FOI/202500489966 · FOI · released
Scottish Government spending or investment related to alcohol: FOI release
Information requested
Period: 1 January 2023 – 31 March 2024 (15 months).
Accounts/Codes: the four families you identified — ministerial gifts; catering; hospitality; gifts & awards.
Fields to extract (as held): supplier name; invoice/line description; invoice date; net/VAT/gross; cost centre/cost code; directorate.
Method: please filter GL/AP data for these codes using line-description keywords:
alcohol, whisky, spirit, wine, champagne, prosecco, beer, cider, gin, vodka, rum, liqueur, bar, drinks reception, tasting.
Value threshold: ≥ £100 (line or invoice total - whichever is easier to query).
Output: CSV/Excel.
If anything above still risks exceeding £600, please advise (under s15) which single parameter change (e.g., fewer codes, fewer keywords, or a 6-month period) would keep it within the cap. I’m also happy to accept a top-N by value list for the period if that is materially cheaper to produce.
Please also confirm whether any BCLO reports or Certificates of Assurance in this period recorded exceptions or breaches relating to alcohol spend (a simple yes/no plus the number of instances, if any).
Response
Note: This request was made as a follow up to your original Freedom of Information request 202500476450 on 18th July. You requested information about any Scottish Government spending or investment related to alcohol or alcohol-related products for the three financial years (2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24). We asked for the request to be condensed.
1. I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested in the format you asked for. For transparency, we searched across all codes as well as those specified within the FOI.
2. There were no issues raised to central teams regarding alcohol spend in Certificate of Assurance or via internal reporting.
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.