Minister meetings with Fergus Marine and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd: FOI release

Information requested

1. Any Cabinet Meeting of Scottish Ministers between the dates of 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015 and the agenda for those cabinet meetings.
2. Meetings that took place between the Scottish Government and Fergus Marine between the dates of 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015, who was in attendance at those meetings and any minutes of these meetings.
3. Meetings that took place between the Scottish Government and Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited between the dates of 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015, who was in attendance at those meetings and any minutes of those meetings.

If this information has been published before I would request it to be republished in this response as I am wishing for a fresh decision around the public interest of any potential redactions in previous disclosures.

Response

The answers to your questions are as follows;

1. Any Cabinet Meeting of Scottish Ministers between the dates of 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015 and the agenda for those cabinet meetings.

Cabinet met nine times between 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015 on the following dates: 6 July; 11 and 24 August; 1, 8, 14, 22 and 29 September; and 6 October.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information under this part of your request because an exemption under section 30(b)(ii) (the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) applies to it. The reasons for applying this exemption are set out below.

Paragraph 2.1 of the Scottish Ministerial Code provides that "the privacy of opinions expressed and advice offered within the Government should be maintained" at all times. Cabinet papers, including Cabinet agendas, are essential elements which support and assist collective discussion in the private space which Ministers need to reach agreed positions.

The weekly meeting of the Scottish Cabinet is the highest decision-making forum within the Scottish Government, and it follows that all information considered by Cabinet must be handled with great care.

Properly functioning Cabinet processes are generally recognised to be of vital public interest: Cabinet government is based on the principle of collective responsibility, which the Scottish Ministerial Code defines in the following terms:

"The principle of collective responsibility requires that Ministers should be able to express their views frankly in the expectation that they can argue freely in private while maintaining a united front when decisions have been reached. This in turn requires that the privacy of opinions expressed and advice offered within the Government should be maintained. … The internal processes through which a Government decision has been made should not normally be disclosed." (Scottish Ministerial Code, 2018 edition, paragraphs 2.1 and 2.4)

Cabinet papers, including Cabinet agendas, are invariably produced on the assumption that they will not be disclosed until a significant amount of time has elapsed.

Section 30(b)(ii) (the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) recognises the need to allow Ministers some private space for discussion. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in maintaining the process of achieving collective responsibility within a private space within which policy positions can be explored and refined by Ministers in order that the Government, as a whole, can reach a final decision. This private thinking space also allows for all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy-/decision-making process.

2. Meetings that took place between the Scottish Government and Fergus Marine between the dates of 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015, who was in attendance at those meetings and any minutes of these meetings.

Meeting	Date	Attendees	Minutes
Ferguson marine - Preferred Bidder announcement	31st August 2015	Jim McColl, Keith Mitchell, First Minister, Liam Campbell, Tom Docherty, Andrew Duncan	No minutes as this was an event rather than a formal meeting.

3. Meetings that took place between the Scottish Government and Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited between the dates of 1 July 2015 and 16 October 2015, who was in attendance at those meetings and any minutes of those meetings.

Meeting	Date	Attendees	Minutes
CMAL / TS Meeting regarding funding	14th July 2015	TS officials and CMAL officials	No formal minute on record
Oban-Mull Project Team meeting	25th July 2015	TS officials, Argyll and Bute Council, CalMac Officials, CMAL officials	Enclosed as Annex E
CMAL / TS liaison meeting	24th August 2015	TS Officials and CMAL Officials	Enclosed as Annex A
CMAL Board Meeting	25th August 2015	See minutes link	Enclosed as Annex B
Oban-Mull Project Team meeting	15th September 2015	TS officials, Argyll and Bute Council, CalMac Officials, CMAL officials	Enclosed as Annex C
CMAL Board Meeting	25th September 2015	See minutes link	Enclosed as Annex D
CMAL / TS meeting	29th September 2015	TS officials and CMAL officials	No formal minute on record

The contract was awarded by CMAL in its capacity as procuring authority following a robust procurement process. Transport Scotland and CMAL ensured that Ministers were informed of, and accepting of, the risks associated with this contract. Ministers provided some additional assurances sought by CMAL. These exchanges have been set out in the public record since 2019.

The memos to Ministers in August and October 2015 regarding the contract award have been in the public domain since 2019 and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/collections/ferguson-marine-documents/.

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FOI 202200291008 - Information Released - Annexes

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