Meetings held regarding peak rail fares: FOI release

Information requested

1. The number of meetings that were held by the Scottish Government specifically regarding the scrapping of peak rail fares before the announcement contained within the 6th May Programme for Government.

2. The number of meetings that were held by the Scottish Government specifically regarding the scrapping of peak rail fares that were attended by the Finance Secretary. Please provide dates of meetings.

3. The number of meetings that were held by the Scottish Government specifically regarding the scrapping of peak rail fares that were attended by the First Minister. Please provide dates of meetings.

4. The number of meetings that were held by the Scottish Government specifically regarding the scrapping of peak rail fares that were attended by the Transport Secretary. Please provide dates of meetings.

Please note this entire request applies only to the year 2025.

Response

The decision to remove peak fares from ScotRail services from 1 September 2025 was taken as part of the collective Cabinet process to finalise and agree the Programme for Government. As per our response to your previous request, the Cabinet considered the Programme for Government on numerous occasions over April and May and the First Minister confirmed to Cabinet on the morning of 6 May that the finalised Programme for Government would be published that afternoon.

We can confirm that we hold no record of any meetings, which would fall within the scope of your request.

With this in mind, while we aim to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

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

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.