Total cost Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission incurred: FOI release

Information requested

1. The total costs incurred by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) from 2014 to the present day, including all secretariat staffing costs, daily board member fees and expenses, events, publications and office-running costs; and

2. A record of all engagement between board members and Scottish Government ministers and Cabinet Secretaries from 2014 to the present day.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

In relation to part (1) of your request this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the total costs incurred by the SCCRC from 2014 to the present day, including all secretariat staffing costs, daily board member fees and expenses, events, publications and office-running costs.

It might be helpful to explain most of the information you have requested is available from the SCCRC's published accounts, which may be found at the following link: Information on the structure of the SCCRC. This covers the information you have requested for the financial years 2016/17 to
2020/21, which includes totals of all staffing costs, daily board member fees and expenses and officerunning costs. Under section 25(1) of FOISA we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. You may wish to contact the SCCRC directly to clarify if there are any additional ‘publications’ or ‘events’ costs not included in their published accounts. This is not information held by the Scottish Government. The contact email address is: info@sccrc.org.uk.

For the time period 2014 to 2015, I have attached at Annex A a copy of the SCCRC annual accounts held by the Scottish government for the financial year 2014/15. As above, this includes totals of all staffing costs, daily board member fees and expenses and office-running costs. In addition, attached at Annex B is costing information held by the Scottish Government in relation to the year 2021/22. However, you may wish to contact the SCCRC directly at the above email regarding the additional costing information you also specify in your request to the present date, who may be able to help you.

In relation to part (2) of your request, I can advise following a search of our electronic system(s), that then-Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf MSP, attended an event at the SCCRC to mark the opening of their new office premises, which was held on 4 December 2019 at 10:00am. No records are held to confirm which SCCRC Board members, if any, attended this event, though our records indicate that the Chair of the SCCRC was expected to attend.

I can also advise no further records are held relating to engagement between board members and Scottish Government ministers and Cabinet Secretaries from 2014 to the present day.

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FOI202100244832 - Annex A

File type

28 page PDF

File size

159.7 kB

FOI202100244832 - Annex B

File type

1 page PDF

File size

57.3 kB