FOI/202600506306 · FOI · released
Records relating to the cost for the Cabinet Secretary’s COP30 attendance: FOI release
Information requested
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I request information relating to the compilation and quality assurance of the “total cost information” for the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy’s attendance at COP30, as referenced in Scottish Parliament questions S6W-42412 (answered 16 December 2025) and S6W-43292 (answered 6 February 2026).
The answer to S6W-43292 states that, at the time of the response to S6W-42412, the Scottish Government was “still in the process of compiling and quality assuring the costs” and that total costs are routinely published approximately three months in arrears.
I am seeking information to establish a clear timeline of what cost information existed, when it was received, and when it was checked/signed off.
1) Records showing what information was held on key dates
For each of the following dates:
16 December 2025 (date of the answer to S6W-42412), and 6 February 2026 (date of the answer to S6W-43292),
please provide the information/records held at those dates that relate to the total cost for the Cabinet Secretary’s COP30 attendance, including (where held):
any draft totals, working totals, or provisional totals; any breakdown of cost categories (e.g., flights, accommodation, subsistence, ground transport, security, staff travel, etc.); any internal summaries, spreadsheets, trackers, reconciliation sheets, or finance reports.
If the exact documents are not held as snapshots on those dates, please provide the closest versioned records (e.g., saved files, SharePoint/Teams versions, email attachments) that show the totals as they stood around those dates.
2) Timeline of cost compilation (receipt and processing milestones)
Please provide a timeline (or the underlying records from which a timeline can be derived) showing, for the Cabinet Secretary’s COP30 attendance costs:
the date each material cost item was incurred (if recorded); the date each invoice/receipt/expense claim was submitted to the Scottish Government; the date each invoice/receipt/claim was received by the relevant team; the date each item was processed (e.g., entered into finance systems / coded / paid), and the date each item was included in the running total (if recorded).
If held, this includes expenses processed via corporate travel management systems, procurement/card systems, and staff expense claim systems.
3) “Quality assurance” process: what checks, by whom, and when
Please provide records that describe and evidence the “quality assuring” referenced in S6W-43292, including:
any QA/checklist documents, guidance, or SOPs used for producing “total costs” publications/PQ answers; the specific checks applied to the COP30 attendance costs and the dates those checks were carried out; who carried out each check (name and role—role/title only is acceptable if you consider names exempt); any sign-off/approval records for the final totals (including email approvals or document approvals).
4) Communications about incomplete totals and timing
Please provide internal communications (emails, Teams messages, meeting notes, briefings) between relevant officials that discuss:
whether the total costs were available or not available at the time of answering S6W-42412 on 16 December 2025; reasons for any delay or incompleteness at that time; and expected timing for completion/publication of the total costs.
5) Policy/standard practice referred to (“approximately three months in arrears”)
Please provide the policy/guidance that supports the statement:
“We routinely publish total costs approximately three months in arrears…”
This should include any written policy, guidance, or internal instructions describing:
the rationale for the arrears period, what constitutes “total costs” for publication, and what steps must be completed before figures are released.
Scope and format
Timeframe: From 1 September 2025 to 28 February 2026 (or, if simpler, from the first record relating to planning/booking the COP30 attendance costs through to completion/publication of the final total costs). Format: Please provide the information electronically. Where information is held in spreadsheets/trackers, please provide them in their native format (e.g., Excel/CSV), with any necessary redactions applied.
If any part of this request is considered too broad, please advise how it can be refined while still allowing the establishment of a compilation/QA timeline (for example, by identifying the key trackers/documents that would provide the required dates and milestones).
Response
I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.
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.