Scottish Government correspondence and funding to Engender: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you supply how much the Scottish Government has given Engender in each of the last five years, with a breakdown per year and what the money was spent on?

2. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, which is to/from or mentions Engender, from the last three months?

3. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, which is to/from or mentions Scottish Trans, from the last three months?

4. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, which is about or mentions Scottish Universities trangender policies, from the last three months?

Response

Response to your request – Question 1

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.

We have interpreted your request for funding ‘in each of the last five years’ to cover 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Most of the information you have requested is already published:

Equality funding: national and intermediary bodies 2017-2021 - gov.scot
Equality and Human Rights Fund: projects funded - gov.scot
Delivering Equally Safe Fund awards: FOI release - gov.scot

Gender Equal Media Scotland
2023 £110,250
2024 £27,750

Equal Representation Project
2021 £35721.5
2022 £19,825.31
2023 £ 21,574.46
2024 £ 62,111.46

Scottish Carer’s Assistance Consultation event
2022 £ 3,276.76

Response to your request - Question 2

We have interpreted your request for information as a request for all documents or correspondence which are about, or include reference to, or mentions Engender (both internal and external) from 5 June to 5 of September 2025. This date rage was used as you submitted your request on 5 September 2025, and officials worked within a three month date range preceding the date at which the request was made.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is the subject you have requested information about includes work across many different areas of the government and which, as a result, has generated a large volume of work. An initial trawl for information returned a substantial number of files which could be considered to be within scope. Under section 12 of FOISA, public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. Requesting “all documentation” generated a significant number of returns during our search. You could restrict your request to a specific kind of document, for example, briefings or meeting minutes, and/or to specify documents that have been shared with a more limited number of people e.g. Cabinet Secretary, Director for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would be required to be conducted. You may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: https://www.itspublicknowledge.info/how-do-iask.

Response to your request - Question 3

We have interpreted your request for information as a request for all documents or correspondence which are about, or include reference to, or mentions Scottish Trans (both internal and external) from 5 June to 5 of September 2025. This date rage was used as you submitted your request on 5 September 2025, and officials worked within a three month date range preceding the date at which the request was made.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is the subject you have requested information about includes work across many different areas of the government and which, as a result, has generated a large volume of work. An initial trawl for information returned a substantial number of files which could be considered to be within scope. Under section 12 of FOISA, public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12. 

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. Requesting “all documentation” generated a significant number of returns during our search. You could restrict your request to a specific kind of document, for example, briefings or meeting minutes, and/or to specify documents that have been shared with a more limited number of people e.g. Cabinet Secretary, Director for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would be required to be conducted. You may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: https://www.itspublicknowledge.info/how-do-iask.

Response to your request - Question 4

We have interpreted your request for information as a request for all documents or correspondence which are about, or include reference to, or mentions transgender policies at Scottish universities (both internal and external) from 5 June to 5 of September 2025. This date rage was used as you submitted your request on 5 September 2025, and officials worked within a three month date range preceding the date at which the request was made.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is the subject you have requested information about includes work across many different areas of the government and which, as a result, has generated a large volume of work. An initial trawl for information returned a substantial number of files which could be considered to be within scope. Under section 12 of FOISA, public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. Requesting “all documentation” generated a significant number of returns during our search. You could restrict your request to a specific kind of document, for example, briefings or meeting minutes, and/or to specify documents that have been shared with a more limited number of people e.g. Cabinet Secretary, Director for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would be required to be conducted. You may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: https://www.itspublicknowledge.info/how-do-iask.

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.