Correspondence regarding public energy company and other various topics: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much money has been spent by the Scottish Government on public speaking lessons or a public speaking mentor in 2021, 2022 and 2023?
-Could you supply who the public speaking lessons were for, and a breakdown of these costs?

2. All discussions, briefings, correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government, including internal and notes about plans for a £2m artwork fund, as promised in the 2021 SNP manifesto, from between September 1 2023 and the date of this FOI.
-How much money has been dedicated to this fund and if no money has been set aside for it why? And when will money be set aside for it?

3. All discussions, briefings, correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government, including internal and notes, about Labour's plans for a public energy company, as announced here: https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/labour-to-base-publicly-owned-energy-company-inscotland-as-starmer-launches-green-vision-in-edinburgh-4187326

-From June 1 2023 to the date of this FOI.

4. All discussions, briefings, correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government, including internal and notes, about Scottish Government plans for a four day week, from between August 2023 and the date of this FOI.
-Is the government aware of any of its umbrella organisations adopting a four day week? If so, could you name these and details of them, including whether it is a pilot and whether salary remains the same?

5. All discussions, briefings, correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government, including internal and notes, about slavery-linked statues in Edinburgh and Glasgow, between January 2023 and the date of this FOI?

Response

Answer to question 1:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is that to locate and retrieve that information we would need to conduct a search of all of the records of the Scottish Government. It may help if I explain that we file our information according to the subject matter.

Under Section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. For example, you could restrict your request to a specific business area of the Scottish Government, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would require to be conducted. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

Answer to question 2:
In answer to your question, due to the effects of the pandemic and the current cost crisis facing the culture sector, along with the challenging outlook for public expenditure, the Scottish Government has had to make difficult choices to live within our largely fixed budgets.

The Scottish Government does not have a confirmed timeframe for when the fund will be actively in place, and as such no money has been set aside at this time. However, the Scottish Government is committed to broadening the range of people represented in Scotland’s public places, in particular the contribution of women and ethnic minorities.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. The reason why we don’t have the information is because there are no recorded discussions, briefings, correspondence or plans for the £2m artwork fund that are within scope between 1 September 2023 and the date of your FOI, 5 January 2024.

Answer to question 3:
The attached Annex 1 provides the response to question 3. While our aim to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested due to the following applied exemptions:

Section 38(1)(b) Personal data of a third party
Personal information of individuals below Senior Civil Service grade and those of individuals external to the Scottish Government have been redacted on the grounds of section 38(1)(b), personal data of a third party. 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.

Section 30(b)(i) Free and frank provision of advice
Section 30(b)(i), Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice. A small portion of the released internal communications information has been withheld on the grounds of section 30(b)(i). This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, substantially inhibit the free and frank exchange provision of advice. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Whilst recognising a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, we consider that there is a greater public interest in the ability for officials to have a private space within which to discuss and explore issues before reaching a conclusion.

Answer to question 4:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. I have carried out a high-level search of our electronic records. This indicates that there are over 1,000 files and correspondence items relating to the Scottish Government plans for a four day week, reflecting the fact that it is significant policy area.

Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may wish to consider submitting a narrower request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. For example, requesting a shorter time period or narrowing your request down to one of your categories (such as briefings) that you are interested in.

In relation to the second part of your request: “-Is the government aware of any of its umbrella organisations adopting a four day week, including whether it is a pilot and whether salary remains the same?”, I’d refer you to the Government’s recent response to a Parliamentary Question located here Written question and answer: S6W-24741 | Scottish Parliament Website. The full-time equivalent salary for South of Scotland Enterprise participating employees will remain the same as prior to the pilot beginning.

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.

Answer to question 5
The attached Annex 2 provides the response to your question. While our aim to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested due to the following exemption:

Section 38(1)(b) Personal data of a third party
Personal information of individuals below Senior Civil Service grade and those of individuals external to the Scottish Government have been redacted on the grounds of section 38(1)(b), personal data of a third party. 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.

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.

FOI 202400391851 - Information Released - Annex 1

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PDF

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FOI 202400391851 - Information Released - Annex 2

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139.8 kB