Response

In relation to your request for the questions asked by the final interview panel to Jo Farrell, we can confirm that information is held by the Authority. Whilst we aim to provide information wherever possible, in some instances, information is exempt in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. In this instance, the information is considered exempt, and this is a notice in terms of Section 30(c) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Substantial prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs. This is a non-absolute exemption and requires application of the public interest test.

Public Interest Test

The public interest factor in favour of disclosure:

• Disclosure would allow greater scrutiny of the recruitment and selection process for the role of Chief Constable.

The public interest factor in favour of maintaining the exemption:

• Maintaining an effective and fair recruitment and selection process for the role of Chief Constable, one of the most important public leadership roles in Scotland. It cannot be in the public interest to release information that would prejudice this process. There is a limited question set that can be used with a role at the level of Chief Constable to ensure a thorough assessment and demonstration of the behaviours and competencies required for the role. To disclose this information would prejudice this process as an element of the behaviours and competencies being assessed at final interview stage rely upon the question set being unknown to candidates.

The public interest lies in protecting the ability of the Authority to recommend to Scottish Ministers the most suitable candidate for the position of Chief Constable. Therefore, our conclusion is that maintaining the exemption outweighs that of disclosure.

In relation to your request for the answers given by Jo Farrell, we can confirm that the Authority does not hold the information you have requested. Therefore, this represents a notice in terms of Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

To explain, interviews for the role of Chief Constable are not recorded or transcribed.

To assist, information about Chief Constable recruitment is available on our website. The Information Pack and Guidance Notes provide information on the person specification, key competencies, salary, conditions of appointment and the recruitment process.