Honours and Awards process in Scotland: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202500455400

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

Thank you for your e-mail of 12 March concerning the Scottish Government’s response to your previous request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for “An explanation of the process in the Scottish Government as to how Honours and Awards are determined in Scotland” (our ref. 202500455400).

I note the content of your e-mail and regret that you were disappointed with the terms of our reply to your original request. I have since reviewed the handling of your request and my conclusions are set out below.

I have concluded that our response should be confirmed with modifications. I agree that the overarching position as set out in our initial response was accurate -

“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.”

However, I do consider it appropriate to modify our original reply and offer you additional background on how the Scottish Government identifies candidates for nomination to the UK Government. This can be found via the following link to relevant guidance on our website: The Honours system - gov.scot. I would again cite that under section 25(1) of FOISA the Scottish Government is not required to provide you with information which is otherwise accessible to you. That webpage notes that a form and guidance are provided by the Protocol and Honours team if someone wishes to make a nomination. I consider that those documents fall within the scope of your original request and have therefore attached that material with this letter. I hope this additional background provides both the clarity and transparency you seek and is useful 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.

FOI 202500457091 - Information released - Documents

File type

PDF

File size

434.5 kB