Meetings with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: FOI release

Information requested

Since January 2018 how many meetings (including teleconferences or videoconferences) are recorded as having taken place between Scottish Ministers, Scottish Chief Medical Officers and Scottish National Clinical Directors and the founders or representatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Response

I can confirm that there have been no meetings (further to the meeting referenced in January 2018) between the Chief Medical Officer or the National Clinical Director and the founders/representatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In terms of Scottish Ministers, details of all Ministerial engagements are proactively published by the Scottish Government and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-andgifts/

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

Further, as noted, this information is routinely published so if there has been a meeting within scope of this request since the last publication, this information will be available within 12 weeks of the date of your request.

This is a formal notice under section 27 (1) as the Scottish Government plans to proactively publish the information you have requested.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because there is public interest in the work carried out by Scottish Government Ministers. However, there is a greater public interest in the use of public resources. Since providing this information would create a duplication in work, we have determined this would not being a responsible use of public resources and therefore not in the public interest.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.