Total costs incurred and engagement with Scottish Social Services Council from 2014: FOI release

Information requested

"The total costs incurred by the Scottish Social Services Council from 2014 to the present day. This includes all secretariat staffing costs, daily council member fees and expenses, events, publications and office-running costs.

I would also like a record of all engagement between council members and Scottish Government ministers and Cabinet Secretaries from 2014 to the present day."

Response

In regards to your first request ("the total costs incurred by the Scottish Social Services Council from 2014 to the present day. This includes all secretariat staffing costs, daily council member fees and expenses, events, publications and office-running costs"), most of this information is available in the public domain from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) website: Knowledge Base - Home - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com). For specific locations of the information you have requested, I have listed below each report in which the information is held. In each report, please refer to section on the published annual accounts.

Annual Report 2013/14: Annual Report and Accounts 2013-2014 - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
Annual Report 2014/15: Annual Report and Accounts 2014‐2015 ‐ Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
Annual Report 2015/16: Annual Report and Accounts 2015-2016 - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
Annual Report 2016/17: Annual Report and Accounts 2016‐2017 ‐ Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
Annual Report 2017/18: Annual Report and Accounts 2017-2018 - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
Annual Report 2018/19: Annual Report and Accounts 2018-2019 - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
Annual Report 2019/20: Annual Report and Accounts 2019-2020 - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)

For your awareness, the SSSC Annual Report & Accounts are laid annually in parliament and are thereafter available in the public domain.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reason why we don't have the information is explained below.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold information relating to SSSC's financial position from 1st April 2020 to the 5th October 2021, when your request was sent. This is because it has not yet been published within the SSSC's 2020/21 and 2021/22 Annual Reports. I can however confirm that SSSC were provided with £16,035,000 of Grant in Aid in financial year 2020/21 to cover their costs. The same amount was provided in financial year 2021/22. This takes into account any income which SSSC receives through registration fees.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. You may however wish to contact the SSSC, who may be able to help you, at the following link: Contact The Scottish Social Services Council - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com). SSSC can also be contacted by telephone at 0345 60 30 891.

In regards to your second request ("I would also like a record of all engagement between council members and Scottish Government ministers and Cabinet Secretaries from 2014 to the present day."), I have listed below all of the information which you have requested.

Date of Engagement	Attendees
12th March 2015	Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
22nd April 2015	Minister for Children & Young People, SSSC Chief Executive, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
30th April 2015	Cabinet Secretary for Health, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, Director of Strategic Development/Deputy Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Government Official Support
30th September 2015	Minister for Children & Young People, Convener of the SSSC, SSSC Council Members, Scottish Government Official Support
27th October 2015	Minister for Children & Young People, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Senior Officers of SSSC, SSSC Council Members, Scottish Government Official Support
26th July 2016	Minister for Childcare & Early Years, Convener of SSSC, SSSC staff, Scottish Government Official Support
31st October 2017	Minister for Childcare & Early Years, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Senior Officers of SSSC, SSSC Council Members, Scottish Government Official Support
27th February 2018	Minister for Childcare & Early Years, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Senior Officers of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
28th January 2019	Minister for Children & Young People, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, SSSC Council Members, Scottish Government Official Support
19th February 2019	Minister for Children & Young People, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
28th November 2019	Minister for Children & Young People, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
28th January 2020	Minister for Children & Young People, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, SSSC Council Members, Scottish Government Official Support
16th December 2020	Minister for Children & Young People, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
17th June 2021	Minister for Children & Young People, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support
1st September 2021	Minister for Mental Wellbeing & Social Care, Chief Executive of SSSC, Convener of SSSC, Scottish Government Official Support

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