Royal Approval for travel by First Minister: FOI release
- Published
- 29 August 2023
- Topic
- Public sector
- FOI reference
- FOI/202300368959
- Date received
- 31 July 2023
- Date responded
- 21 August 2023
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
Paragraph 9.10 of the Scottish Ministerial Code [1] notes that the First Minister (with one exception) requires the permission of the King to travel abroad.
Therefore, I would like to request the disclosure of the following pair of documents, viz.
- any letter from the office of the First Minister requesting permission for his trip to Brussels on June 26th
- any reply from the Palace giving that permission.
In addition, I note there is a putative exception for attending EU Institutions. I would therefore also ask for it to be disclosed whether this exception is still effective post Brexit.
Response
As the First Minister's primary aim of the visit was engaging with the EU and its institutions, no letter was issued under Paragraph 9.10 on the Ministerial Code for this visit. I can also confirm that this provision remains in place, as evidenced by its inclusion in the latest edition of the Ministerial Code.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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