FOI/202500476100 · FOI · partially withheld
Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) grants: FOI release
Information requested
1. Funding and Support
a. A breakdown of all financial support or public funding (including grants, contracts, or awards) provided to Advice Direct Scotland since 1 January 2020.
b. Any conditions or expectations attached to such funding in relation to employment standards, governance, or accountability.
2. Oversight and Monitoring
a. Details of any assessments, audits, reviews, or investigations carried out by or on behalf of the Scottish Government into Advice Direct Scotland’s operations, with particular reference to staff welfare and employment practices.
b. Any correspondence (emails, letters, reports, or meeting minutes) between the Scottish Government and Advice Direct Scotland since 1 January 2020 concerning employment issues, whistleblowing, staff complaints, or organisational culture.
3. Policy and Due Diligence
a. Information on the Scottish Government’s due diligence process prior to awarding funding or contracts to Advice Direct Scotland.
b. Details of any safeguarding mechanisms in place to ensure that publicly funded organisations meet appropriate standards in employment practices and workplace conduct.
Response
I enclose a response to most of the information you requested, in the electronic format you requested, at Annex A.
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.
I also provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.
Some of the information you requested has also been exempted under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information). This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’ and so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
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.
Detected exemption language
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. I also provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. Some of the information you requested has also been exempted under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information). This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’ and so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.