THE Scottish Government has not yet deployed civil servants back to their original roles to prepare for a second independence referendum, we can reveal.
On March 18, 2020, 10 civil servants who were working on independence related projects were moved to work on Covid-19 guidance and election policy instead.
Three of the civil servants were working on a series of New Scotland papers on how Scotland can transition from a Yes vote to independence, announced by Nicola Sturgeon on January 31, 2020.
The other seven were working on a range of duties including work to update the white paper “Scotland’s Future”.
The Sunday National discovered the information regarding the civil servants deployment during an analysis of the Freedom of Information requests released by the Scottish Government regarding independence.
There were scores of documents released from 30 FOI requests between January 22, 2020 and July 13, 2021.
The Sunday National took a deep dive into the requests to discover what we can glean regarding the Government’s indyref2 plans, and what they weren’t willing to share.
What are the main topics in the FOI requests?
THE most frequent requested topic is on the drafting of the Independence Referendum Bill published by the Scottish Government in March this year, of which there were 11 requests.
There were a further eight relating to an indyref, mostly asking for correspondence between government officials on the topic. There were seven requests regarding independence ranging from queries about pension protections to how much it cost to produce the paper Scotland’s Right to Choose.
There were two requests regarding discussion of a Section 30 order, one on the Border question between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and one asking for legal advice regarding an independent Scotland rejoining the European Union.
Is there anything that points to a date for indyref2?
THE timing of indyref2 is mentioned frequently in the FOIs but it doesn’t give us any more information than is publicly available.
There is one strange request where the Scottish Government, asked for correspondence received by Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans on the timing of a referendum, released one heavily redacted email from November 23, 2020.
The only line visible is, “let me know any thoughts”. One guidance document states the referendum should be “in the first half of the new Parliament – provided it is safe to do so”.
What will indyref2 be like compared to the 2014 vote?
ON paper, broadly similar. The question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” will remain the same, according to briefing papers.
But the Government were planning to discuss running the question in Gaelic too, and asked the Electoral Commission to look into it in February 2020, but due to Covid this was paused in March.
And, just like the Scottish Parliament election in 2021, foreign nationals with leave to remain will be able to vote in the referendum, which they were unable to do in 2014.
What is the Scottish Government’s position on the Border issue?
ONE FOI asked for any analysis or assessment the Scottish Government had made on the tricky Border issue after independence.
The response revealed extracts from documents sent to Government Ministers between 2013-14 in preparation for a Yes vote. Basically, the Scottish Government has no intention of joining the Schengen Area, and intends to stay within the Common Travel Area (CTA) as Border controls between Scotland and the rest of the UK would be “inconvenient and costly”.
One part of the document reads: “The EU has spent all of its 50 or so years of existence seeking to demolish borders across the EU.
"It is hardly likely that the Commission will use the moment of Scotland’s independent membership of the EU to insist that a new internal border is created between Scotland and the rest of the Common Travel Area.”
Has the Government asked for legal advice regarding rejoining the EU?
ONE request asked for any legal advice given on Scotland rejoining the EU, but the response is unclear. It said the advice could not be released because it would breach legal privilege. But in the documents of the response, an official is quoted as saying: “We do not hold legal advice on the second part of the query,” relating to the legal advice on rejoining the EU.
Is there any chance of a ‘wildcat’ referendum?
NO. The Government intends to play by the book, as one piece of guidance states: “The Scottish Government is committed to a referendum which is beyond legal challenge and which will be recognised both here at home and by the international community including by the EU.
“That will ensure that the decision people in Scotland make, should they vote in favour of independence, is given effect.”
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