Details of the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy's trip to Japan: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you supply the full expenses from Gillian Martin's trip to Japan in September, including how many officials accompanied her, and their full expenses, including flight costs, accommodation and other expenses?

2. Could you supply all briefings and minutes/notes from meetings Gillian Martin held in Japan?

Response

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

Request 1:

The total costs for the Cabinet Secretary’s travel are withheld under s.27(1) of the FOI Exemptions, as a full breakdown will be released as part of the Ministerial Engagements Database. This is released routinely and can be found via this link:

Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot

The Cabinet Secretary was accompanied by three officials on this visit, with their costs totalling the following costs:

Accommodation:

Total Cost for three officials to stay for the duration of the visit was £2323

Flights:

Total Flights at a cost of £10,256.94

Subsistence:

Total subsistence claimed by Scottish Government Officials was £45.61

Request 2:

Briefing Notes:

Document one - Briefing for the Cabinet Secretary – Redacted [ATTACHED]

Meeting Notes:

At the time of the request, the notes from the meetings have not been processed and are therefore withheld under Section 17 of the FOI exemptions, as we do not currently hold that information.

Information behind the Redactions:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemptions under various various sections of FOISA. These sections applies to some of the information you have requested:

Section 27(1) - Information intended for future publication

• All Ministerial costs will be withheld and be released as part of the proactive release for expenses.

Section 30(b)(ii) - Free and frank exchange of views

• Where there is information that is free and frank and not indicative of Scottish Government Policy.

Section 33(1)(b) - Commercial interests

• Certain aspects of the information are considered sensitive and cannot be released publicly.

These exemptions are subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release to ensure that the public are informed of Scottish Government decision making and policy development. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in releasing accurate information, e.g. final versions of documents, in order to avoid misleading the public.

Section 17 - Notice that information is not held

• As the notes are not yet clarified, the information is not held and cannot be released.

Section 38(1)(b) - Personal data relating to third party

• All names of Civil Servants below SCS level and contact details have been redacted.

These exemptions are NOT subject to the 'public interest test'.

About FOI

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FOI 202500486857 - Information released - Briefing

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