International Offices of the Scottish Government: FOI release

Information requested

The Scottish Government currently has seven ‘International Offices’ housed within British Embassy and High Commission buildings. They are located in Beijing (China), Berlin (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), Ottawa (Canada), Paris (France) and Washington DC (USA).  Please provide information to the questions listed below. 

Please provide a description of the general location of each of the Scottish Government’s international offices within their respective cities. 

Please provide information outlining the general size and number of office rooms allocated to the Scottish Government’s international offices in the various locations noted. 

Please confirm whether this office space is provided fully fitted out with office furniture and IT/computer equipment. 

Please provide details of any additional facilities available to the Scottish international offices due to their location within British Embassy/High Commission buildings. Please include meeting room facilities, ‘event’ spaces, use of Embassy vehicles and catering facilities. 

Please provide details of any additional services available to the Scottish government’s international staff due to their location within British Embassy/High Commission buildings. 

For each annual budget allocation for the overseas offices please indicate what percentage of the overall budget is allocated to salary costs. Please indicate how the remaining budget is spent including event costs, hospitality and day-to-day running costs. 

Please provide details of the fee payable by the Scottish Government to the FC&DO for the use of office space in each location. 

Please provide details of what this fee includes, e.g. share of utility costs/IT/reception costs/embassy vehicles/cleaning/maintenance. 

Please provide information on any initial ‘set up’ costs involved in each of the offices. 

Recent official opening/launch events were held for the Scottish Government’s international offices in Ottawa (Feb 2019 at ‘Earnscliffe’, official residence of the British High Commissioner), Paris (Feb 2019 at British Embassy) and in Berlin (2018 at British Embassy). Please confirm who organised, hosted and paid for these events. 

What/where was the venue for the ScotGov’s Copenhagen office opening/launch event in August 2022? 

Please confirm when the first contact was made with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office about the possibility of locating the Scottish Government’s Nordic Hub/International office within the British Embassy building in Copenhagen? 

In March/November 2021 it was reported that the Nordic Hub in Copenhagen would follow the ‘Scotland House’ model. Please provide information on discussions regarding this ‘Scotland House’ option and any details available of indicative set-up costs/annual rental costs.  Please provide details on why the Scottish government did not proceed with this option. Please include all the related correspondence on this issue. 

Please provide a comparison for the annual rental/utility costs involved with providing office accommodation in the model of ‘Scotland house’ vs office accommodation provided within the British embassy building in this particular location (Copenhagen). 

Please also confirm when the decision, that this new Nordic hub would be located within the British Embassy building in Copenhagen, was finalised. 

Please confirm how many office rooms have been made available for the ‘Nordic Hub’ of the Scottish Government and also confirm whether these are shared with the Scottish Development International (SDI) who already have office facilities located within the British Embassy in Copenhagen. 

There are now staff representing the Scottish Government working in Copenhagen’s British Embassy as well as staff from the SDI. Please confirm what the total number of staff is. 

Please confirm what the fee payable to the FC&DO is for the use of office space within the British Embassy in Copenhagen and whether this is applicable in the first two years of operation of the Scottish Government’s ‘Nordic Hub’. 

The SDI has 34 international offices in 23 countries. Their staff in Dublin, Berlin and Beijing are located in British Embassy buildings as are their staff in Warsaw. Please confirm the total combined number of staff (ScotGov +SDI) in each location. 

The Scottish Government is proposing to open an International Office in Warsaw. Please confirm whether this will be located in the British Embassy building in Warsaw.  

Please provide information to the questions listed below for the two ‘Scotland House’ offices of the Scottish Government in Brussels (Belgium) and London (UK). 

Please provide a general description of the location of each of the ‘Scotland House’ buildings. 

How much office space is available in each location and what further facilities are provided, for example meeting rooms/event spaces. 

The budget for the ‘Scotland House’ in Brussels for 22/23 is £2,467,000.  Are the rental/utilities costs for the building included in this budget figure? 

What is the total annual cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in Brussels? 

What is the Scottish Government’s contribution to the cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in Brussels? 

The partners of Scotland House Brussels are the Scottish Government, Scotland Europa and Scottish Enterprise/Scottish Development International. Please indicate how the rental/accommodation costs are split between the various partner organisations.   

The budget for the ‘Scotland House’ in London for 22/23 is £2,180,000. Are the rental/utilities costs for the building included in this budget figure?  

What is the total annual cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in London? 

What is the Scottish Government’s contribution to the cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in London? 

The partners of ‘Scotland House’ London are the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise (including Scottish Development International), Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and VisitScotland. Please indicate how the rental/accommodation costs are split between the various partner organisations.  

Response

You asked for information regarding the international offices of the Scottish Government. For ease of reference I have numbered your requests consecutively from 1-30.

The Scottish Government currently has seven ‘International Offices’ housed within British Embassy and High Commission buildings. They are located in Beijing (China), Berlin (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), Ottawa (Canada), Paris (France) and Washington DC (USA). Please provide information to the questions listed below.

