Ref No.: 07 24
Request Type: FOI
Date Received: 13/06/24
Date Responded: 10/07/24
Category: Staff training correspondence
Request
1. Am looking for all correspondence, including internal correspondence between WICS, Audit Scotland and/or the Scottish Government about the costs of training built up by WICS since 2016 amounting to nearly £500,000 that were not covered by the Audit Scotland's 2022/23 report. This would cover a period between January 1, 2023 and now.
2. When did officials of the Scottish Government know about the past training expenses and when were they they approved? Did they ever get retrospective approval, if so, when, and if not why not?
3. When was Mairi McAllan or any other senior member of the Scottish Government cabinet informed about these training expenses?
4. When did WICS share the details of that FOI about the training expenses with Scottish Government officials?
5. Which if any of the training expenses outline in the FOI were approved by the SG officials, before the money was spent and when?
6. Which if any of the training expenses outline in the FOI were approved by the SG officials, retrospectively.
7. Which of the training expenses should have been approved by the sponsor according to the rules.
8. When did the Scottish Government officials find out about the expenses submitted by WICs of £77,350 for the Harvard Business School course attended by chief operating officer Michelle Ashford.
9. When was Mairi McAllan or any other senior member of the Scottish Government cabinet informed about the Harvard expenses.
10. How much money has been spent on WICS by the Scottish Government in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 with a breakdown of these costs?
Response
Thank you for your request for information dated 13 June 2024. We have handled your request in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).
Having reviewed our files, I can confirm that WICS is processing information that is relevant to your request.
You may wish to note that there is already a significant volume of information in the public domain that relates to your requests, which is available from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-public-audit-committee/business-items/the-202223-audit-of-the-water-industry-commission-for-scotland. WICS has also previously responded to requests on the same topic and this information can be found at https://wics.scot/publications/transparency/disclosure-log.
The table below provides a summary of the information you have requested with an explanation of what has been provided.
Information has been redacted or withheld in its entirety under the following exemptions within the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA):
- Information that is otherwise accessible – section 25(1) as the information is available at the links above.
- Personal information – section 38(1)(b) in conjunction with section 38(2A)(a) as the information constitutes personal data and to disclose the information would breach one or more of the data protection principles. In this case it has been decided that disclosure would be a breach of the first principle as the information cannot be disclosed lawfully. This is an absolute exemption and does not require consideration of the public interest.
| Your request | Information disclosed |
|---|---|
| 1. Am looking for all correspondence, including internal correspondence between WICS, Audit Scotland and/or the Scottish Government about the costs of training built up by WICS since 2016 amounting to nearly £500,000 that were not covered by the Audit Scotland's 2022/23 report. This would cover a period between January 1, 2023 and now. |
For information requests 1 to 6, we disclose the attached PDF containing the information held that is relevant to your request. Information has been redacted where it constitutes personal data, as explained above. No further relevant information is held. |
| 2. When did officials of the Scottish Government know about the past training expenses and when were they they approved? Did they ever get retrospective approval, if so, when, and if not why not | |
| 3. When was Mairi McAllan or any other senior member of the Scottish Government cabinet informed about these training expenses | |
| 4. When did WICS share the details of that FOI about the training expenses with Scottish Government officials? | |
| 5. Which if any of the training expenses outline in the FOI were approved by the SG officials, before the money was spent and when? | |
| 6. Which if any of the training expenses outline in the FOI were approved by the SG officials, retrospectively. | |
| 7. Which of the training expenses should have been approved by the sponsor according to the rules. |
This information is otherwise accessible. Page 22 of the Governance Framework provides information relating to the delegated financial authorities for Scottish Government approval: https://wics.scot/publications/transparency/board-governance/governance-framework |
| 8. When did the Scottish Government officials find out about the expenses submitted by WICs of £77,350 for the Harvard Business School course attended by chief operating officer Michelle Ashford. |
Some of this information is otherwise accessible and no further information is held by WICS. The information held was released as part of a previous FOI request (ref. 1223). Further correspondence published by the Public Audit Committee may also assist you with this request: The 202223 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland | Scottish Parliament Website |
| 9. When was Mairi McAllan or any other senior member of the Scottish Government cabinet informed about the Harvard expenses. | |
| 10. How much money has been spent on WICS by the Scottish Government in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 with a breakdown of these costs? |
Some of this information is otherwise accessible and no further relevant information is held by WICS.
The information held was released as part of a previous FOI request (ref. 1623). |
If you are unhappy with this response to your request, you may ask us to carry out a review by contacting us. Your request for review should explain why you are dissatisfied and should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this response. The review will be undertaken by staff not involved in the original process and we will reply within 20 working days of receipt.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) and thereafter to the Court of Session on a point of law only. The SIC can be contacted using the details below:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Website: Homepage | Scottish Information Commissioner (foi.scot)
or for online appeals: Appeal to the Commissioner | Scottish Information Commissioner (foi.scot)