FOI/202600508094 · FOI · not held
Records of ministerial engagements, investigations and links to proscribed organisations: FOI release
Information requested
1. Does the Scottish Government hold any recorded information indicating that any Scottish Government minister, MSP (in a ministerial capacity), or Scottish Government official is currently subject to:
an investigation, review, or formal internal process; or a referral to the Ministerial Code process, relating to meetings, engagements, or events connected to the Israel–Gaza conflict or associated diplomatic contacts?
2. Does the Scottish Government hold any recorded information showing that any Scottish Government minister, or any official acting on behalf of the Scottish Government, has been formally found to have acted inconsistently with:
Scottish Government policy; or the Scottish Ministerial Code, in relation to Gaza/Israel or related diplomatic engagement?
3. Separately from ministerial-code matters, is the Scottish Government aware of any Scottish Government minister or official being investigated by law-enforcement or other competent authorities in relation to alleged involvement with, support for, or association with any organisation proscribed under UK terrorism legislation, including Palestine Action?
4. If the Scottish Government does not hold such information because any relevant awareness, vetting, or disciplinary processes relating to party members or elected representatives are conducted by the SNP as a political party rather than by the Scottish Government, please confirm this and advise the appropriate contact route.
(If the Scottish Government does not hold other information requested in this section because the relevant processes are party-internal to the SNP, please confirm that and advise the appropriate route.)
5. Does the Scottish Government keep any formal record (e.g., diaries, ministerial engagement logs, official correspondence, briefings, expenses records) of ministers’ attendance or participation in rallies/demonstrations relating to Palestine/Israel–Gaza where this occurred in an official capacity?
6. Where ministers or MSPs attend such events, what guidance or criteria does the Scottish Government use to distinguish whether the attendance is:
personal/private capacity; party (SNP) capacity; or Scottish Government/ministerial capacity?
7. Where attendance is deemed to be in a ministerial capacity, what approval, recording, or reporting requirements apply?
9. Within the past 12 months, how many Scottish Government ministers have attended or spoken at public rallies, marches, or civic events focused on:
a. housing and homelessness b. cost of living pressures c. NHS waiting times/health service pressures; or d. local government service provision or reductions?
(If precise counts are not held, please provide any recorded information that would enable a reasonable estimate, or confirm that such information is not held.)
10. What guidance or expectations does the Scottish Government set for ministers regarding engagement with civic action or public events connected to domestic Scottish crises such as housing, public services, and household finances?
Response
1-4. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. Having conducted appropriate and proportionate searches for information in line with your requests, the Scottish Government holds no recorded information within the scope of your request. For further information regarding SNP party processes, please contact Scottish National Party.
5. If a Minister attends a rally or demonstration in a ministerial capacity it would be recorded in the Ministerial diary, and published on the Scottish Government website. Some of the information you have requested is publicly available from Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot. The information is available from 2016, within the engagements tab. The information is classed as a ‘speech’ or ‘visit’ under ‘Engagement Type’ and will have the word ‘rally’ or ‘demonstration’ under the ‘Organisation met with’ section.
You will also find a list of expenses by Minister through the link above. 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.
This is a formal notice that Section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The information requested for January and February 2026 will be published within 12 weeks of your request and will be available at https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/.
This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
I have undertaken a search of the Scottish Government’s record system (ERDM) for any information relating to correspondence and briefings and found 66,146 documents that may be within scope, using the search term (("Demonstration" OR "Rally") AND "Palestine" OR "Israel" OR "Gaza"). While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the cost of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600.
Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.
You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. If you have a particular subject matter you are interested in this would significantly narrow the scope. Alternatively, you may wish to reduce the time period of the request. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.
6. I have undertaken a search of the Scottish Government’s record system (ERDM) using the search term ("Guidance" AND "attending" AND "International demonstrations" OR "International Rallies") and found 16 documents, none of which were in scope of this request. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested regarding guidance or criteria for MSPs attendance at demonstrations or rallies. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
You will need to contact the Scottish Parliament to request information relating to MSPs. Guidance on making a request to the Scottish Parliament can be found here - Requesting information | Scottish Parliament Website.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
7. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. There is no approval process in place for Ministers attending demonstrations or rallies. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
In terms of recording and reporting attendance this is covered in the answer to part 5 of your request.
If a Minister attends a rally or demonstration in a ministerial capacity it would be recorded in the Ministerial diary, and published on the Scottish Government website.
Some of the information you have requested is publicly available from Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot.
The information is available from 2016, within the engagements tab. The information is classed as a ‘speech’ or ‘visit’ under ‘Engagement Type’ and will have the word ‘rally’ or ‘demonstration’ under the ‘Organisation met with’ section. You will also find a list of expenses by Minister through the link above.
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.
This is a formal notice that Section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The information requested for January and February 2026 will be published within 12 weeks of your request and will be available at https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/. This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks.
If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
9. If a Minister attends a rally or demonstration in a ministerial capacity, related to these subject areas, it will be published on the Scottish Government website.
Some of the information you have requested is publicly available from Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot.
An example of how the information is presented, within the ‘engagements’ tab, relating to demonstrations and rallies is provided below. The entry will have the word ‘rally’ or ‘demonstration’ under the ‘Organisation met with’ section of the ‘engagements’ tab. The final column within the ‘engagements’ tab will provide information on the subject area.
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.
Example from published information 14/05/2025 Speech MillionsMissing Rally – MeAction Scotland
This is a formal notice that Section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested.
The information requested for January and February 2026 will be published within 12 weeks of your request and will be available at https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/.
This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
10. The Scottish Government does not provide Ministers with specific guidance on their engagement with civil action or public events connected to domestic Scottish crises. General guidance on Ministerial conduct is provided in the Scottish Ministerial Code.
This includes guidance in Chapter 3 on Ministers’ association with non-public bodies, including (at paragraph 3.15) that “Ministers should take care to ensure that they do not become associated with non-public organisations whose objectives may in any degree conflict with Government policy and thus give rise to a conflict of interest.”
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.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. This is a formal notice that Section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.
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