FOI/19/02231 · FOI · not held
Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts - losses, special payments and gifts disclosures: FOI release
Information requested
You asked for details regarding the 2018-19 losses, special payments and gifts disclosures on pages 57 and 58 of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2019.
Response
These Consolidated Accounts contain information collated from a number of Scottish Public Bodies, and a full description of these bodies and links to their individual accounts are provided on page 14 of the Consolidated Accounts you referenced in your questions (short link: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781839601996).
The information I have provided below has been gathered from a number of separate organisations, as identified in each separate answer.
1. Request: Further details of the loss of £1.76m in the Finance, Economy and Fair Work portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) £1,759k - 1,085 cases.
The total sum is in regard to fees and outlays incurred over the life of bankruptcy cases. Fees and outlays incurred in a case are only able to be recovered if there are sufficient funds gathered. In many cases, costs will only be partially recovered or not at all.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
2. Request: Further details of the loss of £3.66m in the Health and Sport portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: NHS Boards and *Scottish Government (Core)
NHS Boards Category Total cases Total £ Theft / Arson / Wilful Damage 171 182,068 Fraud, Embezzlement & other irregularities (inc. attempted fraud) 105 58,689 Nugatory & Fruitless Payments 57 10,232 Claims Abandoned 2,001 1,629,611 Stores Losses 919 1,152,284 Losses of Furniture & Equipment and Bedding & Linen in circulation 623 178,654 Damage to Buildings and Fixtures 5 1,711 Extra-Statutory & Extra-regulationary Payments 1 25,000 Other Losses 228 198,670 Total 4,110 3,436,919
*Scottish Government – Health and Social Care Directorates
Category Total cases Total £ Nursing bursary 142 219,361
Notes:
Categories above set out the reasons for losses. Nugatory and fruitless payments are payments for which liability should not have been incurred. Claims abandoned are sums deemed irrecoverable, following exhaustion of standard debt collection processes. Extra-statutory and extra-regulationary payments, irrespective of value, can only be paid following approval by the Scottish Government. Payments of this nature are only due following a) receipt of instructions to an NHS Board from Scottish Government to pay or b) approval for payment by Scottish Government as a result of proposals formally submitted by an NHS Board. The nursing bursary loss relates to the value of student nursing bursaries written off or cancelled by SAAS in-year. Losses relate to the value of money or property belonging to an NHS Board or Scottish Government Directorate which has been lost, damaged or otherwise deemed irrecoverable.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. However, you may wish to contact each NHS board who may be able to help you. The reasons why we do not have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.
3. Request: Further details of the loss of £0.05m in the Education and Skills portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer, part 1: Disclosure Scotland £52,543 - losses arose from debts that DS has written-off that are greater than 90 days old. These debts relate to applications processed but not paid, involving 706 customers with an average debt of £74.
Answer, part 2: Education Scotland £88 - Thirteen individual write-offs relating to exchange rate differences, postage charges and miscellaneous.
4. Request: Further details of the loss of £0.13m in the Justice portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: Scottish Prison Service
No. Cases Amount £ Expenditure Type Reason for Loss 18 73,000 Debtor Write-off No expected benefit in pursuing further 58 1,000 Losses and gains relating to prisoner balances No expected benefit in pursuing further 68 2,000 Losses and gains resulting from cash shortages etc. Missing cash 100 9,000 Losses and gains relating to physical stock Damages/obsolete stock and differences found during physical stock counts 195 11,000 Losses and gains relating to prisoner's canteen Damages/obsolete stock etc. 19 36,000 Payments made where no goods/service was received Cancellation of events and other fruitless payments 458 132,000
5. Request: Further details of the loss of £0.02m in the Rural Economy portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: Scottish Government (Core) £16,689 - relates to 41 invoices issued by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) for items including seed, soil and plant testing, sale of antibodies, labelling, rent receipt, DNA testing and meeting costs. Cost recovery of amounts, between £0.20 and £6,597 per part or whole invoice, is deemed no longer possible or not cost effective.
