Relations within the United Kingdom

• The briefing below provides guidance on the consideration and application of the exemption contained in section 28 (Relations within the United Kingdom) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).
  
• Information will normally only be appropriately withheld where it can be demonstrated that release would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between two or more administrations in the UK.
  
• Information falling under the exemption may have been supplied by another UK administration or Scottish public authority or it may have been internally produced.
  
• The exemption contained in section 28 is subject to the public interest test.
  
• There is no direct equivalent to section 28 of FOISA within the EIRs, although regulations 10(4)(e) and 10(5)(f) may be relevant.

The briefing below is intended to provide general guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant section. Please remember that all requests for information must be considered on a case by case basis, and the Commissioner's decision is made on the basis of the specific circumstances of each case.

Relations with the UK briefing (PDF - 540kb)

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