SCOTTISH ministers were alarmed at the prospect of their public and private lives being exposed by the advent of Freedom of Information, official records reveal. 

Scottish Government cabinet papers from 2005, the year FoI began north of the border, show ministers raised multiple “concerns” about the impact on them, their families and their staff.

The discussion, led by then First Minister Jack McConnell, took place just days after FoI claimed the first MSP's resignation.

Ministers arranged to discuss their fears with officials running the Government’s FoI unit, and demanded to be warned about “particularly difficult requests”.

They were also told who was making the requests.

The minister in charge said the new system was inconsistent and “very frustrating”.

Meanwhile, in public, the then Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government, known as the Scottish Executive, was extolling the benefits of FoI. 

The behind-the-scene jitters are revealed in archives from the National Records of Scotland, released under the 15-year-rule covering Scottish Government papers. 

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into effect on 1 January 2005, giving people the right to request information held by public bodies unless there compelling reasons to keep it secret.

By January 7, FoI had taken its first scalp. 

Keith Raffan, the Liberal Democrat list MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, resigned on health grounds in advance of his expense claims being published in full.

The previous month, it emerged he had billed the Scottish Parliament £41,152 for travelling an improbable 83,477 miles to see constituents in his Skoda, the equivalent of driving three times round the world.

When the full details were published they showed he had claimed to be out and about in Fife on several days when he wasn’t even in Scotland, and also claimed a staggering number of trips to Edzell in Angus, one of his region’s most distant - and hence lucrative - villages.

On February 2, the cabinet was briefed on FoI by Margaret Curran, the Labour minister for parliamentary business.

The minutes said she would be making a press statement later that day “which would focus on the benefits” which FoI was delivering for Scotland.

She had received reports from the FoI unit on requests for information and “who was making them which she would circulate to Ministers”. 

The minutes go on: “As anticipated a great number of the early requests were from journalists. There was nothing in the requests made so far and the responses which caused her particular concern.

“Ms Curran said, however, that she was not convinced of the organisation’s ability to track and deal consistently with FoI requests.

“She said that her attempts to establish a systematic approach had proved very frustrating.

“She had asked for clear guidance to private offices, and for the appointment of a senior official in each department to act as a lead officer in providing advice, monitoring standards. Up-dating the relevant portfolio ministers on a regular basis, and working with her, as a network, to ensure consistency.”

There was then a general discussion in which “concerns were raised in relation to: the potential release of private information from Ministers’ diaries and the impact that might have on the privacy and security of Ministers, their staff and families; the impact of FoI on the notes taken of Ministers’ meetings and the effect that could have on their ability to have free and frank discussions, recorded in a way which was useful for business purposes; the impact of FoI on meetings involving only officials; the capacity of press desks to deal with the level of interest from journalists in ‘old stories’; examples where Ministers had queried the line being taken on cases, resulting in the line being changed; and the role of lead officers in briefing portfolio ministers.”

The cabinet noted it was important to have consistency across FoI request handling, with “some degree of central coordination” being exercised.

“Ministers required to have an overview of live issues and any particularly difficult requests.”

The cabinet then agreed the FoI Unit should brief ministers before a future cabinet meeting and hear their “concerns first hand”.

As it turned out, the next FoI casualty was not from the Government benches.

David McLetchie quit as Scottish Tory leader in October that year after claiming £11,500 in taxi fares from Holyrood, not all of which proved to be for parliamentary business.