UK and Scottish government Governments Clash Over Who Should Pay the £24.5m Cost for Donald Trump and JD Vance Trips

The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."