26-27/007

We refer to your request for information (FOI 26-27/007) dated 15 May 2026 which we have handled under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). 

You asked:

“Since I cannot get direct feedback can you please provide me with:  

a copy of the scoring criteria including what the minimum scoring criteria for selection is/was for each of the essential criteria and online questions

a copy of my scores for the application including all of the panel's individual scoring sheets/notes in relation to my application and each of the essential criteria and online questions and my overall score for the application  

a copy of the scoring criteria for the CV including the minimum scoring criteria for selection;

a copy of the panel's scores for my CV including any and all comments and notes made by the panel in relation to my CV  

If you require a legal basis for these requests then for the scoring criteria for both the essential criteria, online application and CV this would fall within a Freedom of Information request and for my personal scores and comments/notes made on my application and CV -this should be treated as a Data Protection/GDPR request.  

Apologies I meant to add the following questions as well under my FOI request.

how many roles are GTCS looking to appoint for the Legal Assessor role?  

how many applications did GTCS receive for the role?  

how many applications successfully passed the sift?  

will there be interviews conducted to select the specific candidates or will the selection process be purely based on a desktop exercise of application and CV analysis?  

how many members of GTCS were on the sifting panel?  

were all of the panel legally qualified or was it a mixed panel made up of legal and non legal individuals?”

Our response:

Please see our answers to your queries below. We have answered questions 2 and 4 of your first set of questions in our response dated 15 June 2026, as a subject access request.

Scoring criteria.  

We have withheld this information under section 30(c) of FOISA as disclosure of the record would effectively prejudice our operation. The scoring criteria are generated and used as part of an internal recruitment process. If future interviewees could, through disclosure, use the criteria to otherwise adjust their interview answers this would hamper our recruitment efforts. We reasonably require the privacy when scoring for the purpose of conducting efficient recruitment of applicants to GTC Scotland. Disclosure would compromise that effort and we have applied s30(c) in this instance.

Minimum scoring criteria

We do not hold a recorded minimum scoring criteria and have applied s17(1) of FOISA as this information is not held.

How many roles to the Legal Assessor role.

Eight.

How many applications received

Thirty-eight.  

How many passed the sift.  

We do not hold a record and have applied s17(1) of FOISA as this information is not held.  

Whether interviews would be conducted.

No interviews were held.  

How many members of GTC Scotland were on the sifting panel.  

Disclosing this information would amount to the disclosure of personal information in breach of section 38(1)(b) of FOISA. As such, we are unable to provide you with this information as to do so would violate data protection legislation.

Whether all the panel were legally qualified.  

Disclosing this information would amount to the disclosure of personal information in breach of section 38(1)(b) of FOISA. As such, we are unable to provide you with this information as to do so would violate data protection legislation.

Right to review and appeal:

You may request a review of how we have dealt with this information request if you are dissatisfied with this response. This can be done by contacting us at informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk, describing your original request and explaining the basis for your dissatisfaction. You have 40 working days from receipt of this response to submit a review request.  

Once the review process has been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you have six months in which you can apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision. See the Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on making an appeal for information about how to do this.