Complaints made to the First Minister concerning conduct of MSPs: FOI release

As urgent repairs and conservation work was required at Bute House in October 2017, no receptions could be hosted there for a period of approximately 6 months. Following the completion of the work, there has been an increase in the number of receptions at Bute House, which has helped showcase the restored category A listed Georgian building, part of Edinburgh's New  Town World  Heritage  site.

The costs for receptions typically include food and drink, waiting staff and the hire of equipment, table linen and crockery, as required. We enforce a consistent policy regarding hospitality, which ensures that all hospitality is appropriate and considers value for money at all times.

Attached is a breakdown by year and month.

Q3: The Scottish Government has not received any complaints about the conduct of the First Minister since she took  office.

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

Q4: Most of the information you have requested is available on the Scottish Government website. You may wish to note the Scottish Government publishes all overseas travel costs incurred by Scottish Government Ministers.  From July 2018, domestic accommodation is also published. You can find these costs in tab two and/or four of each monthly spreadsheet:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/?term=Ministerial%20engagements&publicationTypes=transparency_data

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating , retrieving and providing the information requested from 2014 to July 2018 would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. 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 12.

Q5: The First Minister will undertake a range of international visits in 2019 in 2010, details of which will be published online when available at: https://www.gov.scot/news/

A breakdown of costs incurred on international visits are routinely published online and will be available 3 months after the visit has taken place at:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/?term=Ministerial_travel