FOI/202600523827 · FOI · partially withheld
First Minister's Boston trip: FOI release
Information requested
1. The full costs of John Swinney’s trip to the World Cup, including the expenses and costs of his entire entourage, broken down by what the money was spent on, I,e hotels, travel etc?
2. What hotels did Swinney and those who accompanied him stay in?
Response
In response to point 1, an exemption has been applied to information relating to the estimated cost of the visit to the World Cup visits and related detail, including officials who attended in support of Ministers. It is our intention to publish this data within 12 weeks. This is a formal notice under Section 27(1) that the information is intended for future publication. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the use of public funds to support this visit, and this will be met by our planned publication. In the meantime, there is a greater public interest in taking the time necessary to ensure the information has been properly collated and checked before it is published as planned. Also, we see no public interest in disrupting our programme of work to release the information ahead of the intended publication date.
To answer point 2, during his visit to Boston, both the First Minister and the rest of the travelling party stayed in the Godfrey Hotel Boston, 505 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111. In Kentucky, the First Minister stayed at the 21c Museum Hotel Louisville, 700 W Main St, Louisville, KY 40202.
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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
Response In response to point 1, an exemption has been applied to information relating to the estimated cost of the visit to the World Cup visits and related detail, including officials who attended in support of Ministers. This is a formal notice under Section 27(1) that the information is intended for future publication. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.
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