Independence referendum and prospectus resources: FOI release

Information requested

Given the rapidly increasing likely resources now being employed on another independent referendum, please supply me with exact details of that resource and the expected total budget, the Scottish Government is providing for the First Minister's referendum and independence planning, communications and public engagement expected?

Please include specific information on:

• Number of Government officials, their grades and cost?
• Freelance, legal and consultancy advice, support and management including scope of work and cost?
• Media work, including staff and advertising costs, paid content in print, audio-visual and digital media?
• Public engagement, including funding for interest groups?

I note there was a previous FOI on this:

• reference FOI/202200278056
• Date received 3 February 2022
• Date responded 3 March 2022

In that, Government said the Referendums Scotland Bill Team was a team of two civil servants (C2 and C1). Constitutional Futures Division comprised of twelve officials (5 x C2, 6 x C1 and 1 x B3) and one Senior Civil Servant. And that these numbers "may change as the work programme evolves". We are clearly evolving fast.

 

Response

As you will have noted from the published response to a Freedom of Information request on the Scottish Government’s website which you have referenced, the 2021/22 Programme for Government (PfG) set out that the Scottish Government will work to ensure that a legitimate and constitutional referendum can be held within this Parliamentary term, and that a detailed prospectus for an independent Scotland will be prepared.

The work to prepare legislation for an independence referendum is being taken forward by the Referendums Scotland Bill Team and the work to prepare an independence prospectus is being coordinated by the Constitutional Futures Division. Both these teams are part of the Constitution and Cabinet Directorate.

The work of the Referendums Scotland Bill Team and the Constitutional Futures Division will also draw on other officials across a range of portfolios who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government does not have a recorded number of other staff who will participate in this work because, in line with usual practice, the Scottish Government does not routinely record details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, as there is no business need to do so. This is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

At 28 June 2022, staff in the Scottish Government’s Referendums Scotland Bill Team comprised of 4 officials (graded 1 C2, 2 C1s, 1 B2).

Details of the Scottish Government’s Constitutional Futures Division staff were recently published in FOI/202200306420, which showed that the division comprised of 1 Senior Civil Servant and 19 other officials. At 28 June 2022, staff in the Constitutional Futures Division, comprised of 1 Senior Civil Servant (Deputy Director) and 21 other officials (graded 1 C3, 6 C2s, 9 C1s, 1 B3, 2 B2, 2 B1).

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because it is personal data of a third party, specifically the salaries of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

As part of our commitment to be an open and transparent government we do disclose salary details of senior civil servants, the salary band for the post in Constitutional Futures Division is below.

Deputy Director – Constitutional Futures £77,340 - £83,233

Details of the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Portfolio Spending Plans covering an independence referendum can be found on page 53 of the Resource Spending Review, published on 31 May 2022. 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 websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy. The Scottish Government has not created a separate budget for the production of the independence prospectus, from that already allocated to portfolios for operational costs for the current financial year.

The Scottish Government has not used any external consultants when taking forward the independence related work set out in the PfG and therefore, no costs have been incurred. At 28 June 2022, the Scottish Government had spent £27,193.84 on external counsel advising on the referral to the Supreme Court.

No advertising or paid promotion has been carried out in relation to the Scottish Government’s ongoing work relating to the independence prospectus or to prepare for an independence referendum.

At 28 June 2022, three members of staff in the Scottish Government’s Communications Directorate were coordinating communications and media work for the independence prospectus. This work, and any communications work relating to an independence referendum, will draw on other communications officials who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the delivery of Scottish Government policy outcomes.

I am unable to provide you with a figure for the total number of staff or staff costs because in line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded because there is no business need to do this. This is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

At 28 June 2022 no final decisions had been taken regarding spending on public engagement. The Scottish Government has no plans to provide any funding for interest groups. This is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

About FOI

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