Swinney’s office to be probed by watchdog
Deputy FM under fire over FOI record Special advisers’ role under scrutiny
John Swinney’s office is to be investigated over claims that the Deputy First Minister sought to withhold correspondence with Prince Charles over education policy, the Information Commission- er has confirmed. The probe will be part of an investigation that the watchdog has already announced into the Scottish Government’s handling of freedom of information (FOI) requests.
It follows claims last week that Mr Swinney sought to withhold details of correspondence with Prince Charles over the Teach First charity. It prompted a call from opposition politicians for Mr Swinney to be investigated.
But in a letter to Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott, Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry confirmed he is already aware of the concerns surrounding the Deputy First Minister’s office.
This followed correspondence with journalist and lecturer James Mcenaney, who was involved in a long FOI battle with the Scottish Gov- ernment over the Teach First issue.
Mr Fitzhenry’s letter states: “I can therefore reassure you that I am aware of the cases you refer to; and indeed, as you point out in your letter, the documents were made available to Mr Mcenaney after the involvement of my office in his appeal.”
A row broke out last week after the emergence correspondence which suggested that the Deputy First Minister was against releasing information concerning Prince Charles. The chain of emails also appeared to show FOI requests being screened by the government’s special advisers.
Ministers previously told Parliament that special advisers only assess responses for accuracy but research by Mr Mcenaney suggests documents were removed from an FOI release at the request of Mr Swinney and his special adviser Colin Mcallister.
Mr Scott said: “The Information Commissioner is quite right to investigate these serious allegations.
“The documents reluctantly released by the Scottish Government suggested that special advisers were interfering in the content of replies to freedom of information requests in the very same week that ministers told me and Parliament they weren’t.
“What ministers would ‘prefer’ isn’t relevant when it comes to freedom of information. It is a matter of the law and the public’s right to information which is clearly defined in legislation.”
But a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “There is no investigation into the Deputy First Minister or his office and the commissioner’s letter does not support Mr Scott’s claim.
“The Information Commissioner’s response to Mr Scott confirms that the case in question is one being considered as part of his general assessment of the Scottish Government’s approach to freedom of information. This action was set out publicly in a letter last week by the Information Commissioner.”