Heath Secretary's attendance at the Scotland v Georgia football match: FOI release

Information requested

In relation to Neil Gray attending the Scotland v Georgia football match on 20 June 2023:

How many Scottish Government officials accompanied Mr Gray to this ministerial engagement?

Please supply all information in the ministerial briefing given to Mr Gray for this event and all notes or minutes resulting from the event.

Please also supply all information in the correspondence between Mr Gray, or his office, and the person or body which invited him, in relation to his attendance.

This should include, but not be limited to, all information in the invitation and in any follow-up correspondence.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. Exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA apply to some of the information you have requested. This means we have redacted information linked to 38(1)(b) relating to personal details of members of the public and Scottish Government officials under the grade of Senior Civil Servant.

In terms of how the visits were arranged and who accompanied Mr Gray, the Scottish FA and SPFL regularly invite Ministers to international matches and domestic cup finals and semi-finals. These provide a good opportunity to engage with a number of football stakeholders on current key issues. Invitations are sent to the Scottish Government by the organising body, either the Scottish Football Association or the Scottish Professional Football League, and, as with any engagement invitation, officials provide advice to Ministers on potential attendance.

Government Car Service vehicles and drivers are operated as shared resources, and as a consequence frequently cover multiple customers throughout that day. We therefore we do not record costs for individual journeys.

For each of these three visits, Mr Gray was accompanied by a Scottish Government official and a guest. The names of these attendees are withheld under Section 38(1)(b) (personal information).

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202400440396 - Information released - Annex

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