Ministerial car journeys and the number of ministerial cars: FOI release

Information requested

1. Details of all journeys undertaken in ministerial cars by Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater since they became ministers.

2. The date, distance travelled, where the journey began and ended and the reason for their use.

3. For the same time frame, the total number of ministerial car journeys undertaken by all ministers.

4. The number of cars currently within the ministerial fleet.

Response

We are able to provide some of the information you have requested, however exemptions apply to other aspects of your request. The Government Car Service fleet is currently composed of 28 vehicles.

Exemption 25(1) applies to the information you have requested regarding Ministerial car journeys from August 2021 to August 2022.

All Ministerial car journeys for this period have been routinely and proactively published and can be found via the following link.

Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This is a formal notice under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

If, however, you are able to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact us again and we will send you a paper copy.

Exemption 27(1) applies to the information requested regarding Ministerial car journeys from September 2022 to November 2022, as this information will be published in the next 12 weeks.

You will be able to access the information via the link above.

This is a formal notice under 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.

Our application of this exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information now outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have concluded that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, since providing this information at this point, given that it will shortly be published, would not be a responsible use of public resources and therefore not be in the public interest.

Exemption 17(1) applies to the information you have requested regarding individual distances travelled for each specific Ministerial journey in official vehicles, we do not record this information, as there is no business need to do so.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of 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.