Documentation regarding the First Minister's trip to London for the state visit of the President of the USA: FOI release

Information requested

"Any documents that relate to John Swinney's visit to London for the state visit of Donald Trump in September. This could include minutes of any meetings held with anyone during this visit, be it Mr Trump, the Prime Minister or the King, or anyone else Mr Swinney met with. Can any documents that refer to this visit sent to or from Mr Swinney in the lead up to and aftermath of this visit also be supplied? Can you also provide details of travel and accommodation costs?"

Response

For clarity in responding to your request, I have split your request as follows:

(1) Any documents that relate to John Swinney's visit to London for the state visit of Donald Trump in September. This could include minutes of any meetings held with anyone during this visit, be it Mr Trump, the Prime Minister or the King, or anyone else Mr Swinney met with.
(2) Can any documents that refer to this visit sent to or from Mr Swinney in the lead up to and aftermath of this visit also be supplied?
(3) Can you also provide details of travel and accommodation costs?In response to parts 1 and 2 of your request, I enclose a copy of someof the information you requested at Release Annex A. 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 some of it is subject to exemptions – the reasons why these exemptions apply is outlined further below in this letter.

In response to part 3 of your request, some of the information you have requested is in the table below. Again, some of the information is subject to exemptions, the reasons also set out in this letter.

Travel and accommodation costs associated with First Minister trip to London for State Banquet for President of the United States, September 2025
Accompanying official costs
Travel – economy flight - £597.60	Accommodation – hotel 1 night - £323.70

Reasons exemptions apply

Please note that the above information regarding costs does not include information relating to the cost of travel/accommodation for the First Minister because an exemption under section 27(1) Information intended for future publication of FOISA applies to some of that that information.
This exemption applies as details of ministerial engagements, travel and gifts will be published within the next 12 weeks and will be available when published at these links: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts: January 2025 - gov.scot. If you have issues accessing the information online, you can contact us again to request in an alternative format.

This exemption is 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 because of interest in Ministerial travel. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in minimising the resource implications of the duplication of work when the information is subject to near future publication.

Separately, some of the costs incurred for this trip were in relation to security matters for the First Minister. The Scottish Government does not comment on the First Minister’s security matters. An exemption under section 39(1) of FOISA (health of safety) applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because disclosure would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual.

This exemption is 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 the arrangements for the First Minister’s security. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in the safety of the First Minister.

With regards exemptions applied within Release Annex A:

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because some of the information you have requested is the personal data of third parties. 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.

An exemption under section 25(1) of FOISA applies to a small amount of the information you have requested. This is because the information is otherwise easily accessible. Specifically this relates to a then-embargoed copy of a press release from the Scottish Green party. This information can be found here - Greens call on First Minister to boycott Trump banquet - Scottish Greens. 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.

An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to discuss advice to be provided to Ministers and to provide free and frank advice to Ministers and other officials before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank advice used to brief the First Minister in preparation for attendance at engagements such as the State Banquet will substantially inhibit the provision of related such advice in the future, particularly because these occasions require sensitive handling of key issues.

This exemption is 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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank advice to officials and the First Minister as part of the process of exploring and refining approach to and preparation for key engagements. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good decisions can be taken.
Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making and briefing process, which would not be in the public interest.

An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the fee and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to discuss and explore options before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank discussions between officials and advisers on the approach to communications surrounding the First Minister’s attendance at the State Banquet; arrangements with the Royal Household and related briefing requirements will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future, particularly because these discussions relate to sensitive issues.

This exemption is 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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing Ministers, officials and advisers a private space within which to explore and refine the Government’s position and approach. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process, which would not be in the public interest.

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FOI 202500489628 - Information Released - Annex A

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