Gifts given by Scottish Government Ministers: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. A list of gifts given by Scottish Government Ministers during external meetings and overseas travel to, for example, other Ministers etc over the last five years.
2. Please include (i) the Scottish Government Minister who gave the gift, (ii) the individual who received the gift, and (iii) the price of this gift.
Response
I can confirm that some of the information is already available for 2021, 2022 and some of 2023, therefore I am applying Section 25(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 exempting information from this response on the basis that it is already publicly available.
Please see this FOI response:
Gifts handed out by the Scottish Government for 2023, 2022 and 2021: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The information that is already publicly available for 2021, 2023 and some of 2023 does not include details on the Minister who gave the gift, however details of all Ministerial engagements are proactively published by the Scottish Government, where you can find information relating to all external meetings held by Scottish Government Ministers. The information can be accessed at the below link:
Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Please find attached some of the information you requested at Annex A, relating to gifts given out in 2019, 2020, the remainder of 2023 and 2024 (to the date of your request, 16 August 2024) by Scottish Government Ministers. This list includes details on the Minister who gave the gift.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested as we were unable to find the exact dates in which meetings took place and some costs for the gifts given. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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