6. Request: Further details of the loss of £0.33m in the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: Transport Scotland £333,420 loss relates to 27 damage to Crown property claims, within the trunk road network, which have been written off due to being unable to identify the culprit or no chance of recovering the costs. This information was recently disclosed in Transport Scotland’s annual accounts - https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/45827/transport-scotland-annual-report-and-account-2018-19.pdf
Although categorised as Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform portfolio in the published accounts, this £0.33m should have been categorised as Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity portfolio.
7. Request: Further details of the loss of £0.004m in the Social Security and Older People portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: Social Security Scotland The losses for Social Security Scotland per the consolidated accounts are detailed below:
overpayments of benefits – Agency errors £4,000
Further background, including errors information, was previously disclosed on page 43 of Social Security Scotland's annual accounts: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/what-we-do/corporate-publications/annual-report-and-accounts
8. Request: Further details of the loss of £0.05m in the Administration portfolio mentioned on page 57. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount lost and as much information as possible describing the loss including what the money was spent on and how it came to be classed as lost.
Answer: Scottish Government (Core) 42,078 - 11 cases of bad debt write-offs/adjustments £1,433 - 6 cases of overpayments of pay related items written-off. £6,578 - 18 cases of lost property involving loss of a fixed assets (e.g. scrapped, stolen, misplaced, etc.)
9. Request: Further details of the special payments in the Finance, Economy and Fair Work portfolio of £0.37m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid, why it was paid and if permissible, who it was paid to.
Answer: Scottish Public Pensions Agency £367,000 - Reinstatement of an individual’s membership of the National Health Service Pension Scheme (Scotland). £7,139 - 14 cases of compensation following internal dispute resolution procedure.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
Answer: Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) £7,139 – 14 cases of compensation following internal dispute resolution procedure.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
£367,000 - As reported in the SPPA Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19 (https://pensions.gov.scot/corporate-publications/annual-report-and-accounts) this is a provision for the reinstatement of an individual’s membership of the National Health Service Pension Scheme (Scotland). And no material losses or special payments should have been reported for this case.
10. Request: Further details of the special payments in the Health and Sport portfolio of £44.9m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid, why it was paid and if permissible, who it was paid to.
Answer: NHS Boards
Amounts Paid:
Category Total cases Total £ Compensation Payments - legal obligation 578 42,385,910 Ex-gratia payments · Extra-contractual payments 1 25,000 · Compensation payments (ex-gratia) 390 2,468,972 · Other payments 110 30,899 Total 1,079 44,910,781
Notes:
Compensation payments – legal obligation: payments fall under this category where a liability to pay has been established by way of Court Order or other legally binding arbitration award. Payments of this nature include amounts awarded under the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) for compensation for injuries to persons, damage to property and unfair dismissal. Ex-gratia payments: payments are ex-gratia where there is no statutory cover or legal liability for an NHS Board or Scottish Government Directorate to pay. This includes: out-of-court settlements for compensation for injuries to persons, damage to property and unfair dismissal; extra-contractual payments to contractors (not including arbitration); and other payments for maladministration or loss of personal effects.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. However, you may wish to contact each NHS board who may be able to help you. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.
11. Request: Further details of the special payments in the Education and Skills portfolio of £0.01m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid, why it was paid and if permissible, who it was paid to.
Answer: Disclosure Scotland £7,950 – 2 cases.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
12. Request: Further details of the special payments in the Justice portfolio of £3.61m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid, why it was paid and if permissible, who it was paid to.
