Social Security Scotland two minute silence for VE Day: FOI release

Information requested

Request for information 1: Did Social Security Scotland hold a formal two minute silence for VE Day on Thursday 8th May 2025 in its Glasgow and Dundee offices. By 'formal' I mean there was a group signal to start the period of silence and a group signal to end the period of silence.

Request for information 2: If the answer to 1 is in the negative, provide information on why Social Security Scotland did not hold a formal two minute silence.

Response

Requests for information 1 and 2:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Social Security Scotland do not hold a record of the information requested.

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

We can provide the following information which you may find helpful. On Thursday 8 May 2025 an all-colleague message from the Scottish Government was issued to Social Security Scotland colleagues encouraging staff to participate in the two-minute silence.

Social Security Scotland are not based in core Scottish Government owned buildings therefore not all buildings have the facility to mark the start and finish of a silence. Social Security Scotland’s High Street, Glasgow and Enterprise House, Dundee offices do not have tannoy systems.

Unfortunately, the tannoy in Agnes Husband House, Dundee was non-functional therefore we were unable to announce the silence as planned. This technical issue has subsequently been addressed.

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.