Correspondence between Novara Media and Scottish Government: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for records relating to any connections, interactions, or links between the Scottish Government (including its ministers, officials, and departments), Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and Novara Media (a UK-based media organization, also known as Novara Media Ltd or operating under the trading name Thousand Hands Ltd).

This request explicitly includes any public bodies funded, overseen, or established by the Scottish Government, such as executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs/quangos), or armslength organizations (e.g., Scottish Enterprise, Creative Scotland, BBC Scotland, or similar entities).

For the purposes of this request, "links" includes but is not limited to:

• Financial transactions, such as grants, funding, donations, sponsorships, payments, or subsidies provided to or received from Novara Media.
• Communications, including emails, letters, meeting minutes, reports, or records of discussions involving Scottish Government officials, MSPs, or public body representatives and Novara Media staff, contributors, or affiliates (e.g., Aaron Bastani, Ash Sarkar, or other known figures).
•  Collaborative activities, such as joint events, media partnerships, interviews, advisory roles, or policy consultations involving Novara Media.
• Declarations of interest, hospitality, or gifts related to Novara Media by Scottish Government ministers, MSPs, or public body employees.
• Any contracts, tenders, or procurement processes involving Novara Media or its representatives.

Please provide this information for the period from 1 January 2015 to the current date (2 September 2025).

Response

1. Searches of Scottish Government records identified two email exchanges that were in scope of the information you requested and those are attached.

2. An exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information.

The reasons why that exemption applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

3. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold all of the information requested. Requests for information held by the other public authorities named in your request should be directed to those bodies; contact details for public bodies in Scotland can be found in the National public bodies: directory - gov.scot.

Annex A

An exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. As such, some of the personal information such as names and email addresses have been redacted.

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.

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 202500482885 - Information Released - Annex

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