Costs for the First Minister to visit Germany for the European Football Championships: FOI release

Information requested

The total cost including flights and personal expenses for Mr. Swinney and his accompanying staff for the visit they made to Germany for the European Football Championships.

Response

The First Minister travelled to Germany on official business and was supported by a team of Officials and a Special Adviser. Please find a breakdown of the costs of the visit below:

Travel (flights / trains): £7,324.17
Accommodation: £3,657.49
Ground transport: £1,007.46
Subsistence/incremental expenses (inc. food and non-alcoholic drinks): £425.96
Total: £12,415.08

An exemption under section 39(1) of FOISA (health & safety) applies to some of the information you have requested. The Scottish Government does not provide information in relation to the First Minister’s security matters. This is because disclosure would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test.’ Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the 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. We recognise that there is some public interest in the arrangements for the First Minister’s travel, however, this is outweighed by the public interest in the safety of the First Minister.

The visit followed the rules on Ministerial overseas visits as set out in the Scottish Ministerial Code. This can be accessed via:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-ministerial-code-2023-edition

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.