Vaccine Deployment Plan Fiasco: Scottish Government's 'Hissy Fit' Over Confidentiality Breach

Strategic Insights -

A recent exposé has revealed that the Scottish Government's vaccine deployment plan was removed from its website due to concerns over a potential breach of commercial confidentiality agreements with vaccine manufacturers. The plan, released on January 13, included sensitive information about vaccine supplies, which was not supposed to be publicly disclosed. The fiasco has sparked criticism from the Scottish Conservatives and Labour, who have accused the government of downplaying the error and trying to keep it a secret.

Key Takeaways:

  • The vaccine deployment plan was removed from the Scottish Government website after concerns were raised by the UK Government that it breached commercial confidentiality agreements with vaccine manufacturers.
  • The plan included detailed breakdowns of received and future supplies of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines, which was classified as "official, commercial, sensitive" by the UK Government.
  • Caroline Lamb, NHS Scotland chief executive, questioned the accuracy of the supply data to be published, but no concerns were raised by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, despite her sight of the plan.
  • Civil servants within Whitehall raised concerns about journalists using the document to extrapolate UK-wide supply figures, and a member of the UK Government's Vaccines Taskforce sent an email to the Scottish Government's interim head of vaccines division, stating that the data was "extremely unhelpful and problematic".
  • Apology letters were privately sent to vaccine suppliers after the error was discovered, but the correspondence was kept secret for four months after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request was delayed.
  • The Scottish Conservatives and Labour have criticized the government for downplaying the error and trying to keep it a secret, with Annie Wells calling it a "grovelling apology" and Jackie Baillie describing it as a "debacle" that "sums up the SNP's record".

Statistics:

  • 5,000: The number of documents referred to in the original FOI request, which led to the delayed release of the email chains.
  • 1 day: The time it took for the Scottish Government to reupload the vaccine deployment plan after the offending tables and charts were removed.
  • 3 hours: The time it took for a member of the UK Government's Vaccines Taskforce to send an email to the Scottish Government's interim head of vaccines division expressing concerns about the potential breach of confidentiality.
  • January 14: The date the document was reuploaded after the removal of the tables and charts.
  • June: The month when the Scottish Government officials delayed responding to the FOI request until after the Holyrood election.

Sources:

  • "LNER reviewing decision to scrap social distancing on all trains running between Scotland and England" by The Scotsman (https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/lner-reviewing-decision-to-scrap-social-distancing-on-all-trains-running-between-scotland-and-england-3313895)
  • Correspondence between the Scottish Government and vaccine manufacturers, released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.