Business Appointment Rules advice: Kate Forbes

Former minister: Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic.
Left office: May 2026
Appointment: Event host, True Stories Ltd. 
Advice provided: September 2026 
Appointment start date: October 2026

Thank you for your application under the Business Appointment Rules for Former Ministers (‘the Rules’) in relation to your prospective appointment to research and undertake four interviews for True Stories Events Ltd.

The purpose of the Rules is to protect the integrity of government, while enabling individuals to move to roles outside of government, by seeking to ensure that those who have served in government do not profit improperly from that experience and that their future employer does not gain unfair advantage through privileged access to government.

Section 12.2 of the Scottish Ministerial code sets out the process that former Ministers must follow, including seeking advice from the Independent Advisers before taking up any appointments or employment.

We have carefully considered your application, and consider that the following conditions should be applied. It is your responsibility to ensure that these are demonstrably applied in practice:

Waiting period - the standard waiting period of three months for former Cabinet members has now lapsed and we see no reason to extend this for this appointment.

Privileged information condition - you should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of the True Stories Events Ltd, including its related parties and clients) any privileged information available to you from your time in ministerial office. This is an ongoing duty irrespective of the time elapsed since you left office.

Lobbying condition - for two years from your last day in office, you should not become personally involved in lobbying the Government or its arms-length bodies on behalf of True Stories Events Ltd (including its related parties and clients); nor should you make use, directly or indirectly, of your contacts in the government and/or ministerial office to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage True Stories Events Ltd (including its related parties and clients).

Contracts and bids condition - for two years from your last day in office, you should not undertake any work with True Stories Events Ltd (including its related parties and clients) that involves providing advice on the terms of a bid with, or contract relating directly to the work of, the Government or its arm’s length bodies.

We would be grateful if you would additionally note the following points:

• this advice is not an endorsement of the appointment
• this advice relates solely to your previous role in government; it is separate from rules administered by other bodies such as the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Registrar of Lords’ Interests. It is your personal responsibility to understand any other rules and regulations you may be subject to in parallel with this advice
• by ‘privileged information’, we mean official information to which you had access as a consequence of holding office and which is not publicly available. You are also reminded that you may be subject to other duties of confidentiality, whether under the Official Secrets Act, the Ministerial Code or otherwise
• as set out in the Rules, the lobbying restriction means that former ministers ‘should not engage in communication with government (ministers, civil servants, including special advisers, and other relevant officials/public office holders) - wherever it takes place - with a view to influencing a government decision, policy or contract award/grant in relation to their own interests or the interests of the organisation by which they are employed, or to whom they are contracted or with which they hold office’

As soon as you take up the appointment, or if it is announced that you will do so, you are obliged under the Rules to inform the secretariat who will then publish this letter.

You must also inform us if you propose to extend or otherwise change the nature of your role as, depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary for you to make a fresh application.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Loftus, Sir Ernest Ryder and Sir John Manzoni,

The First Minister’s Independent Advisers on the Ministerial Code

Annex – material information and consideration of the risks

The role

You wish to take up a paid, part-time role with True Stories Events Ltd. This role will support the research and delivery, including hosting, of four in person interviews, with a live audience in attendance.

Your role would include:

• the research required to produce meaningful content
• audio visual direction of the four interviews to be undertaken
• delivery of on-stage interviews, with a live studio audience in place.

Departmental assessment

The Scottish Government (SG) confirmed they have no concerns relating to this fixed term appointment, subject to your ongoing obligations under the Ministerial code. The Scottish Government’s Propriety and Ethics directorate have recommended that standard conditions apply to the appointment.

Our consideration of the risks

The risks relating to your involvement in policy, regulatory or commercial decisions specific to True Stories Events Ltd are limited because:

• you were not responsible for Policy, regulatory or commercial decisions while in your previous Ministerial Appointment
• True Stories Events Ltd has no current contracts with Scottish Government
• your role does not include any corporate positioning in True Stories Events Ltd
• Scottish Government had no concerns over your access to privileged information in relation to this appointment, subject to your ongoing obligations under the Ministerial code

Your fixed term appointment with True Stories Events Ltd highlights your anticipated research and engagement with stakeholders to support delivery of a meaningful and successful interviews, which will include political attuite. You have confirmed this appointment will not include direct engagement personally with Scottish Government or government more generally.

In respect of contacts in other governments and organisations acquired only as a result of your role as a minister, there is a risk you could be seen to advantage True Stories Events Ltd unfairly by drawing on such contacts on their behalf to secure funds or opportunities for new income streams. We have therefore applied a restriction to prevent you from lobbying these contacts for the purpose of fundraising or prospecting for new income streams for True Stories Events Ltd during this appointment.

These factors significantly limit the risk of a reasonable perception that you are being appointed to influence the Government on the organisation’s behalf.