First Minister and former First Ministers' correspondence with former Lord Advocate: FOI release

Information requested

I would like the following information under the FOI (Scotland) Act:

• When did John Swinney last speak with Dorothy Bain?
• When did Nicola Sturgeon last speak with Dorothy Bain?

Response

This is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the requested information, as we do not record when individuals “speak” to each other.

It may be helpful to note that, if an exchange had taken place and related to government business, it would be recorded in an appropriate manner by the relevant policy area and uploaded to our electronic Records and Document Management system (eRDM). However, neither the document nor the system would indicate whether it was a verbal discussion or written dialogue, nor would it specify whether it was the last time the individuals communicated.

The last official meeting in the ministerial calendar was as follows:

•Meeting between First Minister, John Swinney and Lord Advocate, Dororthy Bain took place on 08 March 2026.
•Meeting between Former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon and Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain took place on 14 October 2022.

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.