The Scotsman successfully used FOI to extract a Government paper on Ministerial preferences (as per the shame heaped on Liam Byrne down south).Much of it is no surprise. For instance, Salmond wants "facts and figures which demonstrate why the government's position is right", which I'm sure civil servants manage to provide even when the government's position is palpably absurd.
Other parts seem entirely sensible, and simply not newsworthy. John Swinney likes civil servants attending a meeting with externals to turn up 15 minutes early in case he wishes to discuss the matter in advance. It's called a pre-meeting, and it's standard practice.
More amusing, though, is the note that Stewart Stevenson prefers minutes "to be short, to the point and not repetitive". One thing's for sure: he's never had to sit in the audience for one of his own speeches.
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