Various questions relating to Independence: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
1. Could you supply all analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government this year, along with any briefings or correspondence, about how much it would cost to set up a new defence force, as well as a new security agency in the event of independence?
2. Could you supply all analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government this year, along with any briefings or correspondence, about a timescale for removal of nuclear weapons from the Clyde?
3. How many civil servants are currently involved in the constitutional futures division and what is the full salary costs for the division?
4. Could you supply all correspondence sent and received by the Scottish Government mentioning or with NATO, including internally, from the past six months?
5. Has the London School of Economics been utilised as research for any of the independence papers and could you supply what exactly has been studied?
6. Could you supply who helped to write Humza Yousaf's speech at LSE on March 12, all drafts of it, including corrections made, and can you provide evidence to prove his point when he said that “Scotland, of course, member of the European Union for many decades - we comply with the Acquis Communautaire" https://twitter.com/staylorish/status/1768007042051010915
Response
1. The current Scottish Government’s proposals for defence forces and a security agency for an independent Scotland were published on 4 March 2024 in “Building a New Scotland: An independent Scotland's Place in the World”. This publication included comparative analysis of countries of similar population size to Scotland, to give a realistic indication of the scale of capability an independent Scotland could need.
The publication also stated that in advance of an independence referendum taking place, the current Scottish Government would commission a comprehensive Defence and Security Review, alongside a strategic threat assessment, which would provide expert analysis and recommendations for the size, shape and specific capabilities that Scotland should plan for when building its armed forces. This work to date has not taken place.
2. A small amount of briefing material has been identified, and is enclosed in the Annex of this letter.
The current Scottish Government’s position has consistently been clear that we seek the removal of nuclear weapons from an independent Scotland in the safest and quickest manner possible. Decisions about the timescale for doing so would be a matter for negotiation between both the Scottish Government and UK Government following a vote for independence.
3. At 16 May 2024, Constitutional Futures Division had 19 members of staff. The salary costs for the 2023/24 financial year were £1,341,218.47.
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. The reason for this is that to locate and retrieve every item of correspondence held by the Scottish Government containing the acronym "NATO", and created over the past six months, we would need to conduct a search of all of the Scottish Government’s records over this timescale. It may be helpful to explain that we file our information according to the subject matter, not by reference to particular phrases.
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 choose a particular subject connected to NATO that you are interested in, or 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.
5. London School of Economics studies were referenced in the following publications in the Building a New Scotland series:
Building a New Scotland: an independent Scotland in the EU - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Building a New Scotland: Our marine sector in an independent Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
6. The speech to which you refer was written by Special Advisers with input from the former First Minister. Civil servants from Constitution Directorate, DG Economy and the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser also provided some input. An exemption under Section 30(c) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. The reason why this exemption applies is explained in Annex B of this letter.
The speech as published on gov.scot can be accessed at the following link:
In regards to your query about the video in the social media post to which you refer, it is my understanding that the former First Minister was referring to the fact that Scotland, as one of the constituent countries of the UK, was part of the EU for over 47 years through the UK's membership. Further details can be found in the publication "Building a new Scotland: An independent Scotland in the EU".
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Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
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