THE Cabinet Office has refused to reveal how many times the Union Strategy Committee has met since it was established.
The National lodged an Freedom of Information (FOI) request with the UK Government department asking for details on how many sessions the group has had and which topics were discussed this year.
The Cabinet Office admitted it held the information, but refused to disclose any details in their response.
In their list of exemptions, they claimed that the “balance of public interest favours withholding this information”.
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The National have appealed the decision and asked the Cabinet Office repeatedly to at least confirm the number of meetings since it was created.
The SNP said the refusal showed the UK Government’s “bunker mentality” is setting in and that they know they don’t have the arguments against independence.
It comes as Downing Street reportedly warned ministers not to talk about independence amid fears it only helps the Yes side.
The Cabinet Union Strategy Commitee (CUSC) was established in February this year as a replacement for the Union Unit after it lost two leaders in the space of two weeks.
Ministers understood to sit on the committee, although not officially confirmed, include Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations Michael Gove, and the Secretaries of State for the devolved nations, including Scotland Secretary Alister Jack.
However, the Cabinet Office would not give any specific details on the inner workings of the secretive committee.
Scotland Secretary Alister Jack is reportedly one of the committee members
The National asked for the number of meetings the committee has had, a list of who had attended each meeting, any memos or correspondence relating to the CUSC, the number of staff assigned to assist the committee, and what their roles are.
The Cabinet Office confirmed they held information relating to the first three requests, but said they did not hold any information on staff assigned to assist CUSC.
They refused to provide the information they do hold under exemption 35(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act which “protects the formulation of government policy and communications between Ministers”.
The response stated that: “Disclosure would weaken Ministers’ ability to discuss controversial and sensitive topics free from premature public scrutiny.”
On whether or not disclosing the information is in the public interest, the response argued that ministers “must be able to discuss policy freely and frankly”.
It continued: “The candour of all involved would be affected by their assessment of whether the attendees, frequency and contents of the discussions in Committee meetings will be disclosed prematurely.
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“If these items were routinely made public there is a risk that Ministers may feel inhibited from being frank and candid with one another.
“As a result the quality of debate underlying collective decision making would decline, leading to worse informed and poorer decision making.
“Taking into account all the circumstances of this case, I have concluded that the balance of the public interest favours withholding this information.”
Brendan O'Hara MP, the SNP's Shadow Cabinet Office spokesperson, said: “The fact that the Tories are keeping the work of this committee secret speaks volumes – what exactly is it that they are hiding?
“They admit that this committee has met this year, that they have a list of who attended and that memos of what was discussed exist.
The UK Government refused to release any details related to the committee
“But they are desperate to keep it all hushed up – those are not the actions of a government confident of its arguments, and suggest a bunker mentality is setting in when it comes to Boris Johnson’s bid to save Westminster rule over Scotland.”
A Cabinet Office Spokesperson said: “Ministers meet regularly in a variety of different committees and the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations leads co-ordination with devolved administrations.”
It comes as the SNP underlined their intentions to hold a second referendum after a former Tory MSP claimed the UK Government didn’t think they were serious about a new vote.
Tomkins tried to claim Gove’s move to housing in England and a reduction of the number of Scotland Office ministers showed Boris Johnson didn’t think there would be a referendum soon.
However, last night it was revealed that Malcolm Offord, a Tory donor who failed to be elected as an MSP at the last Holyrood elections, is to be made a peer and will serve as a minister in the Scotland Office.
You can read the Cabinet Office's response to The National's FOI request below.
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