Preparations made for an independent Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

I would like to know what preparations have been for a post independent Scotland since the referendum in 2014.

What work has been done on,

• Currency and Banking system
• Pensions
• Defence
• Foreign policy
• Trade relations
• Passports and Border Control,

and where can I read about this?

Response

In the link below is to a previously published FOI response concerning work on independence in 2015-16 to 2018-19. The Scottish Government was not working on preparations for an independent Scotland during that time, or in the financial year 2014-15 following independence referendum on 18 September 2014.

Scottish Government staff engaged in updating the ‘Scotland’s Future’ publication: FOI release -gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

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

As you will also note from the FOI publication, the Scottish Government established a small team of civil servants in the months following the publication of the 2019-20 Programme for Government till 18 March 2020 which had work to update ‘Scotland’s Future’ as part of its remit.

On 18 March 2020, the Scottish Government announced that, because of the Covid-19 crisis, it had paused work on preparing for an independence referendum in 2020. As a result of this, policy development work on independence was also paused. On 7 September 2021, the First Minister announced as part of the 2021-22 Programme for Government (PFG) that the Scottish Government will work to ensure that a legitimate and constitutional referendum can be held within this Parliamentary term and that it will start work on a detailed prospectus for an independent Scotland. Since this announcement, the Scottish Government has been scoping how the activity announced in the PFG will proceed and the resourcing it will require.

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing its prospectus for an independent Scotland well in advance of an independence referendum taking place to allow the people of Scotland to make an informed decision about their future. That prospectus will set out the Scottish Government’s position on all matters required to make the choice an informed one, including on currency, banking, pensions, defence, foreign policy, trade, passports and border control. It will also provide details of how the current Scottish Government will make the transition to Scotland becoming an independent country, if the people of Scotland vote in favour of independence.

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.