Scottish Government hospitality spend: FOI release

Information requested

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I would like to request the following information:

• The total amount spent by Scottish Government Cabinet Secretaries on coffee and other refreshments between 1 January 2023 and the present date of 18 July 2025.
• If available, please provide a breakdown by Cabinet Secretary, date, and type of expense (coffee, tea, etc.)
• If the data is not recorded in this way, please provide the closest equivalent (e.g., hospitality or subsistence expenses). Please provide the data in electronic format (CSV, Excel, or PDF).

Response

This is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold some of the information you have requested in the specific breakdown you have requested. The reasons why we don't have the information are explained below.

The Scottish Government’s Financial Management System does not provide sufficient detail to determine whether a purchase relates specifically to a Cabinet Secretary or Minister. The system allows costs to be broken down only to divisional level under the category “Hospitality,” which covers a wide range of orders and includes all Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers.

Therefore, we are unable to provide total amounts spent exclusively on Cabinet Secretaries. However, I have provided the total expenditure on Hospitality for the period you requested, as this is the closest equivalent available through our system.

Financial Year	Date	Spend
2022/2023	1 January 2023 – 31 March 2023	£1,376
2023/2024	1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024	£2,390
2024/2025	1 April 2024 – 3 March 2025	£1,399
2025/2026	1 April 2025 – 31 July 2025	£750

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.