Publication - FOI/EIR release

Declared receipts of gifts and hospitality by staff: FOI release

Published: 1 August 2018
Directorate: People Directorate
Topic: Public sector

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

FOI reference: FOI/18/01845
Date received: 28 June 2018
Date responded: 16 July 2018

Information requested

For the staff within each Directorate-General area within the Core Scottish Government:

Please provide details of all declared receipts of gifts, gratuities and/or hospitality by [Directorate-General] staff for the financial years 2018/19 (up to the present date); 2017/18; 2016/17; 2015/16; 2014/15; 2013/14.

This should include the name of the recipient; the nature of the gift, gratuity and/or hospitality; the value of the gift, gratuity and/or hospitality; the name of the individual or company who supplied the gift, gratuity and/or hospitality; the date the gift, gratuity and/or hospitality was accepted/took place.

Response

Scottish Government staff are occasionally offered gifts or hospitality while carrying out normal official business. Although these items were recorded as gifts to officials, these are mainly in respect of events, working lunches or dinners, which officials attend on behalf of the Scottish Government as part of their jobs. There are clear guidelines and procedures in place, balancing accepted business practice and social convention while avoiding impropriety and conflict of interest. The Scottish Government enforces a clear, consistent policy regarding gifts and hospitality. Due to their forward facing nature, some posts will attract a higher number of offers of gifts and hospitality than others, such as posts involving diplomatic relations or cultural promotion.

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested as an Excel spreadsheet. A guide to interpreting this spreadsheet is attached as Annex A to this letter.

Information on gifts and hospitality received by the strategic board up to 30 June 2016 is already available to you at:

https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20170401072541/http://www.gov.scot/About/People/strategic-board/business-expenses

Information on gifts and hospitality received by the strategic board/executive team from July 2016 to present is already available to you at:

/search/?q=gifts+%26+hospitality

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to provide you with information if it 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.

Entries from the Gifts and Hospitality register up to 2013/14 was provided under a previous FoI release. A copy of the response letter and associated data table are attached for your convenience.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section s.21(1) (information intended for future publication) and section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to this information.

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