Ref No.: 12 25
Request Type: FOI
Date Received: 16/07/25
Date Responded: 13/08/25
Category: Bermuda project
Request
- The minutes of the WICS board meeting of October 2020.
- All information held regarding WICS’ joint project with the government of Bermuda
Response
Please find below the response to your recent request for information dated 16 July 2025 which asked for:
- The minutes of the WICS board meeting of October 2020.
- All information held regarding WICS’ joint project with the government of Bermuda
We sought clarification from you on 18 July 2025 and when you were unable to narrow your request we confirmed on 21 July 2025 that we would process your request based on our interpretation of it.
We have therefore handled your request in line with requirements of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). FOISA provides for a right of access to recorded information held by Scottish public authorities.
PDF attached.
A limited amount of information has been redacted under the following exemptions within the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act:
- Information that we believe may prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs – section 30(c). The use of this exemption requires consideration of the public interest test and in this case, we believe that it is within the public interest to withhold the information in order to protect the financial systems and processes in use at WICS.
- Information which we believe is commercially sensitive and whereby disclosure may have a detrimental effect on WICS’ commercial interests – section 33(1)(b)).
- Personal information – section 38(1)(b) in conjunction with section 38(2A)(a) as the information constitutes personal data and to disclose the information would breach one or more of the data protection principles. In this case it has been decided that disclosure would be a breach of the first principle as the information cannot be disclosed lawfully. This is an absolute exemption and does not require consideration of the public interest.
Some of the information relevant to your request is subject to an absolute exemption under Section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, in that the information is otherwise reasonably accessible to you. This is the case for:
- Board Meeting minutes which are published on our website, and for those pre 2021, on our archived website.
- Scottish legislative information which can be found on the Scottish Government’s website
- Bermuda Water Resources Act 1975 which can be found here.
As we explained previously, if you are unhappy with this response to your request, you may ask us to carry out a review by contacting us. Your request for review should explain why you are dissatisfied and should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this response. The review will be undertaken by staff not involved in the original process and we will reply within 20 working days of receipt.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) and thereafter to the Court of Session on a point of law only. The SIC can be contacted using the details below:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Web: www.foi.scot