Sponsorship and oversight of the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC): FOI release

Information requested

Following on from your previous FoI request (ref. 202500478551), you asked for the following information regarding the Scottish Government’s sponsorship and oversight of the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC).

Response

A response to your request is set out below.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide all the information you have requested because exemptions under section 17(1) (information not held) apply. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained below.

Exemptions under section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) apply to some of the information requested. After completing comprehensive searches, the Scottish Government does not hold some of the information that you requested.

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.

Role of the SFC Liaison Team

In the original response we explained that responsibility for liaison with the Scottish Fiscal Commission sits in the Directorate for Exchequer Strategy within the wider Director-General Scottish Exchequer. To be clear, this team acts as the interface between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fiscal Commission, but it is not a ‘sponsor’ team as the SFC is independent of the Scottish Government and is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the delivery of its functions.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission (“the Commission”), established by section 1(1) of the Scottish Fiscal Commission Act 2016 (“the SFCA”), is a body corporate and part of the Scottish Administration, but not the Scottish Government. In terms of its classification as a Scottish public body, it is a non-Ministerial Office, thus ensuring its operational independence.

Therefore, in performing its functions, the Commission is not subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Government or Scottish Ministers. This is set out in Section 9(1) of the SFCA.

1. Search schedule/logs for all “not held” answers: systems, date ranges, search terms, custodian mailboxes (Exchequer Strategy sponsor team, PB Unit, legal liaison).

In our response to your original request, we advised you that for some of your questions, information was not held by the Scottish Government and therefore an exemption under section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) applied. I have summarised those answers below and provided some further comment on how we determined that information was not held.

Original Question

Annual expenditure (from 2020 onwards) on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policies, staff, training, or consultancy commissioned or funded by the Scottish Government in connection with the SFC.

Original Response

The Scottish Government provides funding for the SFC. However, the SFC has operational independence over its budget. The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The SFC publishes an annual report on its website [Corporate Reports | Scottish Fiscal Commission] and any specific questions about how it has spent its budget should be directed to the SFC.

Further comment

The searches log (below) shows that we searched the relevant folders and inboxes for information on expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in connection with the SFC. However, no relevant documents were found.

Original Question

A list of third-party organisations (e.g. Stonewall, LGBT Youth Scotland, Equally Safe, Advance HE, etc.) that have provided advice, guidance, training, or policy input relevant to the SFC.

Original Response

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Any specific questions on this should be directed to the SFC.

Further comment

The searches log shows that we conducted searches for any information in relation to the third party organisations you named in the original request. No information was found in scope of the request. We would not necessarily be made aware of any training or advice provided by third party organisations to the SFC as they are an independent body and would not need to inform us about any such engagement with third party organisations. Therefore, as we have concluded that we do not hold this information, you may wish to ask this question directly of the SFC.

Original Question

Any correspondence, contracts, or memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with such organisations.

Original Response

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Any specific questions on this should be directed to the SFC.

Further comment

As noted in relation to the question above (and detailed in the searches log), we have not found any relevant information in relation to these organisations. Therefore, the same answer applies to this question, and we would again suggest asking the SFC directly.

Original Question

Copies of any Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) held or endorsed by the Directorate concerning SFC policies or outputs, especially those referencing gender identity, trans inclusion, or other ideologically driven terms not defined in UK law.

Original Response

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Further comment

As detailed in the searches log, we have conducted a search for this information but not found anything that is in scope. It would not be the role of the Directorate to undertake Equality Impact Assessments of SFC policies or outputs, and we are not aware of any such assessments shared by the SFC with us. As we have not found any relevant information, you may wish to ask the SFC directly.

Original Question

Whether any economic analysis, modelling, or policy commentary issued or commissioned by the SFC has been informed by non-economic EDI frameworks, including but not limited to intersectionality, anti-racism training, gender ideology, or trans inclusion protocols.

Original Response

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Any specific questions should be directed to the SFC.

Further comment

You asked for information that had been issued by or commissioned by the SFC in relation the above topics, and we therefore advised that those questions should be addressed to the SFC as the originator of such information. However, we still undertook searches of our files on the key words listed above and as the searches log shows, we did not find any documents to be in scope. That explains why we said that the information was not held by the Scottish Government.

Further information about the searches undertaken

In order to determine that this information was not held, we conducted searches of the relevant folders where information relating to the SFC was held, as well as inbox searches.