1. Please provide a description of the general location of each of the Scottish Government’s international offices within their respective cities.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. All of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government website - International relations - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) - where you can access the information for each international office.

2. Please provide information outlining the general size and number of office rooms allocated to the Scottish Government’s international offices in the various locations noted.

3. Please confirm whether this office space is provided fully fitted out with office furniture and IT/computer equipment.

4. Please provide details of any additional facilities available to the Scottish international offices due to their location within British Embassy/High Commission buildings. Please include meeting room facilities, ‘event’ spaces, use of Embassy vehicles and catering facilities.

5. Please provide details of any additional services available to the Scottish government’s international staff due to their location within British Embassy/High Commission buildings.

7. Please provide details of the fee payable by the Scottish Government to the FC&DO for the use of office space in each location.

8. Please provide details of what this fee includes, e.g. share of utility costs/IT/reception costs/embassy vehicles/cleaning/maintenance.

18. Please confirm what the fee payable to the FC&DO is for the use of office space within the British Embassy in Copenhagen and whether this is applicable in the first two years of operation of the Scottish Government’s ‘Nordic Hub’.

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 18, seven Scottish Government overseas offices (Berlin, China, Copenhagen, Dublin, Ottawa, Paris and Washington) are located within an Embassy or High Commission and use the FCDO overseas property and associated corporate services (the Platform). The Scottish Government pay an annual charge to the FCDO for the use of office space (Common Platform Charge). The annual Common Platform Charge for 2022-23 (excluding Copenhagen) was £67,519 and is not broken down by location. As a new office, and therefore an addition to the Platform, the charges for Copenhagen for the first two years on Platform have been calculated separately and are £47,048. The Scottish Government does not hold information on office size and exact services and space will vary by location. In each location, office space is fitted with furniture/IT and computer equipment. The Common Platform Charge includes a contribution towards corporate services staff, rent & rates, utilities, furniture and fittings, repairs, refurbishments, works and maintenance, cleaning, facilities management, office machinery, stationery, landline telephone, security and postal services.

6. For each annual budget allocation for the overseas offices please indicate what percentage of the overall budget is allocated to salary costs. Please indicate how the remaining budget is spent including event costs, hospitality and day-to-day running costs.

Salary costs equate to 29.6% of the overall international network budget. The remaining budget is spent on day to day running costs and supports a wider programme of programme of policy, trade and cultural engagements in respective locations.

9. Please provide information on any initial ‘set up’ costs involved in each of the offices.

The set up costs of Scotland House London has been answered in a previous FOI - Cost of establishing the London Hub, Scotland House: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). The Scottish Government office in Brussels was established in 1999 under a previous administration. This information is not available. I can confirm a comprehensive search for the information has been conducted. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. With the exception of Scotland House London and Scotland House Brussels, there were no capital set up costs for establishing our other international offices. The annual budget includes everything we pay to run each office.

10. Recent official opening/launch events were held for the Scottish Government’s international offices in Ottawa (Feb 2019 at ‘Earnscliffe’, official residence of the British High Commissioner), Paris (Feb 2019 at British Embassy) and in Berlin (2018 at British Embassy). Please confirm who organised, hosted and paid for these events.

In Ottawa - the event was jointly hosted at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in February 2019 by the UK Government and organised and paid for by both the Scottish and UK Governments; in Paris – the event was jointly hosted by the First Minister and the British Ambassador at the Ambassador’s Residence in Feb 2019 and [food, beverage and entertainment] paid for by the Scottish Government; in Berlin – the event was jointly hosted by the British Ambassador and The Scottish Government at the British Embassy and paid for by the Scottish Government.

11. What/where was the venue for the ScotGov’s Copenhagen office opening/launch event in August 2022?

The launch event was held at Klub – Linnésgade 25, 1361 København, Denmark.

12. Please confirm when the first contact was made with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office about the possibility of locating the Scottish Government’s Nordic Hub/International office within the British Embassy building in Copenhagen?

15. Please also confirm when the decision, that this new Nordic hub would be located within the British Embassy building in Copenhagen, was finalised.

12 & 15. Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with counterparts from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office across on a range of issues, including this specific manifesto commitment which was first discussed in depth in June 2021. The commitment to establish a new office in Copenhagen was then included in the 2021-22 Programme for Government published on 7 September 2021.

13. In March/November 2021 it was reported that the Nordic Hub in Copenhagen would follow the ‘Scotland House’ model. Please provide information on discussions regarding this ‘Scotland House’ option and any details available of indicative set-up costs/annual rental costs. Please provide details on why the Scottish government did not proceed with this option. Please include all the related correspondence on this issue.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 30 (b)(i) and section 30 (b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice and views for the purposes of deliberation) applies to some of the information you have requested. These exemptions apply because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. The exemptions recognise the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to both other government officials and Ministers in developing policy for Scotland’s international network.

