Formal complaints made about the behaviour of Special Advisers: FOI release

Information requested

Please provide the following in relation to Special Advisers employed by the Scottish Government from 1 May 2021 to the present:

1. The total number of formal complaints made about the behaviour of Special Advisers, broken down by year.

2. For each complaint:

• The nature/category of the complaint (e.g. bullying, harassment, unprofessional behaviour,etc.).
• The outcome of the complaint (e.g. upheld, partially upheld, not upheld, withdrawn, ongoing).
• Whether any formal action or sanction resulted, described in general terms (e.g. no action, management action, disciplinary action, training, mediation).

3. A copy of any Scottish Government guidance, policy, or procedure documents specifically governing how complaints against Special Advisers are handled.

Response

1. In relation to formal action since 1 May 2021, there have been two formal complaints about the behaviour of Special Adviser’s one in year 2022 and one in 2025.

2. While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested about the category, outcome and how these complaints were resolved because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to that information. This exemption applies because the information is the personal data of third parties and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles set out in Article 5(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 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. 

3. A copy of the Special Advisers code of conduct is available here - Special advisers code of conduct and model contract - gov.scot

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