ADVOCATE GENERAL AVOIDS NATIONAL CONVERSATION QUESTION

ADVOCATE GENERAL AVOIDS NATIONAL CONVERSATION QUESTION

The UK Government has refused to disclose if it is or is not looking at the Scottish Government’s National Conversation.

Jamie Hepburn, SNP MSP for Central Scotland is calling on the UK Government to publish details of any work it is undertaking on the Scottish Government’s National Conversation and the possibility of a referendum on independence, after it claimed it could not “confirm nor deny” what it is or isn’t doing.

The FOI request was lodged by William Henderson, a lecturer in Law at Glasgow Caledonian University, as part of a series of questions about work currently being undertaken by the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland.

A request for information was declined on the grounds that it would not be in the public interest to provide this, despite providing information on work on a number of UK and Scottish Parliament bills.

In a letter to Mr Henderson, Stephen Feltham, from the Office of the Solicitor to the Advocate General for Scotland, said:

Work relating to an independence referendum or the National Conversation

"With reference to section 35(1)(c) (provision of advice by the Law Officers) and (3), we can neither confirm nor deny whether the Office of the Advocate General is conducting work relating to an independence referendum or the National Conversation. We have considered the application of the public interest test as regards disclosure of this information and, for the reasons cited above, have concluded that it is in the public interest to maintain the exemption."

Commenting, Jamie Hepburn MSP said:

“It is simply ridiculous that the UK Government’s law office in Edinburgh refuses to confirm or deny that it is working on the National Conversation.

“The Advocate General will confirm that it provides advice on other legislation both reserved and devolved, why can it not confirm or deny if it has even been asked about the National Conversation.

“While the UK Government may not want to disclose the nature of that advice I cannot see any reason for not disclosing whether or not advice about the National Conversation has been sought.

“The National Conversation and a referendum on Scotland’s Constitutional future are in the public interest – so there is no excuse for the UK Government refusing to come clean.

"The UK Government is running scared from putting the Calman proposals before the people in a referendum. Now they are running scared of revealing the work of the Advocate General on constitutional issues. What have they got to hide?”

William Henderson, Lecturer in Law at Glasgow Caledonian University added:

“The Advocate General’s decision not to release information on whether it is working on the National Conversation is at odds with the office’s willingness to publish details of other aspects of its daily work.

“I will be appealing this decision and am prepared to go to the Information Commissioner if need be. The decision not to disclose the details simply raises further questions about why the UK Government feels it has something to hide.”