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 allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to explore and refine the Scottish Government’s overall policy on our international network. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered so that good policy decisions can be taken.

14. Please provide a comparison for the annual rental/utility costs involved with providing office accommodation in the model of ‘Scotland house’ vs office accommodation provided within the British embassy building in this particular location (Copenhagen).

Utility charges between standalone offices (Scotland House London and Brussels) and shared offices within an Embassy/High Commission are incomparable. The utilities in shared office come under the “Common Platform Charge” mentioned above (2,3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 18), are not broken down to that level of detail or location.

16. Please confirm how many office rooms have been made available for the ‘Nordic Hub’ of the Scottish Government and also confirm whether these are shared with the Scottish Development International (SDI) who already have office facilities located within the British Embassy in Copenhagen.

The Scottish Government office in the British Embassy Copenhagen has been allocated two rooms, shared with Scottish Development International staff.

17. There are now staff representing the Scottish Government working in Copenhagen’s British Embassy as well as staff from the SDI. Please confirm what the total number of staff is.

There are three members of Scottish Government staff. For any information on SDI staff contact Scottish Development International for information.

19. The SDI has 34 international offices in 23 countries. Their staff in Dublin, Berlin and Beijing are located in British Embassy buildings as are their staff in Warsaw. Please confirm the total combined number of staff (ScotGov +SDI) in each location.

The Scottish Government has 3 staff in Dublin, 3 staff in Berlin and 1 member of staff in Beijing. For any information on SDI staff contact Scottish Development International for information.

20. The Scottish Government is proposing to open an International Office in Warsaw. Please confirm whether this will be located in the British Embassy building in Warsaw.

The Scottish Government Office in Warsaw will be opened within the lifetime of this Parliament. The detail on the establishment of this office will be determined by future budget and decision by Ministers.

Please provide information to the questions listed below for the two ‘Scotland House’ offices of the Scottish Government in Brussels (Belgium) and London (UK).

21. Please provide a general description of the location of each of the ‘Scotland House’ buildings.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. All of the information you have requested is available from Scotland House London - Home and Scotland House Brussels (scotlandeuropa.com)

22. How much office space is available in each location and what further facilities are provided, for example meeting rooms/event spaces.

The Scotland House London space covers 6,620 sq ft. Within that space, we provide a platform for Scottish businesses and organisations as they pursue their commercial interests in London through a membership offer, which includes an events space which doubles as a hot desking area. There are also a total of seven meeting rooms in the office, 4 of which are available to Members to book and 3 for Scottish Government and our partners to use.

The Scotland House Brussels space extends to 2,018 m2. This includes approximately 400 m2 of office space for Scottish Government and Scotland Europa staff; meeting rooms and open working space for hot-desking and project meetings for visiting staff and Scotland Europa members; a conference centre for larger events for use by the SHB teams, Scotland Europa/Scotland House members, and external paying clients; and office space available on a pay-for basis, for Scotland House residents. There is also a small amount of additional archiving space (30 m2) and 13 car parking spaces also leased under the same agreement.

23. The budget for the ‘Scotland House’ in Brussels for 22/23 is £2,467,000. Are the rental/utilities costs for the building included in this budget figure?

The partners of Scotland House Brussels (SHB) are Scotland Europa, Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise/Scottish Development International. Scotland Europa is the leaseholder for this location.

The figure of £2,467,000 noted in this question refers to the Scottish Government’s budget for Scotland House Brussels. This includes the Scottish Government’s contribution to rental and utilities costs for Scotland House Brussels.

24. What is the total annual cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in Brussels?

Total property costs for 2021-22 were €905,000.

25. What is the Scottish Government’s contribution to the cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in Brussels?

The Scottish Government is one of the core partners of SHB and pays a contribution to the annual running costs. In FY 2021-22, SG contribution was €288,000.

26. The partners of Scotland House Brussels are the Scottish Government, Scotland Europa and Scottish Enterprise/Scottish Development International. Please indicate how the rental/accommodation costs are split between the various partner organisations.

As noted, Scotland Europa pays all costs and Scottish Government makes a contribution. In FY 2021- 22, the SG contribution was €288,000.

27. The budget for the ‘Scotland House’ in London for 22/23 is £2,180,000. Are the rental/utilities costs for the building included in this budget figure?

Yes

28. What is the total annual cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in London?

An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of individuals/company providing services, in this instance a lease agreement containing commercially sensitive information.

29. What is the Scottish Government’s contribution to the cost of rent and utilities for ‘Scotland House’ in London?

30. The partners of ‘Scotland House’ London are the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise (including Scottish Development International), Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and VisitScotland. Please indicate how the rental/accommodation costs are split between the various partner organisations.

29 & 30. Scottish Government’s contribution to the rent and utilities costs of Scotland House in London is 55% with the remaining 45% funded by the others. For further information on the contribution of the other partners, please contact Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and VisitScotland respectively.

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