Pandemic preparedness: FOI release

Information requested

Part 1
Total spending on pandemic preparedness, by financial year, from 2017-18 to 2024-25. For the past, utilise data on actual spending, and for the future, use data on planned/projected spending.

Part 2
The number of meetings held by the First Minister, from January 1st 2023 to present date, concerning pandemic preparedness. For each of these meetings, please provide:

• The date
• The names of attendees and role they were attending in their capacity as
• The minutes

The number of meetings held by the Cabinet Secretary for Health*, from January 1st 2023 to present date, concerning pandemic preparedness. For each of these meetings, please provide:

• The date
• The names of attendees and role they were attending in their capacity as
• The minutes

*or equivalent role with different title such as ‘Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery,…’

Response

Part 1
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for as our financial records do not split out spending on pandemic preparedness, as this cuts across a number of different areas in the Scottish Government.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

Part 2
The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care have not held meetings specifically on pandemic preparedness during this period. 

The Scottish Government is taking forward work on pandemic preparedness, working with partners to prepare Scotland to identify and respond to future infectious disease and pandemic threats. We are working to ensure lessons identified from our policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic are put in place and that policy across government is better able to respond to the next pandemic. This includes clear responsibilities for preparedness and response; to include NHS resilience, Scottish Resilience (through SGORR), and cross-Scottish Government policy consideration of our existing plans, drawing on learnings including the UK Chief Medical Officers Technical report on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK and Public Health Scotland’s National Incident Management Team reporting.

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.