Expenditure of independence referendum: FOI release

Information requested

Since the SNP administration took office in 2007, how much of taxpayers money has been spent on the SNP’s independence project.

Response

I should first of all explain that the Scottish Government is a wholly separate legal entity from the Scottish National Party (SNP). Some of the elected members of the SNP in the Scottish Parliament are also Ministers in the Scottish Government and in line with the Ministerial Code (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-ministerial-code-2018-edition/), Scottish Government resources are used by Scottish Ministers for official government business.

The Scottish Government annually publishes its spending plans in the Scottish Budget, along with annual financial reports and accounts which provide an overview of all fiscal activity. This information can be accessed on the Scottish Government’s website at:
https://www.gov.scot/policies/government-finance/

There is a range of published information outlining some of the associated costs concerned with the independence referendum in 2014 which is available on the Scottish Government’s and Scottish Parliament’s websites at the following links:
S4W-20080
S4W-18196
S4W-21283
S4W-23719
S4W-21284
S4W-23720
S4W-22236
S4W-27304
S4W-27305
http://www.gov.scot/About/People/14944/Events- Engagements/costs/CabinetEventCosts2014

In 2016, the Scottish Government took forward a public consultation on a draft Referendum Bill. Information about the costs of that exercise is available on the Publications section of the Scottish Government’s website at:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-17-01508/

On 19 December 2019, the Scottish Government published the document ‘Scotland’s right to choose: putting Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands’. Information about the production costs of this document is available on the Scottish Government’s website at:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202000011414/

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

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.