Correspondence regarding the speech given by the First Minister of Scotland at the University of Edinburgh’s McEwan Hall: FOI release

Information requested

Correspondence surrounding the First Ministers Speech on the 28 January.

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. Please see below answers to each of your questions.

All correspondence (including but not limited to emails, calendar invitations, meeting notes, attachments, and messages sent via official channels such as Microsoft Teams) between Scottish Government staff or the First Minister’s office and the University of Edinburgh or its student societies regarding the planning, organisation, or delivery of the event.

Please find attached Annex with the correspondence you requested. There were two planning calls between Scottish Government and University of Edinburgh held on the 22 January 2026 at 15:30-16:00 and 27 January 2026 at 9:00. A reconnaissance visit of McEwan Hall also took place on 26 January 2026 at 13:30.

Any documents, communications, or records that specify or discuss:

 

• The process by which RSVPs were accepted for the event (including the start date when attendees could email for a seat).

Invites were sent via email by the Scottish Government on the morning of Tuesday 27 January 2026 with a deadline of 17:00 the same day. The invite was also sent to the University of Edinburgh for further dissemination among students.

RSVPs were accepted via email and managed by the Scottish Government Visits and Events team. They received more

RSVPs than the room could accommodate and therefore spaces were allocated on a first come basis until room capacity was met.

• The deadlines for RSVP submissions and any changes to those deadlines.

Initially the RSVP deadline was 10:00 on 28 January 2026, however an internal decision was made, prior to issue, to bring this forward to ensure prompt replies.

• The criteria, restrictions, or conditions placed on attendance.

An initial invite list was compiled by Scottish Government staff. The University of Edinburgh was then asked to extend the invite to students who may have an interest. All guests were required to present photo ID for entry.

• The list of individuals, groups, or societies invited or offered a seat.

The Scottish Government compiled a list of academics and diplomats; this list did not include students.

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 exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies the information requested because it is personal data of a third party including names and contact details of individuals.

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 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested because we intend to publish that information within 12 weeks of the date of your request. We consider that it is reasonable to withhold the information until then, rather than release this routinely published information before the planned publication date (Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot).

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 see no public interest in disrupting our programme of work to release the information ahead of the intended publication date.

Records indicating the timeline of key decisions, including:

• When the Scottish Government first confirmed the event would take place.

The event was commissioned on Thursday 22 January 2026. It was confirmed publicly on Tuesday 27 January 2026 when the invites were issued.

• When RSVPs were opened and closed

Invites were sent the morning of Tuesday 27 January 2026 with a deadline of 17:00 the same day. The invite was also sent to the University of Edinburgh for further dissemination among students.

• Any changes to invitation lists or attendance arrangements after initial planning.

An early draft of the invite had set a deadline for RSVPs at 10:00 on 28 January 2026, but a decision was taken internally, before the invite was issued, to bring this forward to 27 January 2026 at 17:00 to ensure prompt replies.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names/contact details of staff and individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the 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.

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.

FOI 202600503835 - Information Released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

641.0 kB