International visits undertaken by First Ministers: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
A list of all international visits undertaken by the following First Ministers, including dates to and from and what each visit was concerning:
- Donald Dewar
- Henry McLeish
- Jack McConnell
- Alex Salmond
- Nicola Sturgeon
- Humza Yousaf
Response
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.
Most of the information you have requested is available from our website (for visits from May 2016 to March 2023) here [Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)] or from the National Records of Scotland (from June 2008 to May 2016) here: [Ministerial Engagements (webarchive.org.uk)]. 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 exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
I have attached details of international visits undertaken by First Ministers prior to May 2016. Details of ministerial engagements are regularly updated and the First Minister has carried out one international visit since March 2023: visiting Brussels from Monday 26 June to Wednesday 28 June to discuss links between Scotland and Europe.
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 Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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