External Affairs expenditure in current financial year 2020/2021: FOI release

Information requested

• How much of the international/external relations budget has been spent in FY2020/2021?
• How much of the same budget has been reallocated towards COVID support measures and spend?
• How much of any spend of the external relations fund has been spent on travel in FY2020/21?

Response

The answer to your questions are as follows.

How much of the international/external relations budget has been spent in FY 2020/2021?
From the External Affairs budget of £24.5 million for Financial Year 2020-21, and based on the information we have available to date, a total of £10.6 million has been spent to the end of October, which is the latest  accounting period. It should be noted that the expenditure spending profile is not distributed evenly over 12 months. Upon publication of the annual accounts after the end of the financial year, confirmation of the total spend for the year will be available.

How much of the same budget has been reallocated towards COVID support measures and spend?
From the External Affairs budget, and as set out in the 2020 Programme for Government, it was agreed that £2 million of the International Development Fund in the Financial Year 2020-21 should be made available to contribute to COVID-19 efforts in our partner countries.

How much of any spend of the external relations fund has been spent on travel in FY2020/21?
A total of £9k has been spent on travel related expenditure to end October 2020 from the External Affairs budget for Financial Year 2020-21.

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.