Scottish Languages Bill, Gaelic on road signs and the winter solstice: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much money has been spent overall, with a breakdown of costs, on the Scottish Government's Scottish Languages bill?

2. Could you describe the process, including correspondence and briefings, behind the official Scottish Government social justice account wishing a happy winter solstice on December 21:
https://x.com/ScotGovFairer/status/1737835773557354674

3. Could you supply any briefings, correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government, including internally, minutes/notes from meetings, about Gaelic or Scots words being put on road signs, between July 2023 and the date of this FOI.

Response

Part One: How much money has been spent overall, with a breakdown of costs, on the Scottish Government's Scottish Languages bill?

Please see Annex A for a copy of the information you requested.

Part Two: Could you describe the process, including correspondence and briefings, behind the official Scottish Government social justice account wishing a happy winter solstice on December 21: https://x.com/ScotGovFairer/status/1737835773557354674

Please find attached in Annex A, correspondence relating to the post and graphic. The clearance requirements for social media posts will vary depending on the subject and related policy area. Typical clearance groups include senior policy officials and communications officials. Special Advisors may be included in correspondence to provide additional advice on the drafting of social media posts, and depending on the subject of the post, final clearance may also be sought at Ministerial, Director or Permanent Secretary level.

The Faith and Belief Engagement Strategy was developed jointly with faith and belief representatives and published in March 2023. The purpose of the strategy is to strengthen communication, engagement and collaboration between Scottish Government and Scotland’s diverse faith and belief communities. As well as a focus on external engagement, the strategy includes a focus on developing an interfaith and multi-faith approach to community cohesion.

Ministerial messaging has marked a number of faith and belief events and festivals as part of an approved calendar of events, which was developed and agreed with faith and belief representatives to ensure parity. These messages have been well received by community members and have continued throughout 2023 and 2024. They provide a valuable opportunity to show a positive message on a wide basis. Following discussion with faith and belief group representatives, it was agreed that a similar number of messages each year would be provided by Ministers for each main faith and belief group, in order to provide parity. In 2023, Pagan festivals of summer and winter solstice were included, following from the addition of the Scottish Pagan Federation to the faith and belief representative group, and at their suggestion.

The following exemptions have been applied to some of this information:

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, eg names/contact details of individuals below the Senior Civil Service, and disclosing it 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.

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some of the information requested. It is essential for officials to be able to communicate often in confidence on a range of issues. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. We have considered if the public interest in disclosing 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, allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to consider materials being drafted for public communication.

Part Three: Could you supply any briefings, correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government, including internally, minutes/notes from meetings, about Gaelic or Scots words being put on road signs, between July 2023 and the date of this FOI.

Please see Annexes B and C for information related to the third part of your request.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals and companies, and disclosing it 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 202400409974 - Information released - Annex A - C

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37 page PDF

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3.7 MB