Honours and Awards process in Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

I recently contacted the cabinet office asking about who and how awards and honours were determined in Scotland. They informed me the entire process in managed by the Honours and Protocol unit in the Scottish Government and that they simple rubber stamp the recommendations from Scottish Govt.

Therefore, can you please provide an explanation of the process in Scottish Govt as to how Honours and Awards are determined in Scotland?

Response

The Honours and Appointments Secretariat in the Cabinet Office of the UK Government is responsible for coordinating the operation of the Honours system of the United Kingdom. The Honours and Appointments Secretariat process all public nominations and provides administrative support to the ten independent Honours committees which consider nominations and make recommendations to the Prime Minister and HM The King.

Although the process is led by the Cabinet Office, the Protocol and Honours Team of the Scottish Government does support this process through the promotion and development of Honours nominations for the people of Scotland. The Protocol and Honours Team provide advice to individuals wishing to nominate someone for an Honour, and provide assurance that nominations are presented to the Cabinet Office Honours Committees in the recognised and accepted format.

Some further information relevant to your request can be found at https://honours.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about/. More information on the role and membership of the Honours committees can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/honours-committees. Under section 25(1) of FOISA the Scottish Government is not required to provide you with information which is otherwise accessible to you.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.