Civil servants working on Independence in the modern world paper: FOI release

Information requested

Can I please request the following information:

The number of civil servants who worked on the Renewing Democracy through Independence paper from the Scottish Government.

The total number of printed copies of this paper were made in total.

If you can’t give me the overall total number of printed copies of the paper, can I please have the number of printed copies of this paper that were handed out at the launch event and all costs to the Scottish Government associated with this launch event.

Response

Part 1

The work on the Renewing Democracy through Independence paper drew on some officials from the Constitutional Futures Division and also drew on other officials across a range of portfolios who contributed to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government.

I am unable to provide you with a figure for the total number of staff who contributed to the second paper in the prospectus series because in line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded because there is no business need to do this. 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.

Part 2

200 copies of Renewing Democracy through Independence were printed.

Part 3

The launch event for this publication incurred costs associated with the use of audio-visual equipment and use of a British Sign Language interpreter. The audio-visual costs were £1,341 and the BSL costs were £350.

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.