25-26/022

We refer to your information request of 20 June 2025, requesting:

I note that in six cases the summary states “previously provided in full to GTCS”. In each of these cases, please could you provide the full information provided to the GTCS by the PSA”

We have dealt with your information request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). We have attached the records labelled “FOI25-26-022-Records” accompanying this response as those records which fell within the scope of your request. You will note within the record that we have also withheld some information from you based on the following exemptions in FOISA.

Section 38(1)(b) - third party personal data

Where the information you have requested contains the personal data of third parties, we have withheld this information from you under the exemption contained in section 38(1)(b) of FOISA, when read in conjunction with section 38(2A)(a). Information withheld under section 38(1)(b) has been redacted in red in the accompanying document. We have applied this exemption to this personal data because we consider that disclosure of this data into the public domain under FOISA would be beyond the reasonable expectation of the individuals, in all the relevant circumstances in relation to the processing of this data by us and on our behalf. This means that such disclosure by us as a data controller would be unfair in terms of the first data protection principle in Article 5(1)(a) of the UK GDPR and thereby unlawful under data protection law. This FOISA exemption is not subject to a public interest test.

Section 30(c) - effective conduct of public affairs

We have withheld some information from you under the FOISA exemption contained in section 30(c) of FOISA, as disclosure of certain information provided to us by third parties in the circumstances of an independent review in this instance would, in our opinion, be very likely to result in future such reviews or external consultations being subject to a substantial adverse impact in terms of the frankness and openness of third parties being asked to contribute to such an exercise. This ‘chilling effect’ would mean that, in future, we would be unlikely to receive the quality of information that was provided to the PSA on the context of that review, in the future. Such independent reviews require third party stakeholders to provide best evidence and detailed, granular information as part of their submissions, if such reviews are to be effective and contribute to continuous improvement in terms of our performance of our statutory functions.

The exemption in section 30(c) is subject to a public interest test. This is considered below.

Public Interest

The public interest test under FOISA requires us to assess whether the public interest in disclosing information falling within a qualified exemption such as section 30(c) is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining an exemption. Where the interest is evenly balanced, the presumption is in favour of disclosure. We note that the public interest under FOISA does not however refer to what is of interest to one or more members of the public, but rather what is in the interests of the public to disclose into the public domain under FOISA.

We understand that there is a general public interest in the transparent operation of public authorities such as GTC Scotland, including in relation to how we interact with those we commission to undertake reviews of how we perform our statutory functions, including in relation to Fitness to Teach. We consider in the case of your request that this public interest has already been well-met through the information already contained in the PSA’s Report of the review, published earlier this year, and will not be enhanced by disclosing the information that we have withheld from you under section 30(c).

We note that there is also a clear and specific public interest in a body such as GTC Scotland being able to offer a private space for third parties to make frank and meaningful contributions and representations as part of future reviews and consultations we may undertake in relation to the performance of our statutory functions. We consider that it would be against the public interest to remove the assurance of some private space for these interactions by disclosing some of the requested information that is frankly expressed or granular in detail, as it would be very likely to undermine our ability to carry out effective reviews in the future involving third parties to the maximum extent desirable.  

You may contact informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk if you are dissatisfied with this response, to request GTC Scotland conduct a review of it. You should describe the original request and explain the basis of your dissatisfaction with our response to it.  You have 40 working days from receipt of this response to submit such a review request. If you remain dissatisfied following a review, you have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner under FOISA to request a decision from him on whether our response complies with Part 1 of FOISA. You have 6 months from the date of a review response to make such an application to the Commissioner. You can find more information about how to do so on its website.