Answer: Scottish Prison Service
No. Cases Amount £ Expenditure Type Reason for Special Payment 47 487,000 Payments to staff relating to Injury at work Compensation through Civil Service Pension Scheme 10 183,000 Payments to staff relating to Accidents at work Claims from staff 56 2,372,000 Payments to staff relating to Absence Management* Compensation through Civil Service Pension Scheme 5 124,000 Payments to staff relating to Employment Tribunals Claims from staff 7 6,000 Payments to third parties for loss Claims from third parties 24 405,000 Compensation payments to prisoners relating to injury/human rights actions Claims from prisoners 133 9,000 Compensation payments to prisoners for loss/damage to property Claims from prisoners 3 1,000 Late payment interest paid to suppliers Statutory charge for late payment 20 11,000 Compensation payments to staff for loss/damage to property Claims from staff 17 9,000 Repairs to vehicles damaged in accidents Damaged caused by motor accidents 322 3,607,000
13. Request: Further details of the special payments in the Rural Economy portfolio of £0.06m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid, why it was paid and if permissible, who it was paid to.
Answer: Scottish Government (Core) £36,840 - Compensation to outgoing tenant of Scottish Ministers crofting estates for permanent improvements made to a croft following the crofting tenancy termination under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. £25,000 - An application to the New Entrants Capital Grant Scheme was approved by the Area Office, however, customer was ineligible to apply and the application should have been rejected. The Scottish Government has made an ex-gratia payment to the customer on the basis that they have incurred expenses after receiving permission from Scottish Government to proceed with their proposal.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
14. Request: Further details of the special payments in the Administration portfolio of £0.83m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid, why it was paid and if permissible, who it was paid to.
Answer: Scottish Government (Core) Payment to Former First Minister:
£512,250 was paid in accordance with a decision of the Court of Session to award expenses to Mr Salmond on a specified basis. Established procedures were followed to agree the final sum. As agreement was reached, there was no need to incur the additional expense of having the account taxed by the Auditor of Court. This was previously noted on page 58 of the Accounts in question.
Relocations:
A total of £276,454.86 was paid which was made up of 3 payments of £115,618.45, £51,416.69 and £109,419.72. These payments were the shortfall on the Guaranteed Sales Price figure following the sale of 3 properties through the Permanent Transfer scheme. The 3 properties eventually were sold at auction as a result of no interest when on the open market despite reducing the asking price. The three payments were made to TEAM Relocation, the Scottish Government’s Relocation Contractor, to reimburse the shortfall on the Guaranteed Sales Price figure which TEAM Relocation released to the individuals to purchase at their new workplace, as per the Permanent Transfer Scheme.
15. Request: Further details of the gifts in the Culture, Tourism and External Affairs portfolio of £0.12m mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid for the gift, who it was provided to, and any occasion it was designed to mark (if permissible).
Answer: Scottish Government (Core) £87 - Two bottles of Harris Gin gifts presented to Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and Ed Llewellyn, British Ambassador to France, by the First Minister on her trip to open the Scottish Government’s Innovation and Investment Hub in Paris. £114,000 - Donation to UN Women for a Programme in Malawi. Given in recognition and celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. £4,000 - Three cash gifts to prize-winners of the first Global Voices Competition, developed as part of Year of Young People 2018.
16. Request: Further details of the gifts in the Administration portfolio of £0.002 mentioned on page 58. The information should include, but not be limited to, a breakdown of the amount paid for the gift, who it was provided to, and any occasion it was designed to mark (if permissible).
Answer: Scottish Government (Core) £1,869 - 61 cases tabled further below.
Gift exchanges are undertaken as a courtesy or an expression of gratitude during Ministerial engagements or meetings, in particular with overseas guests or host governments/organisations, and in line with different countries’ gift traditions. Scottish Ministers present gifts which relate directly to Scotland: showcasing our country and the best of our nation’s talent, produce and contribution to the wider world.
There may be instances where Ministers have presented gifts which have not been recorded, e.g. because they did not come from central stock, or where provided by agencies of the Scottish Government.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the detailed information you have requested. The reasons why we do not hold the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.
