MICHAEL Gove has written to the Scottish Government's constitution minister after he complained of poor communication over Brexit.
In his letter the Cabinet Office minister told Mike Russell MSP he was "sorry" he felt that the cooperation between the two governments had "not been all that it might be".
He then outlined a series of meetings attended by Scottish Government officials in the past year on preparations for the end of the transition period.
It comes after Mike Russell, Scottish Government Constitution Secretary, said last week that Westminster's engagement with Holyrood over Brexit had been "sporadic and dysfunctional", claims which UK Government sources describe as "highly misleading".
Mr Gove's letter stated that there had been five meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations (JMC EN) this year, and plans for another meeting this week had not been able to be agreed between Holyrood and Westminster.
He said the First Minister had been invited to attend several meetings, but it is understood she had not taken up the offer in person.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also urged Holyrood ministers to share their progress on preparations for January 1, 2021, when the transition period ends, and expressed concern about the Scottish Government's
He wrote: "I am sorry if you feel that the UK Government’s contact with you and others in the devolved administrations has not been all that it might be. I hope I can lay your mind at rest.
"I have been, and remain, very keen to secure the best possible engagement between us...
"Turning to engagement more broadly, since the start of October, the First Minister of Scotland has been invited to regular meetings of the XO [Exit Operations] Cabinet Committee, dealing with preparations and operational readiness for the end of the transition period.
"I would like to put on record my thanks to your colleagues and officials for the valuable contributions they made to discussions in three Committee sessions so far this month."
Turning on the Scottish Government, Mr Gove said the UK Government had yet to receive crucial data or information about how Holyrood ministers are preparing for the end of the transition period.
He said officials had "not been invited to any operational readiness meetings of the Scottish Government" adding: " I appreciate that is your decision but we still lack access to crucial data and have not had papers or other important planning materials shared with us.
"This includes information on how the funding the Scottish Government received to support readiness has been spent; how many Environmental Health Officers are in place in Local Authorities; and how you are ensuring businesses are aware and taking action to prepare for change."
One senior government source told The Herald that Nicola Sturgeon had not attended any of the Exit Operations committees personally, and added that the idea the UK Government had not been engaging with Holyrood was a "invented grievance".
They said: "Michael Russell’s claim that the UK Government is not engaging closely with the Scottish Government is just another invented grievance.
“Instead of playing political games what we actually need from the Scottish Government is clarity on their preparations for the end of the Transition Period.”
Mike Russell said his government were doing "all we can" to mitigate the "appalling situation the UK Government has created".
He said: "The extraordinary decision of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to impose a disastrous hard Brexit in the middle of a global pandemic and economic recession shows they have total contempt for people in Scotland.
"The job losses and misery their reckless extreme Brexit will cause will sadly not be ‘invented’ but will be all too real for people in just two months’ time.
"We are doing all we can to protect Scotland from an appalling situation the UK Government has created but we, the Scottish Parliament and the people of Scotland have all been ignored – which is one reason there is now a clear majority for independence."
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