UK Covid-19 inquiry cost: FOI release

Information requested

Please provide a full breakdown of all costs relating to current and former Scottish Government ministers and officials preparing and giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 inquiry, including any spending on internal or external companies to help prepare witnesses and also internal and external legal advice.

For internal spend, please include how many working hours were spent preparing each individual witness who gave evidence.

Response

All Scottish Government witnesses, including ministers and current and former civil servants, required to provide evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, have done so to the best of their ability based on their own knowledge and experience.

As has been the case in relation to previous Public Inquires and is common in administrations across the UK, the Scottish Government provided appropriate levels of support to prepare witnesses for their appearance at the Inquiry including the provision of logistical support and reassurances about what to expect whilst giving evidence; what a Public Inquiry is and how it will be run.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the Scottish Government does not hold some of the information you have requested.

Please find below a breakdown of the travel and accommodation costs incurred by the date of this FOI (1 February 2024) for witnesses attending Module 1 and Module 2a of the UK Covid Inquiry below:

Car services - £2868.87
Trains - £937.10
Travel card - £15.50
Hotels - £1864.54
Parking - £39.50

The Scottish Government Legal Directorate (“SGLD”) provided support to witnesses to assist current and former Ministers and Officials to prepare for giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Support was also provided by officials within the Covid Inquiries Response Directorate of the Scottish Government. SG staff do not, as a matter of course, record the proportion of time spent on given activities. SG therefore does not hold the information you seek abo ut the amount of internal working hours spent offering support to witnesses.

SGLD also out-sourced part of its work of providing support to witnesses to Morton Fraser MacRoberts. As of the date of your request being received (1 February 2024), the Scottish Government had not received an invoice from Morton Fraser MacRoberts that details the cost for this support.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested about a total cost or expenditure on support to witnesses giving evidence to the UK inquiry. 

The Scottish Government Legal Directorate (“SGLD”) and Morton Fraser MacRoberts on behalf of SGLD have not provided any legal advice to witnesses.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested as regards the cost of internal legal advice by SGLD or its outsourcing partner to witnesses.

Limited funding for legal representation for witnesses was available from the Scottish Government. This funding was to enable witnesses to obtain independent legal support and advice. As of the date ofthis request being received (1 February 2024), the Scottish Government had not incurred any expenditure on independent legal representation. Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the
Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested as regards the cost of any external legal advice.

In the interests of providing reasonable advice and assistance to your request for information, under Section 15 of FOISA, you may also be interested in the quarterly expenditure report published by the UK Inquiry.

This is available on their website Documents Archive - UK Covid-19 Inquiry (covid19.public-inquiry.uk)

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.