FOI/202300378722 · FOI · partially withheld
Former Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Northern Ireland Office meetings: FOI release
Information requested
1. A list of all meetings held or attended by Mark Logan since he was appointed to the role of chief entrepreneur, and minutes/notes from these meetings.
2. How much money has he received since he took on the role, with a breakdown of these costs?
3. A list of all meetings held or attended by Ellis Watson since he was appointed as chief business adviser and minutes/notes from these meetings?
4. How much money has he received since he took on the role, with a breakdown of these costs?
Response
The information held by the Scottish Government that falls within the scope of your request has been attached separately for your reference. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA apply. The details of these exemptions and why they apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.
Responses to your request can be found below:
Q1: The information held by the Scottish Government that falls within the scope of your request has been attached separately for your reference. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA apply. The details of these exemptions and why they apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.
This list also does not include the development of the report Pathways: A new approach for women in entrepreneurship, which Mark Logan co-authored. This activity was not charged for, and constituted a large number of meetings with multiple stakeholders in addition to the production of the report itself.
To note that there is no formal requirement for the Chief Entrepreneur to minute all meetings.
Q2: The table below lists all amounts invoice covering July 2022 to August 2023 (the last month invoiced for at the time of responding), exclusive of VAT.
Month Invoiced amount (ex VAT) Expenses claimed Jul-22 £ 12,375.00 £ 593.79 Aug-22 £ 18,578.00 Sep-22 £ 11,750.00 Oct-22 £ 9,825.65 Nov-22 £ 12,901.30 Dec-22 £ 5,568.90 Jan-23 £ 10,582.40 Feb-23 £ 11,678.30 Mar-23 £ 13,349.51 Apr-23 £ 7,168.06 May-23 £ 12,463.57 Jun-23 £ 8,315.76 Jul-23 £ 8,054.00 Aug-23 £ 11,456.82 Total £ 154,661.06
Q3: The information held by the Scottish Government that falls within the scope of your request has been attached separately for your reference. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA apply. The details of these exemptions and why they apply are explained in the Annex to this letter. To note that Ellis Watson has also participated in the NSET Delivery Board Meetings which have publicly available minutes on www.gov.scot.
25th January 2023 - National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board minutes: January 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 29th March 2023 - National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board minutes: March 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 24th May 2023 - National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board minutes: May 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 21st June 2023 - National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board minutes: June 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.
To note that there is no formal requirement for the Chief Business Adviser to minute all meetings.
Q4: Ellis Watson is an unpaid advisor to the Scottish Government and as such as received no payment since assuming his role.
Detected exemption language
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA apply. The details of these exemptions and why they apply are explained in the Annex to this letter. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA apply. The details of these exemptions and why they apply are explained in the Annex to this letter. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under FOISA apply.