Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF) invitations and dinner: FOI release

Information requested

1. All correspondences to/from Humza Yousaf relating to invitations to a Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF) in September 2015 which were sent out in May 2015 to a number of distinguished and/or influential leaders. I would like to understand how the list of attendees was decided upon and also why the Scottish Government sent the invitations and hosted the dinner because this was organised by the Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC)
who were heavily funded by Scottish Government.

2. What remit does / did IFC UK have regarding developing ethical finance?

3. What responses were received from each of the invitees and who actually attended the dinner. Were any other VIPs sent invitations by Humza Yousaf other than those listed below?

4. Was any guidance sought or received from the FCDO regarding the invitation of fairly influential people to this Forum?

5. What was the cost to the Scottish Government for hosting the dinner and what budgets was it paid from?

6. Any correspondences between Humza Yousaf and the First Minister regarding the sending of the invitations and the hosting of the dinner.

The invitations which have been shared in a prior FOI response 202400395815 include those to:

The Most Revd. And Rt Hon. Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury
Governor Central Bank of Kuwait

Governor Central Bank of Bahrain
Chief Executive Officer Dubai Islamic Bank
General Counsel, Executive Vice President Legal Group Head Office Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Chair of the PRI Advisory Council The Principles for Responsible Investment
Managing Director, Head of ESG State Street Global Advisors
Americas Head, Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment BlackRock
Managing Director Crescent Wealth
Laurence A Tisch Professor of History Harvard University Center for European Studies
Group Chief Executive Officer Noor Investment Group LLC Downtown Dubai
Professor of Management Practice Harvard Business School
Secretary General Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions Al Nakheel Tower
Secretary General Islamic Financial Services Board
Director of International Activities International Financial Reporting Stanadrds Foundation
Senior Advisor to the Group Chairman and Group Chief Executive HSBC holdings
President Islamic Development Bank
Director, The Earth Institute Columbia University
President and Chief Executive Officer Pax World Mutual Funds
Chief Executive Officer Triodos Bank
Chief Executive Officer F&C Asset Management plc
Head, Derivatives and Structured Finance The World Bank
Managing Director Principles for Responsible Investment
Senior Fellow Initiative for Responsible Investment Harvard University
Chief Executive Prudential Regulation Authority
Managing Director Vanguard Asset Management
Chief Executive Officer Hermes Investment Management
Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Office, Equities Calvert Investment Management Inc
President Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies
Chief Executive Officer Arabesque Asset Management Ltd
Emir of Kano Central Bank of Nigeria
Chief Executive Officer Al Rayan Bank

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested, however, while our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under the following sections (s) apply:

• s.17 Notice that information is not held;
• s.38(1)(b) Personal information of FOISA applies to that information.

The reasons why the exemptions apply are explained in Annex A

In response to your questions 1 to 6 (above):

Question 1

• I would like to understand how the list of attendees was decided upon and also why the Scottish Government sent the invitations and hosted the dinner because this was organised by the Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC) who were heavily funded by Scottish Government.

The list of attendees for the Global Ethical Financial Forum 2015 (GEFF 2015) was formulated collaboratively between the Scottish Government and the Islamic Finance Council UK (IFCUK). The IFCUK originally proposed an invite list, which was then presented to Scottish Government officials for comment and any additional guests to be added. This process ensured there was appropriate representation from leading and senior figures in green and ethical finance and from across the financial services sector – both within the UK and abroad.

As the Scottish Government has privileged access to host events in the Great Hall and Royal Apartments at Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish Government hosted the dinner and issued the invitations in line with our official guidance.

Question 2

• What remit does / did IFC UK have regarding developing ethical finance?

The Scottish Government does not hold this information and an exemption under s.17 of FOISA applies.

The Islamic Finance Council UK (IFCUK) is an independent, specialist not-for-profit organization which is not under the remit of the Scottish Government. You may wish to visit their website: Home - Islamic Finance Council UK (ukifc.com) for further information.

Question 3

• What responses were received from each of the invitees and who actually attended the dinner.
• Were any other VIPs sent invitations by Humza Yousaf other than those listed below?

The Scottish Government does not hold the responses from each of the invitees and an exemption unders.17(1) of FOISA applies. However, we have attached an excel list of all those who attended the civic reception at the Castle – please note this attachment was not for a dinner.

I can confirm that additional invitations were issued to other VIPs not listed in your request. These are included in the released documents.

Question 4

• Was any guidance sought or received from the FCDO regarding the invitation of fairly influential people to this Forum?

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

Question 5

• What was the cost to the Scottish Government for hosting the dinner and what budgets was it paid from?

The total cost to the Scottish Government for hosting the ‘civic reception’ was £7,352.84, Paid from the [then] Department for Economic Development: Innovation, Investment and Industries Division budget.

Question 6

• Any correspondences between Humza Yousaf and the First Minister regarding the sending of the invitations and the hosting of the dinner.

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

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because if there was any correspondence it was routinely destroyed, in accordance with our standard records management practice, before the date of your request.

ANNEX A

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

S17: The Scottish Government does not have the information

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for regarding the remit of the IFCUK and the full list of invitees to the GEFF 2015 event and their responses because it is not retained by the Scottish Government in accordance with our standard records management practice.

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

S38: Personal Information

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to a small amount of that information, being the personal data of a third party, i.e. the names of junior officials and personal details of other persons. Disclosing such would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 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 202400403613 - Information released - Attachment 1

File type

34 page PDF

File size

820.4 kB

FOI 202400403613 - Information released - Attachment 2

File type

Excel document

File size

29.7 kB