Communication between the Scottish Government and Secretariat regarding notes from Former Independent Adviser: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for:

1. I request all communications between the Scottish Government and the Secretariat in regards to the first two sentences of the above passage (i.e. the request for any notes, and the secretariat confirming that she did not receive any WhatsApps)

2. Why did the Secretariat state that she did not receive any WhatsApps from Mr Hamilton when a separate FOI response (and the paragraph above) shows that she and Mr Hamilton communicated through WhatsApp?

3. Was the secretariat when asked for the information by Scottish Government, told that the information was requested/would be used as part of an SIC investigation?

4. Has there been any form of investigation or disciplinary action into the Secretariat for providing incorrect information to the Scottish Government/SIC?

Response

In relation to your first request, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have 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.

Having conducted appropriate and proportionate searches for information in line with your requests, I can confirm that the Scottish Government holds no recorded information within the scope of your request.

In relation to your second and third requests, we stated in our submission to the Commissioner: “For completeness, the Secretariat for the review was also asked whether any notes had been transmitted by Mr Hamilton. She confirmed that she did not receive any meeting notes, interview records, handwritten notes, WhatsApp messages, or any other form of documentation from Mr Hamilton to be saved to the file.”

To be absolutely clear, Mr Hamilton did not provide the Secretariat with any notes or materials for inclusion in the folder. However, she did retain the WhatsApp correspondence that was already in her possession.

In relation to your fourth request, no investigation or disciplinary action has been initiated against the Secretariat, as she did not provide any incorrect information.

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.