ERDM is the electronic record management system for the Scottish Government. All documentation required for the corporate record is saved on this system. Staff use designated folders to save items on specific subjects/business areas (for example the Scottish Fiscal Commission). ERDM allows Scottish Government employees to search on a specific folder; therefore, a proportionate approach is to focus on those folders where any information on SFC is held. This is what was undertaken for the previous FoI request.

Below is a copy of the log used to undertake the ERDM searches for the previous FoI where a response of information not held was provided.

ERDM folders searched	Comments on findings – e.g. number of documents found, if reading through showed none/some of these documents were in scope
Exchequer Strategy: Scottish Fiscal Commission Liaison: 2024-2029 [All relevant documents saved in this folder from 2024]	“equality, diversity and inclusion” and “expenditure” 0 documents “stonewall” 0 Documents
	“LGBT youth Scotland” 0 documents
	“equally safe” 0 documents
	“advance HE” 0 documents
	“equality impact assessment” 0 documents
	“intersectionality” 0 documents
	“anti-racism” 0 documents
	“gender ideology” 0 documents
	“trans inclusion” 0 documents
Scotland Act Financial Provisions Implementation: Scottish Fiscal Commission: Part 2: 2019-2024 [all relevant documents saved here up to 2024]	“equality, diversity and inclusion” and “expenditure” 0 documents “stonewall” 4 Documents (same email chain) – not in scope. Do not refer to advice, guidance,
	training, or policy input.
	“LGBT youth Scotland” 0 documents
	“equally safe” 0 documents
	“advance HE” 0 documents
	“equality impact assessment” 4 documents found – not in scope. Does not refer to SFC policies or outputs
	“intersectionality” 0 documents
	“anti-racism” 0 documents
	“gender ideology” 0 documents
	“trans inclusion” 0 documents

Below is a copy of the log used to undertake the inbox searches for the previous FoI where a response of information not held was provided. These were carried out by members of the liaison team and the Public Bodies Unit. There was no specific date ranges set for these searches.

Keywords searched (individual keywords or combinations)	Comments on findings – e.g. number of documents found, if reading through showed none/some of these documents were in scope
“equality, diversity and inclusion”	16 emails – none in scope
“equality impact assessment”	11 emails – none in scope
UK Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of sex in the Equality Act 2010	1 email in scope (Public Body Update 390)

1. Sponsor communications with SFC since 1 Jan 2024 that touch on Equality Act definition of sex, safeguarding, compelled speech, terminology (“gender identity”, “cisgender”, “assigned at birth”), neutrality/accuracy checks on SFC outputs, and any referrals for legal advice. Disclose factual accuracy exchanges and routing slips even if deliberative  content is redacted.

We have conducted searches of files and inboxes using the key words given above. We have found that there were no communications between the liaison team and SFC in relation to the subjects specified above.

So, we have concluded that this information is not held by the Scottish Government and are applying the exemption under section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held).

1. The PB Info Update 390 pack and any follow-on sponsor guidance or tracking showing it was cascaded to SFC and actioned. (Annex indicates such items exist within SG holdings.)

The update sent by the Scottish Government’s Public Bodies Unit to the SFC “PB Info Update 390”, was provided to you in the response to FoI 202500478551 on 1 September 2025. The only redactions applied to this were using the exemption section 38(1)(b) – Personal Data, where the names and email addresses of staff below Senior Civil Service (SCS) level were redacted.

There has been no follow-on sponsor guidance issued. PB Info Update 390 was sent to sponsor and liaison teams for awareness and did not require to be sent on to the SFC as Public Bodies Unit had already sent it directly to the SFC. Similarly, PB Info 390 didn’t request a response from Public Bodies.

1. Any EIAs/impact notes or legal assessments held by SG concerning SFC governance/comms frameworks (if none, confirm none held).

We have conducted searches of files and inboxes and did not identify any information within scope of the above request.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government, and we are applying the exemption under section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held).

1. Names/titles of senior decision-makers who approved the application of s.30(b)(i) and who are accountable for sponsor oversight of SFC within Exchequer Strategy (with junior staff details redacted as needed).

Alasdair Black, Deputy Director, Budget and Fiscal Co-ordination approved the original FoI response. Jennie Barugh, Director of Exchequer Strategy has director-level oversight of liaison with the SFC.

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.