Information relating to the purchase of training services by Social Security Scotland: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

FOI Reference: FOI/202200298433
Date received: 3 May 2022
Date responded: 30 May 2022

Information requested

You asked for various information relating to the purchase of training services by Social Security Scotland. I have responded to each question individually below.

Response

1. For the Financial year 2021/22 please confirm whether your organisation purchased any training from the below Training Providers together with the value of the training purchased.

2. Which of the below training areas did you purchase and what was the value purchased for each area?

Agile & Scrum, IT Service Management, Business Analysis, Lean/Lean Six Sigma, Cyber Security, Project & Programme Management, Data Analytics, Software Testing, Enterprise Architecture, Technical IT Training

This information is not held. This is because we do not record the category type of training in this way, and so are unable to provide it to you.

3. If you did purchase training in any of the areas listed in question 2, but not via Elite Training & Consultancy/Global Knowledge/Indicia Training/QA Ltd or The Knowledge Academy, which training provider did you purchase from and what was the total value of the training purchased? Please also confirm the training area purchased together with a breakdown of spend in each area.

Social Security Scotland does not record the training categories listed in question 2 and, as before, is therefore not able to answer your request as the information is not held.

4. Did your organisation purchase any digital learning subscription licences in Financial Year 2021/22 from any of the below digital learning platforms? If the answer is yes, how many licences did you purchase and what was the total value of the purchase?

5. What are your organisation's procurement rules around purchasing training and how do these change when certain value thresholds are reached?

• <£1,000 (ex VAT) - One quote made by telephone and confirmed in writing by the supplier.
• £1,000 - £5000 (ex VAT) - A minimum of three written quotes must be sought from different suppliers.
• £5,000 - £10,000 (ex VAT) - A Delegated Purchasing Officer (DPO) must seek a minimum of three written quotes from different suppliers to demonstrate best value.
• £10,000 - £50,000 (ex VAT) - A Delegated Purchasing Officer (DPO) must run a Quick Quote via Public Contracts Scotland.
• £50,000 - £115,633 (ex VAT) - Regulated Procurement managed by the Procurement Team.
• ≥ £115,633 (ex VAT) - Regulated Procurement managed by the Procurement Team.

In all cases, advice is sought from Social Security Scotland’s Procurement and Commercial Team and the use of an existing approved contract or Framework Agreement must be considered first. New competitions will normally only be considered when the requirement cannot be met through an existing contract or framework.

6. Does your organisation use any of the below public sector procurement frameworks to procure training and if so which one/s? Please also confirm the value of training purchased from each framework in relation to the training areas listed in question 2.

Crown Commercial Service Dynamic Purchasing Service (DPS), G Cloud 12, ESPO, Scottish Government Project Management Framework

Social Security Scotland does not currently use any of the listed frameworks to procure training.

7. If you use an alternative procurement framework to procure training in the training areas listed in question 2 which framework do you use?

Social Security Scotland does not currently use an alternative procurement framework to procure training in the training areas listed in question 2.

8. Do you have a competency framework in place? If yes, which department manages this. If no, is there a central training function, if yes, where does this report to?

Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and aligns to the Skills for Success competency framework which is managed and maintained by the Scottish Government.

9. Is the expectation that budget will be made available for training 2022/2023, if yes what value?

Budgeting for training incorporates all elements of training activity across the full organisation. It is subject to regular review and spend linked to the overall budget position which is monitored throughout the course of the year.

It is budgeted that on average £400 per employee will be spent on training in 2022/2023.

About FOI

Social Security Scotland is committed to publishing responses to requests. The Scottish Government also publishes responses to requests. You can view the responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.