Scotland's finances article and Scottish Affairs Committee request: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much money has been spent on 'commissioners' by the Scottish Government in each of the last five years? Could you supply a list of each commissioner and how much they cost overall, including office costs?

2. How much is earmarked to be spent on "commissioners" in the next three years, including naming how many new ones will be created?

3. All internal and external correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, briefings written for ministers, and notes held about warnings from the Scottish Parliament's finance committee that Scotland could run out of money as shown here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/msps-warnscotland-could-run-out-of-money-992jcj0tv
-Can you include any analysis or discussions by civil servants about how to respond to this warning? Timeframe: October 1 2023 to date of this FOI.

4. All internal correspondence and external correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, briefings written for ministers, and notes held about Humza Yousaf refusing a request to appear in front of the Scottish Affairs committee as shown here: https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/humza-yousaf-snubs-snp-mp-31857405
-Can this include discussions about why the invitation was rejected by Spads/civil servants? Time frame November 1 2023 and date of this FOI.

Response

In relation to your request for:

1. How much money has been spent on 'commissioners' by the Scottish Government in each of the last five years? Could you supply a list of each commissioner and how much they cost overall, including office costs?

Response to your request

We interpret your question to refer to commissioners as those bodies listed as Parliamentary Commissioners and Ombudsmen in the National Public Bodies Directory: National public bodies: directory - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . We do not hold this information as Parliamentary Commissioners are appointed and funded by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB). You may wish to refer to the individual websites for each of these bodies to find out further information, including their annual accounts. Please refer to attached Microsoft Word Document Q1a for links to individual websites.

In relation to your request for:

2. How much is earmarked to be spent on "commissioners" in the next three years, including naming how many new ones will be created?

Response to your request

As Parliamentary commissioners are appointed and funded by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) it is a matter for Parliament as to whether any new Parliamentary Commissioners are to be created in future years. Similarly, the financial resources sought by such office-holders to support their respective functions are, as provided for in relevant Acts, a matter for the Parliament. As the Scottish Government publishes single year spending plans, we are unable to provide information on funding for commissioners for 2025-26 and 2026-27. The Scottish Budget is dependent on annual announcements made by the UK Government in their Autumn Statement and the forecasts of the Office for Budget Responsibility and, as such, projecting funding for future years is difficult and could be inaccurate.

Parliamentary commissioners are appointed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB). The Scottish Budget allocates £143.1 million to SPCB for 2024-25. Please note, the 2024-25 Scottish Budget is still subject to Parliamentary scrutiny as the Budget Bill passes through Parliament.

You can find further information on the 2024-25 Scottish Budget here: Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In relation to your request for:

3. All internal and external correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, briefings written for ministers, and notes held about warnings from the Scottish Parliament's finance committee that Scotland could run out of money as shown here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/msps-warnscotland-could-run-out-of-money-992jcj0tv
-Can you include any analysis or discussions by civil servants about how to respond to this warning? Timeframe: October 1 2023 to date of this FOI.

Response to your request

The potential spending gap referred to in the FPAC report was projected by the Scottish Government and published in the 2023-24 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). You can find more information on this here: The Scottish Government's Medium-Term Financial Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) As this information originated within the Scottish Government, a response would not be appropriate. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

As part of the Written Agreement with the Finance and Public Administration Committee, the Scottish Government is expected to respond to pre-budget scrutiny correspondence within seven days of the Budget being published. The Scottish Government published its response to the Finance and Public Administration Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny report on 19 December. You can find this here: PreBudget Scrutiny 202425 Scottish Government response to Committee report | Scottish Parliament Website. This is a formal notice that all the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government website, as detailed above. 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(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

In relation to your request for:

4. All internal correspondence and external correspondence received and sent by the Scottish Government, briefings written for ministers, and notes held about Humza Yousaf refusing a request to appear in front of the Scottish Affairs committee as shown here: https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/humza-yousaf-snubs-snp-mp-31857405
-Can this include discussions about why the invitation was rejected by Spads/civil servants? Time frame November 1 2023 and date of this FOI.

Response to your request

The answer to your question is contained within the attached documents numbered Q4a – Q4d An exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)]of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. Exemption 38(1)(b) applies to the redaction of personal information.

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 202400395287 - Information released - Documents 1 - 5

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8 page PDF

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