Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has many available funds for coastal local authorities, raising awareness for these funds are done in many different ways, including social media and in local newspapers.

The Scottish Government is delivering a funding package of £11.2 billion for local authorities in 2019-20, a real terms increase of £310 million or 2.9 per cent for essential public services in Scotland. Details of the available funding from the Scottish Government is published in The Local Government Finance Circular that contains the individual allocations for each local authority.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-government-finance-circular-2-2019-settlement-for-2019-2020/ .

Following devolution of the management and revenue of the Scottish Crown Estate we agreed an interim arrangement with COSLA for distributing a share of total net revenue from marine assets in the 0-12 nautical mile zone (this arrangement is distinct from the operation of the Coastal Communities Fund). The precise timetable for reviewing this interim arrangement is still under discussion with COSLA but we expect it to be completed within the next two years.

The review of the Coastal Communities Fund in Scotland is at an advanced stage and I expect to announce the way forward on funding for coastal communities this summer.

There is no unallocated funding for Round 4 of the Coastal Communities Fund. All Coastal Communities Fund funding has been allocated to individual projects and all projects are due to complete this year.

All Programme Management and Delivery staff have access to the Scottish Government Employee Assistance programme (EAP). The programme provides professional support and guidance to those experiencing emotional, practical, health and social problems. Includes support via telephone, face to face and mail and includes one to one counselling services as well as 24 hours a day, 365 days a year access to confidential helplines for all staff.

The EAP provides a Health and Wellbeing zone for all staff and family members – including; stress management solutions, health and nutrition advice and access to wellness regimes.

The EAP is sign posted via our internal intranet pages to all staff and also to new recruits during the Directorate specific induction. Staff are also directed to the following sources of support.

• People and Advice Wellbeing team (part of SG People Directorate)
• People Advice and Wellbeing Counsellor (part of SG People Directorate)
• Trade Unions
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Mental Health and Wellbeing network
• Charity for Civil Servants
• HR Helpdesk

There is a rolling series of learning events available to all programme staff including sessions on:-

• mental health awareness
• mental health awareness for managers
• identifying stress and building resilience for managers
• building personal resilience
• handling sensitive conversations with confidence.

As at 20 May 2019, the total spent to acquire third-party pieces of coding and software for the social security programme is £1,813,806.50. This figure excludes VAT and associated implementation costs.

Social Security Scotland aims to recruit a diverse workforce, to ensure a positive induction process, and to provide ongoing learning and development opportunities.

Before an employee takes up a post, Social Security Scotland identify any adjustments which may be required to support an individual in their employment.

Social Security Scotland employs people on Scottish Government terms and conditions and aligns with Scottish Government People policies, ensuring a full range of employee support is available that reflects our values of dignity, fairness and respect.

When considering our location(s) of our offices in Dundee and Glasgow, the Scottish Government undertook comprehensive analysis, part of this analysis was to consider the labour market and the ability to recruit for permanent posts within each location.

Social Security Scotland engage with third sector organisations and employability stakeholders across Scotland to raise awareness of their recruitment campaigns.

This has delivered successful outcomes in not only filling vacancies advertised, but also created some reserve lists for future recruitment campaigns.

The following table shows hours of overtime claimed by permanent staff directly employed by the Scottish Government. We pay contractors a daily rate and therefore overtime does not apply. No overtime was claimed by temporary staff. The data provided is from May 2018 onwards which is from the first overtime claim we have recorded.

As detailed in the letter sent to the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee (copied to the Social Security Committee) on 7 December 2017, please see the following table setting out current estimated IT costs for the social security programme, inclusive of VAT and the relevant levels of optimism bias.

Current Expected IT Costs

We can confirm, and as stated by the Auditor General the Public Affairs and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee meeting held 16 May 2019, that the Social Security Programme has well established and robust governance structures, processes and mechanisms in place to support decision making and facilitate the escalation of risks and issues as when appropriate.

The Programme continues to show a commitment to improving its governance, reflecting on its progress and learning lessons.