Details of meetings with Gladman Scotland, Cala Homes or Barret Homes West:FOI release

Clarification on the scope of your request was received on 29 August 2018, in which you asked for:

The details of any meetings  from January 2013 to August 2018,  involving:

• Nicola Sturgeon (SNP First Minister)
• Keith Brown (SNP Depute Leader)
• Angela Constance (Cabinet Secretary for Communities)
• Kevin Stewart (Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning)

With the companies listed below:

• Gladman Scotland
• Homes for Scotland
• Cala Homes Scotland
• Barret Homes West Scotland
• Cala Homes (West)
• Caledonian Properties
• Geddes Consulting Quadrant 17 Bernard Street Edinburgh EH6 6PW
• Montagu Evans LLP 302 St Vincent Street Glasgow G2 5RU

Covering two areas:

1.          All direct meetings where Nicola Sturgeon, Keith Brown, Angela Constance, Kevin Stewart or  their representative or representatives met with any representative or representatives of the  companies mentioned . The information should, specifically, include information regarding:

• who was present at the meetings
• when  they met
• why they met
• where they met
• what the agendas were 
• what the resulting decisions/recommendations of those agendas were

2.    All other meetings where Nicola Sturgeon, Keith Brown, Angela Constance, Kevin Stewart or  their representative or representatives,  met with any representative or representatives of the companies mentioned

The information should, specifically, include information regarding:

• who was present at the meetings
• when  they met
• why they met
• where they met
• what the agendas were 
• what the resulting decisions/recommendations of meetings were

Please note that, following a conversation you had with my colleague on 20th August regarding the meaning of direct and indirect meetings, we are interpreting direct meetings as meetings the Minister may have had with one or more people from the organisations listed, attending in their official capacity, where they conversed about matters of mutual interest in closed session.  Indirect meetings are being interpreted as meetings where the organisations listed could have been a member of a working group and could attend meetings at which the minister was present, but the two might have no interaction.  Or a member of one of the organisations listed could attend a housing event as a delegate and the Minister might have attended for a short time to make a speech.

1.       I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in electronic format.  The information I have provided covers meetings some Ministers have attended with some of the organisations listed and is detailed at Annex A.
2.          While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing information on meetings that all the Ministers listed and their representative or representatives have attended would exceed the upper cost limit of £600.  This is due to the volume of staff time required to fully answer your request.  Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 1

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. For example, you may want to specify the subject or business area in which you are interested, or narrow the timeframe.  You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

3.          Some of the information you have requested is available from Scottish Government and Homes for Scotland websites.  Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you, but for ease of reference I have provided links within the information I have been able to provide.  If you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

   ANNEX A

   We hold details of meetings with:

4. Kevin Stewart (Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning)
5. Angela Constance (Cabinet Secretary for Communities)

6. Involving:

7. Homes for Scotland
8. Gladman Scotland (with Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning)

9. For meetings with Homes for Scotland, I enclose some of the details you have requested in the attached document.

   For meetings with Gladman Scotland:

   On 21 March 2017 the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning met with Gladman graduates, supported by SG officials, at the Scottish Parliament.  No official outputs or minutes were taken at this meeting but the attached word document outlines the questions passed to Scottish Government officials by Gladman graduates in advance of the meeting.