Freedom of Information Request - Products or Services from Israeli based firms and or discussions around Pro-Palestinian sentiment
Date: 10 September 2025
Our ref: SIR181351/A5413846
Information Request – Products or Services from Israeli based firms and or discussions around Pro-Palestinian sentiment
Your Request
1) Does the organisation currently use any products and/or services from Israeli based firms? (for example, but not limited to; computing hardware or software, pharmaceuticals, technical machinery, training packages)
2) Does the organisation receive any funding from the Israeli state, or its representatives such as ministries, embassies, universities, or state-run cultural and arts organisations?
3) Does the organisation have any partnerships or agreements with the Israeli state, or its representatives such as ministries, embassies, or universities? (for example, but not limited to; knowledge sharing groups, cultural exchange programmes, policy and academic exchanges)
4) Any minutes, bulletins, agendas and internal communications where discussion has been had around Pro-Palestinian sentiment/activity (for example, but not limited to; planned/ unplanned protests, community vigils, displaying banners or flags) on the Western Isles?
5) Any minutes, bulletins, agendas and internal communications where discussion has been had around Pro-Israeli sentiment/activity (for example, but not limited to; planned/ unplanned protests, community vigils, displaying banners or flags) on the Western Isles?
Our Response
We have discussed your request with various teams within NatureScot and have responded to each point in turn.
1) Does the organisation currently use any products and/or services from Israeli based firms? (for example, but not limited to; computing hardware or software, pharmaceuticals, technical machinery, training packages)
We do not record information on the origin of goods and services in a way that would enable us to search at that level of detail. Our Finance Team have undertaken a basic search, within our finance system, using the address provided by suppliers and searched for anything with Israel in those suppliers addresses, and nothing was found.
2) Does the organisation receive any funding from the Israeli state, or its representatives such as ministries, embassies, universities, or state-run cultural and arts organisations?
We do not receive any funding from the Israeli state or, its representatives; NatureScot’s funding is provided by the Scottish Government.
3) Does the organisation have any partnerships or agreements with the Israeli state, or its representatives such as ministries, embassies, or universities? (for example, but not limited to; knowledge sharing groups, cultural exchange programmes, policy and academic exchanges)
We do not have any partnerships or agreements with the Israeli state or its representatives.
4) Any minutes, bulletins, agendas and internal communications where discussion has been had around Pro-Palestinian sentiment/activity (for example, but not limited to; planned/ unplanned protests, community vigils, displaying banners or flags) on the Western Isles?
We do not hold any information on this subject.
5) Any minutes, bulletins, agendas and internal communications where discussion has been had around Pro-Israeli sentiment/activity (for example, but not limited to; planned/ unplanned protests, community vigils, displaying banners or flags) on the Western Isles?
We do not hold any information on this subject. As we do not hold any of the information that you have requested, we must apply, under the legislation, the exemption 17(Information not held) to your request.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
