Events at Bute House residence: FOI release
- Published
- 17 November 2025
- Topic
- Public sector
- FOI reference
- FOI/202500475367
- Date received
- 10 July 2025
- Date responded
- 4 September 2025
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
“A list of all events held in Bute House from 29 March 2023 to date, how much they cost to hold, and who or what person/organisation paid these costs.”
Response
Bute House is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland. Its historical and cultural importance supports diplomatic engagement adding gravitas to dinners, receptions and meetings thereby supporting the significance of the occasion.
As you will be aware the First Minister holds a range of internal and external meetings and engagements within the Bute House residence. I have included a list of engagement sessions which incurred a cost for catering which can be found in Annex A.
ANNEX A
A list of all events held at Bute House which incurred a catering cost between 29 March 2023 to 10 July 2025:
2023:
|
Date |
Event |
Costs |
|
26/10/2023 |
Lunch with Miguel Berger, German Ambassador to the UK |
£603.09 |
|
31/10/2023 |
Investor Panel Presentation and Dinner |
£1516.20 |
|
07/11/2023 |
Reception for Race the World Champions |
£1362.10 |
|
16/11/2023 |
Scottish Cities Alliance Leadership Group Dinner |
£1376.21 |
|
17/11/2023 |
Meeting with Jewish Community |
£250.00 |
|
22/11/2023 |
Lunch with Michelle O’Neill, FM-designate of Northern Ireland |
£449.10 |
|
07/12/2023 |
Dinner with the Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Nicola Benedetti |
£129.56 |
|
08/12/2023 |
Reception for care experienced young adults |
£1,376.18 |
|
14/12/2023 |
Christmas Media Reception |
£2,405.37 |
|
18/12/2023 |
Lunch with Manar Dabbas, Jordanian Ambassador to the UK |
£563.73 |
2024:
|
Date |
Event |
Costs |
|
16/01/2024 |
Institute of Directors: Director of the Year Award Winners Reception |
£1,643.47 |
|
19/03/2024 |
FSB Small Business Awards Reception |
£1,497.43 |
|
28/03/2024 |
Interfaith Iftar Reception |
£2,788.62 |
|
15/04/2024 |
Lunch with Pedro Serrano, EU Ambassador to the UK |
£538.68 |
|
29/04/2024 |
Vaisakhi Reception |
£5,362.55 |
|
07/08/2024 |
All Festivals Reception |
£2,294.33 |
|
14/08/2024 |
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Reception |
£1,812.14 |
|
10/09/2024 |
Reception for World Schools Debating Championship winners |
£1,219.00 |
|
19/09/2024 |
Sir Jim McDonald, Principal of the University of Strathclyde and Scottish Energy Advisory Board co-chair, Juergen Maier Chair of Great British Energy, and Gillian Martin MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Net-Zero and Energy |
£713.90 |
|
28/09/2024 |
Dinner to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament |
£2,490.40 |
|
01/10/2024 |
Brave@Heart Awards - Edinburgh |
£1,532.80 |
|
10/10/2024 |
Dinner with Eluned Morgan MS, First Minister of Wales |
£730.00 |
|
23/10/2024 |
Reception for Afghan Medical Students |
£1,202.20 |
|
24/10/2024 |
Young Carers Afternoon Tea |
£1,917.10 |
|
11/11/2024 |
Meeting with Loig Chesnais-Girard, President of the Regional Council of Brittany |
£292.80 |
|
27/11/2024 |
Bishop Conference Lunch |
£1,013.66 |
|
10/12/2024 |
Christmas Card Launch with Children First |
£1,036.20 |
|
16/12/2024 |
Media Reception |
£1,078.65 |
2025:
|
Date |
Event |
Costs |
|
06/01/2025 |
Dinner with Senior Culture Sector Representatives |
£1,917.25 |
|
13/01/2025 |
Ministerial Code Advisors Lunch |
£448.40 |
|
04/02/2025 |
Dinner with Scotland's leading Philanthropists |
£805.90 |
|
05/02/2025 |
Investment Dinner in partnership with Scottish National Investment Bank |
£1,655.05 |
|
17/02/2025 |
Dinner with Alan Cumming, Artistic Director, Pitlochry Festival Theatre |
£615.55 |
|
18/02/2025 |
Offshore Wind Investor Dinner |
£1,426.35 |
|
28/02/2025 |
Lord Justice Retirement Dinner |
£2,199.30 |
|
04/03/2025 |
India Scotland Business Meet Reception |
£1,892.50 |
|
14/04/2025 |
EID Reception |
£3,033.30 |
|
22/04/2025 |
Peace Accords Reception |
£2,661.90 |
|
08/05/2025 |
Dinner with Carole Colburn Grigor, Carnegie Medal Reception |
£3,064.02 |
|
18/05/2025 |
Bobby Jones Scholarship Afternoon Tea |
£2,034.40 |
|
20/05/2025 |
Scottish Curling Reception |
£1,376.75 |
|
29/05/2025 |
Dinner with Hiroshi Suzuki, Japanese Ambassador to the UK |
£2,070.50 |
|
02/06/2025 |
Investment Dinner with Martin Gilbert |
£1,029.58 |
|
05/06/2025 |
Investment Dinner with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli |
£1,031.22 |
|
11/06/2025 |
EU Ambassador Roundtable |
£730.00 |
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