Recruitment of Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Rail Holdings: FOI release

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


Information requested

Regarding the recruitment of Mr Chris Gibb as Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Rail Holdings:

1. Was this recruitment conducted by an external recruiter, and if so, what were the costs involved in this?

2. How many candidates were considered for this position?

3. Please provide any ministerial briefings or emails to ministers relating to the appointment of Mr Gibb.

4. Please can you provide the breakdown of Mr Gibb's remuneration by: basic salary, bonus, pension and any other benefits such as car allowance or private healthcare?

Response

I can confirm the following in relation to your request for information:-

1. Was this recruitment conducted by an external recruiter, and if so, what were the costs involved in this?

No, Mr Gibb’s recruitment was not undertaken by an external recruiter. There were no costs involved.

2. How many candidates were considered for this position?

Under UK Government railway legislation, Transport Scotland is required to be ready to mobilise an ‘operator of last resort’ should circumstances arise that require this. Part of the process for ensuring this state of readiness includes securing the services of advisers to support the complex programme of mobilisation. The adviser’ contract includes identifying and securing the services of ‘retained directors’ who can take up essential posts should the need arise.

It was through this process that multiple individuals were considered for the post of retained director. Chris Gibb was the stand-out candidate for further consideration. This was the first step towards Chris being appointed as the initial CEO of Scottish Rail Holdings as a necessary part of the ‘operator of last resort’ mobilisation.

3. Please provide any ministerial briefings or emails to ministers relating to the appointment of Mr Gibb?

All documents relating to number 3 question above are contained within Appendix A to this letter. You will see that some of the information has been redacted in line with the following FOISA exemptions: -

Section 30(b)(i) - Substantial inhibition to free and frank exchange of advice
An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA (substantial inhibition to free and frank exchange of advice) applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption has been applied is outlined in Appendix B.

Section 33(1)(b) - Substantial prejudice to commercial interests
An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (Substantial prejudice to commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. The reasons why this exemption has been applied is outlined in Appendix B.

Section 38 (1) (b) – Third party data
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals and companies, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

For ease, the information that has been redacted in line with Section 30 (b)(i), Section 30(b)(ii) and Section 33(1)(b) has been clearly marked as follows: -

  • Section 30(b)(i)
  • Section 33(1)(b)

The remaining information that has been redacted is that which falls into the exemption of section 38(1)(b) – third party data.

4. Please can you provide the breakdown of Mr Gibb's remuneration by: basic salary, bonus, pension and any other benefits such as car allowance or private healthcare.

In line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, details of Mr Gibb’s remuneration will be published in due course within Scottish Rail Holdings’ year end accounts. These accounts will be published on Transport Scotland’s website once audited and laid before Parliament.

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.

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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