Cost and attendees to Tartan week in New York 2024: FOI release

Information requested

(1) How many people were sent on the trip [to New York for Tartan Week]?

(2) Who were the people sent, and what were the duration of their stay (in date form, so xx/yy/2024 to aa/bb/2024)?

(3) How much was spent sending people to New York for Tartan Week and other expenses on the trip – please include all spend, such as flights, meals, other transport etc.

(4) Please provide a breakdown for expenses/costs incurred on the trip, and if possible, how much each person spent.

Response

In response to your first two questions: the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture travelled, accompanied by his Private Secretary, from Scotland to the US for Tartan Week. Please note that while your question refers to Tartan Week taking place in New York, the programme began in Washington DC and ended in New York.

Four members of the Scottish Government Office USA, which is in Washington DC, were involved in the Tartan Week programme. They travelled to participate in the New York part of the programme by train. The dates that they were all present in New York are outlined below.

Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture	03/04/2024- 06/04/2024
Private Secretary to the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture	03/04/2024- 06/04/2024
Head of Scottish Government Office USA	03/04/2024- 07/04/2024
Deputy Head of Scottish Government Office USA	03/04/2024- 07/04/2024
Communications & Administration Officer	05/04/2024- 07/04/2024
Projects & Events Manager	04/04/2024- 06/04/2024

In response to the third and fourth question, the total cost was £10,175.62, and these costs are broken down as requested below. Please note that at the time of gathering information in order to meet your request by the statutory deadline, a small number of the submitted expenses that were paid for in USD had not yet been reflected in GBP in the Scottish Government’s finance system. Therefore for the purposes of your request, expenses paid in USD have been converted to GBP using today’s exchange rate. This means there may be a very small discrepancy between the amounts detailed below and the exact amount paid in GBP – although I expect this to be minimal.

Individual	Travel	Accommodation in New York	Meals/ other expenses in New York
Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture	Flights - £1697.91 Trains - £45.75 Airport taxi (shared) - £109.94	£763.2	£82.18
Private Secretary to the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture	Flights - £1697.91 Trains - £45.75	£763.2	£91.22
Head of Scottish Government Office USA	£644.53	£1017.6	£125.12
Deputy Head of Scottish Government Office USA	£433.23	£1017.6	£66.11
Communications & Administration Officer	£170.93	£508.8	£9.85
Projects & Events Manager	£334.07	£508.8	£32.22

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