Travel by Ministers for Party Political Occasions: FOI release

Information requested

1. In Section 9.23 of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers – Party Political Occasions, it states that; ‘Where a visit is a mix of political and official engagements, it is important that the Government and the party each meet a proper proportion of the actual cost’. Please provide information on whether or not the SNP have been required to contribute to the cost of any of the ‘Overseas Visits’ undertaken by the former First Minister Ms Sturgeon and other Scottish Government Ministers during the period 2014 to 2023.
2. Please provide guidance on the procedure the Scottish Government implements when deciding on whether a contribution from ‘the party’ is required on ‘overseas visits’, when a visit is ‘a mix of political and official engagements’. Please include who is involved in the decision-making process and also who has the final say on the matter.
3. Please provide information on what would constitute a ‘political engagement’ during an overseas visit.
4. Please provide information on what would constitute a ‘political engagement’ rather than an ‘official engagement’ during visits based in Scotland which involve travel by Ministers provided by the Scottish Government Car Service, ministerial taxi journeys or other publicly-funded domestic travel.
5. Please provide information on whether the SNP have been required to make any contribution to the cost of travel/accommodation for the current First Minister, Humza Yousaf, during July and August 2023 during his visits to various parts of Scotland which have been documented on social media (Official X/twitter account of the First Minister and personal X/twitter account of Humza Yousaf) as a mix of official visits and SNP political visits/meetings.
6. In Section 9.2 of the Ministerial Code it states that; ‘Propriety: Official transport should not normally be used for travel arrangements arising from party or private business’. Please provide information on whether ‘official transport’ provided by the Scottish Government has been used for the First Minister Humza Yousaf, when he has attended various events during July and August 2023 in his capacity as the leader and ‘First Activist’ of the SNP.
7. Please provide information on whether or not all travel (within Scotland) carried out by those holding the position of First Minister of Scotland, is provided by the ‘official transport’ of the Scottish Government during their time in office.

Response

I have provided a response to each part of your request below.

Question 1. In Section 9.23 of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers – Party Political Occasions, it states that; ‘Where a visit is a mix of political and official engagements, it is important that the Government and the party each meet a proper proportion of the actual cost’. Please provide information on whether or not the SNP have been required to contribute to the cost of any of the ‘Overseas Visits’ undertaken by the former First Minister Ms Sturgeon and other Scottish Government Ministers during the period 2014 to 2023.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

Question 2. Please provide guidance on the procedure the Scottish Government implements when deciding on whether a contribution from ‘the party’ is required on ‘overseas visits’, when a visit is ‘a mix of political and official engagements’. Please include who is involved in the decision-making process and also who has the final say on the matter.

In a situation where an overseas visit included a mix of political and official engagements, the political engagements would be organised and paid for by the relevant political party. The party would also be expected to staff that event and arrange any specific additional travel requirements to ensure any minister could attend. No civil service support would be extended that would require reimbursement.

In this instance, practical arrangements would be made by the relevant private office in conjunction with party contacts and special advisers, whose job is to provide political support within government. In the event of shared travel costs, the minister’s private office would work with party contacts to agree payment, with oversight provided by the relevant deputy director – in this instance, the First Minister’s Principle Private Secretary. Ultimate responsibility for decision making in relation to the Ministerial Code rests with the First Minister.

Question 3. Please provide information on what would constitute a ‘political engagement’ during an overseas visit.

A political engagement is one scheduled and organised by the minister’s political party. As per the stipulations in the Ministerial Code and Civil Service Code, 1. Scottish Ministers - Scottish Ministerial Code: 2023 Edition - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) government officials would not be present at such events. Any visits or events scheduled and organised by the government as part of an overseas visit are by their nature government business.

Question 4. Please provide information on what would constitute a ‘political engagement’ rather than an ‘official engagement’ during visits based in Scotland which involve travel by Ministers provided by the Scottish Government Car Service, ministerial taxi journeys or other publicly-funded domestic travel.

A political engagement is one scheduled and organised by the minister’s political party. As per the stipulations in the Ministerial Code and Civil Service Code, government officials would not be present at such events. Any visits or events scheduled and organised by the government within Scotland are by their nature official government business.

All Ministerial travel is published is published here: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Other than where security considerations are required, the government car service is permitted to deliver a minister to a political event as the final destination in their working day; or to pick up a minister from a political event in order to take them to government engagements, or to travel home at the end of a working day, when they have made their own way to that event.

When a political event occurred in the course of a working day of government business, a publicly funded taxi, train or bus travel could be claimed by Ministers in the same way: showing travel one way (to or from) a political event, which would represent a proper proportion of the actual cost of travel in that day.

Question 5. Please provide information on whether the SNP have been required to make any contribution to the cost of travel/accommodation for the current First Minister, Humza Yousaf, during July and August 2023 during his visits to various parts of Scotland which have been documented on social media (Official X/twitter account of the First Minister and personal X/twitter account of Humza Yousaf) as a mix of official visits and SNP political visits/meetings.

In relation to the First Minister’s visits in July, I can confirm that the Scottish National Party booked and paid for the hotel accommodation used by the First Minister during this visit as a share of the visit costs agreed between the party and the private office. The August visit was not supported by the Scottish Government – it was a political engagement, organised by the Scottish National Party.

Question 6. In Section 9.2 of the Ministerial Code it states that; ‘Propriety: Official transport should not normally be used for travel arrangements arising from party or private business’. Please provide information on whether ‘official transport’ provided by the Scottish Government has been used for the First Minister Humza Yousaf, when he has attended various events during July and August 2023 in his capacity as the leader and ‘First Activist’ of the SNP.

For security reasons, the Scottish Government does not comment on the travel arrangements for the First Minister. An exemption under section s.39(1) of FOISA applies to the information you have requested. This is because disclosure would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual. 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 the travel arrangements for the First Minister or Former First Ministers. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in the safety of the First Minister or Former First Ministers.

Question 7. Please provide information on whether or not all travel (within Scotland) carried out by those holding the position of First Minister of Scotland, is provided by the ‘official transport’ of the Scottish Government during their time in office.”

For security reasons, the Scottish Government does not comment on the travel or accommodation arrangements for the First Minister. An exemption under section s.39(1) of FOISA applies to the information you have requested. This is because disclosure would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual. 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 the travel arrangements for the First Minister or Former First Ministers. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in the safety of the First Minister or Former First Ministers.

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.