Utilisation and costs of Scotland House, London: FOI release

Information requested

 

You asked for the following information:

Please provide the following information in the time allotted under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This request relates to the facility named 'Scotland House' at 58 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DS only.
This request relates to the facility in its entirety including hot desks, event spaces, meeting rooms, etc.

1. Annual total running costs for Scotland House and total revenue generated per annum.
2. Total number of individual memberships for the last full financial year.
3. Total number of group memberships for the last full financial year.
4. Average number of members (Daily) utilising the premises from Scotland's private sector enterprises. This relates to all classes of business, e.g. sole trade, Partnership, Limited Company, SME, Non SME.
5. Average number of members (Daily) utilising the premises from Scotland's public sector enterprises. This relates to Central & Local Government Departments and Councils, Academia, Charities, etc.
6. Average time spent in Scotland House per member either per day, per month or per annum.
7. Number of days per annum the facility has had a usage rate of less than 70%.
8. Number of days per annum the facility has reached maximum capacity. Number of events (networking, product launch, etc.) hosted by Scotland House per annum.
9. Average total usage rate per annum.
10. Percentage growth rate per annum over the past 3 years and forecast for the next 3 years.
11. Is a separate charge levied for use of Meeting Rooms for events, presentations, etc. Or is this included in membership fee?
12. If a charge is levied for rooms as per (11) above please provide a breakdown, i.e. cost of meeting room to hire per hour, per day, etc.
13. Use of a facility such as Scotland Housed has ramifications for member companies in terms of State Aid, specifically De Minimis. How is this managed by Scotland House?
14. Is the facility staffed and if so, how many staff are engaged on a full and/or part-time basis. Are the staff direct employees, provided by the Landlord or sub-contracted from elsewhere.
15. If Scotland House utilises off the shelf or bespoke software products to manage the facility in terms of booking seats, rooms, etc. please provide name of product/service.
16. Is the Scotland House facility staffed, beyond Andrew Smith? please provide detail as to whether the persons referred to are core Scottish Government staff or outsourced to a third party provider

 

Response

 

1. Annual total running costs for Scotland House and total revenue generated per annum?

• Scotland House London, opened in April 2017, is a unique collaboration between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise (including Scottish Development International), VisitScotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise - the four Partners. It provides a place for businesses and organisations to network, hot desk, hold meetings and stage events in order to driver their growth; it is the permanent base for staff from Partner organisations in London. Scotland House London is strategically located on the Thames at Blackfriars between the City of London and Westminster, and is used to support trade and investment, strengthen government to government relations, and facilitate collaboration on economic, academic and innovation projects.
• The running costs of Scotland House were £1,007,616 in 2017-18. This includes rent, rates and utilities as well as the operating costs to run the office including the Membership Services offering. However, this does not include Partner staffing costs. It is important to note that in addition to providing an operational space for staff from each Partner organisation, Scotland House London also offers event space, meeting rooms and workspace facilities as well as support services for businesses who are members of Scotland House.
• The revenue generated during 2017/18 was £86,360. Income is invested back into Scotland House London and member services. This is not intended to match the overall running costs which include Partner facilities.
• Running costs or revenue for 2018/19 are not yet available.

 

2. Total number of individual memberships for the last full financial year?
Scotland House offers two types of membership, Associate and Enterprise. Associate allows an individual access to the facilities while Enterprise is for a number of individuals within a single organisation. The total number of Associate members for 2017/18 was 24.

 

3. Total number of group memberships for the last full financial year?

As above, Enterprise membership allows a number of individuals within a single organisation to access Scotland House. The total number of Enterprise memberships for 2017/18 was 152.

4. Average number of members (daily) utilising the premises from Scotland's private sector enterprises. This relates to all classes of business, e.g. sole trade, Partnership, Limited Company, SME, Non SME.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because there is no business requirement to collate data on a daily average number of members who utilise the premises. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

 

5. Average number of members (Daily) utilising the premises from Scotland's public sector enterprises. This relates to Central & Local Government Departments and Councils, Academia, Charities, etc.

• The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because there is no business requirement to collate data on a daily average number of members who utilise the premises. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
• As noted under question one, Scotland House London is run in partnership between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland. Staff from Partner organisations are not considered members and access a different range of facilities within Scotland House London. Staff from Partner organisations use Scotland House every working day of the year.

 

6. Average time spent in Scotland House per member either per day, per month or per annum?

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because there is no business requirement to collate and average the time members spend in Scotland House. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

7. Number of days per annum the facility has had a usage rate of less than 70%.

• The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because there is no business requirement to have an overall measure of usage rate for the facility. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
• Scotland House London was opened in April 2017. Partner organisation staff moved into the facility shortly after this. Since opening, Scotland House has received 8904 visitors.

8. Number of days per annum the facility has reached maximum capacity. Number of events (networking, product launch, etc.) hosted by Scotland House per annum?

• Part A: Please see question 7.
• Part B: We held 55 events in total in our first year of operation, 2017/18.

 

9. Average total usage rate per annum?

Please see question 7.

 

10. Percentage growth rate per annum over the past 3 years and forecast for the next 3 years.

Scotland House London opened in April 2017. Our membership target for the first year was between 100-150: we achieved 181. Our targets for year 2 is between 250-350 and year 3 between 400-500. No forecasts or targets exist beyond this as yet.

 

11. Is a separate charge levied for use of Meeting Rooms for events, presentations, etc. Or is this included in membership fee?

Yes. Further information can be found at https://www.scotlandhouse.com

 

12. If a charge is levied for rooms as per (11) above please provide a breakdown, i.e. cost of meeting room to hire per hour, per day, etc.

Please see question 11 above.

 

13. Use of a facility such as Scotland Housed has ramifications for member companies in terms of State Aid, specifically De Minimis. How is this managed by Scotland House?

State Aid is calculated at £5,000 per year (based on equivalent market rates), under EC regulation No 1407/2013 (De Minimis aid regulation). This is included in the contract terms and conditions.

 

14. Is the facility staffed and if so, how many staff are engaged on a full and/or part-time basis. Are the staff direct employees, provided by the Landlord or sub-contracted from elsewhere?

The number of staff employed at Scotland House London– as of 11 March 2019, is as follows:

• 10 Scottish Government (FTE)
• 11 Scottish Development International (FTE)
• 3.5 BE Group (FTE). These are contracted to support the running of Scotland House and our membership scheme.

 

15. If Scotland House utilises off the shelf or bespoke software products to manage the facility in terms of booking seats, rooms, etc. please provide name of product/service.

Scotland House uses a bespoke software product to allow members to book meeting rooms etc. This is provided by BE Group. We also use the Evoko and Condeco systems.

 

16. Is the Scotland House facility staffed, beyond Andrew Smith? please provide detail as to whether the persons referred to are core Scottish Government staff or outsourced to a third party provider.

No members of staff are called Andrew Smith. Please see the response to question 14.

 

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