Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice ministerial engagements: FOI release

Information requested

I am writing under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2000 to request the full diaries of the Ministers outlined below, accounting for the past three months (15/04/2025-15/07/2025).

Please outline what type of engagement it is, alongside where/with whom the engagement took place, and broadly what the theme of the engagement was.

•  Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
•  Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice.

Response

Please see attached annex containing some of the information requested relating to internal meetings, parliamentary business and events from 15 April to 15 July 2025.

While our aim is to provide information, where possible, on this occasion some of the information requested is planned for future publication. Details of all external Ministerial engagements and travel are proactively published by the Scottish Government. This transparency data can be accessed via this weblink: https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/

This is a formal notice that Section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The information requested will be published within 12 weeks of your request and will be available at the link above. This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Section 29(1)(d) – Operation of any Ministerial Private Office

An exemption under section 29(1)(d) of FOISA (Ministerial private office) applies to some of the information requested because it relates to the operation of any Ministerial private office.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, to ensure private offices operate efficiently and to inform public debate.

However, there is a greater public interest in allowing Private Offices a private space to manage a minister’s time and to include information that is only of relevance to private office staff in their support to ministers, such as information on leave.

Section 38(1)(b) – Personal Information

As a result of issuing some information at this stage, we are unable to provide some of the information because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information, this is because it is personal data of a third party, for example junior staff members’ names and contact details and personal engagements (such as holidays), and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Section 39(1) – Health and Safety

This is a formal notice under section 39(1) of FOISA that the disclosure of some of the information would, or would likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or the safety of an individual.

Our application of this exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

We have concluded that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, since disclosing ministers whereabouts would or would likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or the safety of an individual.

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 202500476125 - Information Released - Annex

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