference, the conditions of funding with regards to the Scottish Union Learning grant were previously provided in electronic format under FoI/18/01524. This information is available from /publications/foi-18-01524/

About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses