Information on money spent on Parliamentary Liaison Officers John Swinney MSP and Kate Forbes MSP: FOI release

Information requested

You requested "information on the amount of money spent on Parliamentary Liaison Officers for John Swinney MSP and Kate Forbes MSP since 2018 to the present. Please provide per year spend per the number of Parliamentary Liaison Officers for each MSP."

Response

During the time period of your request I can confirm that Jenny Gilruth MSP was appointed as Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the then Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney MSP). That appointment ended on 26 June 2018. No other such appointments fall within the scope of your request.

Parliamentary Liaison Officers are not remunerated positions. However paragraph 4.13 of the Scottish Ministerial Code confirms that PLOs undertaking visits within the United Kingdom relating to their duties as a PLO may receive the normal Civil Service travel and subsistence allowances, as would any other MSP undertaking work for the Government. Ms Gilruth claimed no such monies in her capacity as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer between 1 January and 26 June 2018.

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