To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance her Department issues to civil servants on how to deal with claims from organisations that the information they provide to the Department is commercially confidential. [105482]

No guidance has been issued by my Department. Such issues would normally arise only where there is a question of whether or not the information should be disclosed to a third party. In such cases, the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, and the related guidance, would help officials determine whether information should be disclosed or withheld in response to an individual request.