Recipient by Gift Cost per Gift £ Carrie Paxton Thistle Glass Curve Ornament Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Biocon 38 Sir Dominic Asquith, High Commissioner 38 Carrie Paxton Thistle Dish Dominic McAllister, Deputy High Commisioner, Bangalore 28 Dr Akhil Kumar, Hinduja Global Solutions 28 Mr Adam Foster, Aurigene Technologies 28 Mr Anand Dureja, OYO Hotels 28 Mr Anthony Joseph, Aurigene Technologies 28 Mr Bhanumurthy BM, Wipro Ltd 28 Mr Deven Khanna, Bharti Enterprises 28 Mr Nagarjuna, Wipro Ltd 28 Mr Narendra Chirmule, Biocon 28 Mr Partha DeSarkar 28 Mr Sanjeev Nikore, Tech Mahindra 28 Mr Siddhartha Das Gupta 28 Ms Anjaili Singh, Genpact 28 Robert Burns in Your Pocket Book Alzheimer's Society, Charity Auction 7.99 Brain Tumour Research, Charity Auction 7.99 Caitlin Paterson, Broughton High School, Charity Auction 7.99 Loretto School, Charity Auction 7.99 MND Charity Auction 7.99 Robert Burns Poems and Songs - bound book Andrew Grant - Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 24 Angie Heise, President, Civil Group, Leidos (USA) 36 Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International (USA) 36 Austrian Ambassador 36 CFA President Li Xiaolin 36 Chen Baoshen, Education Minister, Beijing 36 Dean Joel Hellman, Georgetown University (USA) 36 Dr James Cantor, Chief Technology Officer, Leidos (USA) 36 Dr Usha Srinivasan, VP, MaRS Discovery Centre and Vector Institute 36 Ellen Wong, US Consul General 36 HE Mr Rudolf Huygelen, Ambasador to Belgium 36 Irish Ambassador to the UK, Adrian O'Neill 36 James Waddell, Toronto Stock Exchange 36 Jan De Silva, Toronto Region Board of Trade 36 Jane Sun, Shanghai, Ctrip 36 Jen Easterly, MD & Global Head, Cybersecurity Fusion Centre, Morgan Stanley (USA) 36 John Banigan, CEO, Verdant Power (USA) 36 Mayor Kurz of Mannheim, Germany 36 Minister Lu Shugang 36 Mr LIU Xin, Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission 36 Mr Michael Muller, Mayor of Berlin and President of the Bundesrat 36 Mr Wei LOU, Deputy Director of The Palace Museum Beijing 36 Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 36 Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey (USA) 36 Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director for UN Women (USA) 36 President HONG, COES, Shanghai 36 President ZHANG 36 Raffaele Trombetta, Italian Ambassador 36 Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to China 36 Stephen Leonard, General Manager, North America IBM (USA) 36 Susan Jane le Jeune d'Allegeershecque, CMG, British High Commissioner to Canada 36 Trey Taylor, Co-Founder, Verdant Power (USA) 36 UK Ambassador to Germany, Sir Sebastian Wood 36 Vice Mayor Weng Tiehui, Shanghai 36 Vice Premier Hu Chunhua 36 Yung Wu, CEO, MaRS Discovery Centre and Vector Institute, Toronto 36 Scottish Government Quaich 4.5" Yves Lemarchand, Belgian Consul 42 Mr YUAN Yafei, Chairman, SanPower 42 Tartan Scotty Dog (Greyfriars) decoration/cushion Child 10.42 Cody McManus Fundraiser 10.42 Children's books (Gifted) Children's Charity Auction and Cody McManus Fundraiser nil Grand Total 1,868.79
Annex - Reasons for not providing information In regards to requests 1, 9, 11 and 13, the following exemption applies
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie bankruptcy cases; pension cases, crofter tenancy termination and grant scheme applicant, so disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.
This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
In regards to requests 2 and 10, the Scottish Government does not have the information
Section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) requires the Scottish Government to notify you if it does not have the information you requested. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the NHS Boards would each hold the further breakdown of information you are looking for.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
In regards to request 16, the Scottish Government does not have the information
Section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) requires the Scottish Government to notify you if it does not have the information you requested. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because we do not record occasions that gifts are designed to mark so it is not possible to provide that information.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
About FOI The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Enquiry Unit Email: ceu@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrews House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information.
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