FOI/202200312244 · FOI · unclear
Scottish Government overseas office statistics: FOI release
Information requested
Information on "Scottish Government Oversea office" and in particular: Can you advise on what dates each of the above open by year format , and what has been the level of financial investment in Scotland by each of the offices activities again by year format? And by location what if any , have there been any visits to these overseas offices by MSP's by year format, please list by year? And too date what has been the total cost of having these offices to the Scottish taxpayer?
Response
Please see below the response with most of the information you requested in the format you asked for. 1.
International Office Opened Brussels (Scotland House) 1999 Washington 2001 Beijing 2005 London (Scotland House) 2017 Berlin 2018 Ottawa 2018 Paris 2018 Copenhagen 2022
Level of financial investment in Scotland is not measured by each individual Scottish Government office. Colleagues both in Scotland and in our international offices across Scottish Government, and Scottish Development International all contribute together towards trade and investment measures. Our offices work across geographies and on a sectoral basis together with teams in Scotland and wider partners across industry, academia and beyond to engage in the wide range of activities which contribute to trade and investment successes. The offices engage with businesses and stakeholders through a range of activities however a direct impact is not always measurable or directly attributable to a specific office or a groups of offices as it is commonly the case in this type of engagement. 2. Scotland House London had 2 MSPs visit in 2019 and our International Office in Berlin had 9 MSPs visit in 2022. 3. Budget per annum including staff salaries
2016-17 £000 2017-18 £000 2018-19 £000 2019-20 £000 2020-21 £000 2021-22 £000 2022-23 £000 Beijing, China 395 395 395 553 554 550 567 Washington DC, United States 700 700 700 807 811 805 794 Ottawa, Canada 500 575 575 570 634 Paris, France 500 545 558 556 659 Dublin, Ireland 350 541 572 596 593 Berlin, Germany 300 549 549 555 572 Brussels, Belgium 1,139 1,639 2,079 2,088 2,310 2,467 London, England 1,650 1,995 2,041 2,197 2,180 Copenhagen, Denmark 598
NOTE
2016-17 was the first year in which the United States and China Offices had separate budget lines. Prior to this they were funded from within budgets that contained other elements and were not accounted for separately. 2017-18 was the first year in which the Brussels Office had a separate budget line, it was previously funded from within a larger budget and was not accounted for separately. Prior to 2018-19 the budgets for London, Dublin and Berlin (while these offices were being established) were not identified separately. They were funded from within a larger budget line and were not accounted for separately.
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Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Enquiry Unit Email: ceu@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrews House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
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