Gifts received by First Minister: FOI release

Information requested

• Please provide me with a list of all gifts received by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over her term in office.
• Please tell me what the items are, when they were gifted and by whom. If possible, please include a value.
• Please also tell us whether Ms Sturgeon was able to keep these gifts or not.

Response

As set out in the Scottish Ministerial Code, gifts of a value of £140 or more are recorded by the Scottish Government:

"11.20 This is primarily a matter which must be left to the good sense of Ministers. But any Minister in doubt or difficulty over this should seek the advice of the Permanent Secretary. The following specific rules apply:

1. Gifts given to Ministers in their Ministerial capacity become the property of the Government;
2. However, gifts of small value, currently up to £140, may be retained by the Minister in question. If not retained by the Minister, gifts of small value should be handed over to the Minister’s Private Office for disposal;
3. Gifts of a higher value must, in all cases, be reported to the Permanent Secretary. Such gifts may be purchased by the recipient at their cash value (abated by £140). If not purchased by the Minister, gifts of a higher value should be handed over to the Permanent Secretary for disposal;
4. There is usually no customs duty or import VAT payable on the importation of official gifts received overseas. HMRC can advise on any cases of doubt. If a Minister wishes to retain a gift, he or she will be liable for any tax it may attract."

Further details on ministerial gifts can be found in Section 11.19 - 11.24.

The majority of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government website up to and including December 2022, this includes when they were gifted and by whom. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested in relation to under gifts under the value of £140.

The remainder of the information requested will be published shortly and within 12 weeks of your request and will be available at the link above. This is a formal notice that section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

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.