Associated staff costs for First Minister's foreign trips: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/17/02400
Date received: 17 October 2017
Date responded: 29 November 2017

Information requested

The amount of money claimed from public expenses towards travel, accommodation, and interpretation and translation services by Nicola Sturgeon MSP and any member of her staff as part of the foreign trips the First Minister has made since 23rd June, 2017.

Response

All ministerial engagements, including foreign travel, are proactively published by the Scottish Government. This includes costs associated with engagements. The information you have requested can be accessed at the below link: http://www.gov.scot/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements

There were no costs incurred for interpretation or translation services.

Cost associated with staff accompanying the First Minister on foreign trips are as follows:

Brussels 13th July: Travel costs - £740.46
Utrecht 19th - 20th July: Travel costs - £606.27
Dublin 5th - 6th October: Travel costs - £562.57
Iceland 12th - 13th October: Travel costs - £870.58

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested from July to October 2017 because an exemption under section 27(1) (information intended for future publication) of FOISA applies to that information.

This exemption can be applied when it is the intention of the relevant Scottish public authority to publish the information no later than 12 weeks after the date on which the request was made.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses