Response

1. The Data Protection Impact Assessment is provided as Appendix 1.
2. There is no contract in place between Axon and the Scottish Police Authority. Therefore, this represents a notice in terms of Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

In terms of our duty to assist, I can advise that the Scottish Government contracted with Axon Public Safety UK Ltd to deliver the new Digital Evidence Sharing Capability service (DESC). This information may, therefore, be available by contacting the Scottish Government at Request information - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In addition, the contract details were provided on the Scottish public contracts register at the following link: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Contracts/Contracts_View.aspx?id=670801

3. A table of sub-processors and country of origin is provided as Appendix 2.

4A. As stated at 2 above, there is no contract between Axon and the Scottish Police Authority. DESC was procured by the Scottish Government. Therefore, this represents a notice in terms of Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

4B. No guidance has been issued to staff as no personal data is being uploaded by the Authority. Therefore, this represents a notice in terms of Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

The relevant communications between the Authority and the Information Commissioner are attached as Appendix 3. Some of this information is considered to be exempt under Section 38(1)(b) Personal data of a third party. Disclosure would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is absolute and therefore does not require the application of the public interest test.

Advice provided by Kings Counsel is held and is considered exempt under S36(1) ‘Confidentiality of Communications’. This exemption applies because the information refers to legal advice and disclosure would breach legal professional privilege. Legal advice privilege covers communications in which legal advice is sought or given and where a legal adviser is acting in their professional capacity.

This exemption is non-absolute and requires the application of the public interest test. Therefore, consideration has been given as to whether the public interest favours disclosing the information or maintaining the exemption.

Public Interest Test

The public interest factors in favour of disclosure is that:

• It could contribute to transparency and allow scrutiny of advice provided.

The public interest factors in favour of maintaining the exemption being:

• The general public interest inherent in this exemption is strong due to the importance of the principle behind legal professional privilege. Disclosing legally privileged information threatens that principle;
• It is vital to maintain and safeguard legal professional privilege, ensuring the confidentiality of communications between legal advisers and their clients, in order to ensure access to full and frank legal advice;

On balance, our conclusion is that maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.