FOI/202500465046 · FOI · cost limit
Details relating to Leadership and Management training and development: FOI release
Information requested
I would like to make an FOI request in relation to any products or services you have made in relation to Leadership and Management training and development over the last 3 financial years.
Please include any training or development related to your own internal staff as well as intended for adults, young people and communities you represent. This includes bespoke purchases, apprenticeships or tailored qualifications.
Please include details of the:
Date Awarded Supplier or group of suppliers Total Award Value (GBP) Contract Start Date Contract End Date Contract Duration (Months) Awarded under framework or a call off contract Contract suitability for SMEs and VCOs Whether contract can renew and if there is any intention to renew this.
Performance Management information including financial and key performance measures as well as performance against these targets.
We would also like to know what your future plans are in relation to leadership and management and who the lead contact in the organisation is in relation to this.
Response
The Scottish Government hold learning and development budgets and operate contracts both at an organisational level and at local business unit levels.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested of business unit levels would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is that to locate and retrieve that information we would need to conduct a search of all of the records of the Scottish Government. It may help if I explain that we file our information according to the subject matter, not by reference to the names of organisations with whom we have corresponded. Under Section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.
You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. For example, you could restrict your request to a specific business area of the Scottish Government, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would require to be conducted. You may also request information from Scottish Government public bodies who may award contracts in the subject areas you are interested in. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at:http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.
With that in mind, we can provide information for learning and development (leadership and management) activities that are conducted by the internal learning and development team on behalf of core Scottish Government colleagues. Most of the leadership and management training, learning and development is designed and delivered by in house specialists. The Scottish Government also use services, products and programmes provided by Government Campus and Civil Service Learning (CSL), which are made available to the wider Civil Service, including The Scottish Government by Cabinet Office. When learning and development requirements are not able to be met but internal colleagues or by the CSL offer, The Scottish Government procure externally. Details of these awards are attached.
Performance is measured in delivery against milestones and through evaluation of products. We cannot provide information on performance against these targets as this is commercial in confidence.
The Scottish Government's future plans for leadership and management for internal colleagues will follow our learning and development strategy. Focus will continue to be around internally sourced design and delivery together with utilising wider Civil Service offer where it makes sense to do so. There are no current plans to let new contracts. Enquiries can be sent to SGLearning@gov.scot.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
Under Section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.