THE Scottish Government has disbanded its dedicated independence unit and absorbed it within its wider constitutional division.
It comes after it was revealed that the independence white paper series, which the unit was responsible for, will come to an end, with just a “final overview” paper still planned.
The SNP set up its “constitutional futures division” under Nicola Sturgeon in 2019, with the unit responsible for drawing up blueprints for an independent Scotland.
The team of a dozen-or-so civil servants published 13 papers on independence policy in a series which was titled "Building a New Scotland".
It was intended to form the prospectus for an independent Scotland, addressing a range of issues from the economy to migration.
But a Freedom of Information request has now revealed that the dedicated unit has now been “disbanded”.
The freedom of information response, first sent to The Daily Express, confirmed that the constitutional futures division was disbanded on January 17 this year and its activity merged into the wider constitution directorate.
The Scottish Government, meanwhile, said: “The constitution directorate will continue to take forward the varied forms of constitutional-related work.”
A letter from Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson last month also detailed how the standalone unit will be disbanded due to the white paper series coming to an end.
It is unclear, however, to what extent this will impact the numbers of civil servants actively working on the prospect of a future independent Scotland.
It comes after the Scottish Government previously insisted to The National that it has not axed spending on independence campaigning – after the LibDems claimed victory in Budget negotiations.
Scottish LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton claimed in January that the SNP Government had committed that “nothing will be spent on independence”.
Claiming the issue was a “red line” for his party before it pledged to support the minority administration’s spending plans, he told the Daily Record: “That has been secured. There is no budget line for independence.”
But the Scottish Government hit back, with a spokesperson saying: “As with previous years, there is no dedicated budget line for ‘independence’ work. Any suggestion therefore that the budget for independence has been changed is not the case.
"The details of the agreements reached with opposition parties have been published and shared with the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee.”
