Remediable Service Statement (RSS) pension automation process: FOI release

Information requested

1. Can you advise who the software developers are for the automation of the process.

2. Please advise who and when it was decided the automated production of RSS’s should be looked into and when did it actually become a recognised project.

3a. Please provide the Project management reports of the automation and its timeline from inception to delivery including all interdependent partners / departments and staff required for its delivery.

3b. Please provide within the timeline all milestones and or target dates, progress made against each one throughout the project timeline.

4. Please advise on User Acceptance Testing (UAT) of the automated process, specifically when it started, when it was completed, if not completed when it will be completed and what has failed UAT to date and its impact.

5. Please provide the Project’s risk management matrix for all aspects of its delivery including timelines associated with each identified risk, its score over time and span of the project and current score of all identified risks as the project continues. Or if complete the associated end date and include all mitigation and notes against every risk.

6. Please provide all minutes and notes from meetings of the project team, senior management team involved in delivery of RSS’s, including Agenda’s, sederunts, action logs or progress updates if different from the project management documentation requested above.

You prefaced this request with a statement about the automation of RSS production, and specified automation in your first three questions so I have focused the other questions answers also on automation.

Response

I enclose an answer with some of the information you requested.

1. Can you advise who the software developers are for the automation of the process.

Where we utilise automation as part of the RSS process we have engaged Scottish Government Automation to provide the solution, this is a unit within Scottish Government.

2. Please advise who and when it was decided the automated production of RSS’s should be looked into and when did it actually become a recognised project.

The possibility of using automation was first explored in a discovery session in July 2023, David Robb was Chief Executive Office of SPPA at this time . Automation is not a project in its own right but an approach to technical capability that was commissioned to support the Remedy Project.

3a. Please provide the Project management reports of the automation and its timeline from inception to delivery including all interdependent partners / departments and staff required for its delivery.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because we do not hold it. Automation is not a separate project there are not project management reports for an automation project.

3 b. Please provide within the timeline all milestones and or target dates, progress made against each one throughout the project timeline.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because we do not hold it. Automation is not a separate project there are not project management reports for an automation project.

4. Please advise on User Acceptance Testing (UAT) of the automated process, specifically when it started, when it was completed, if not completed when it will be completed and what has failed UAT to date and its impact.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because we do not hold it.

It is not applicable to undertake user acceptance testing for this particular piece of work, but quality assurance testing relating to the accuracy of the figures that are provided in an RSS is undertaken. All calculations are checked & verified by Government Actuary’s Department (GAD).

5. Please provide the Project’s risk management matrix for all aspects of its delivery including timelines associated with each identified risk, its score over time and span of the project and current score of all identified risks as the project continues. Or if complete the associated end date and include all mitigation and notes against every risk.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The information would need to be carefully reviewed and redacted to ensure no cyber security weaknesses, personally identifiable data or commercial sensitive information were disclosed. 

Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

We suggest you reduce the scope of time, eg a specific month, and detail eg reduce of the total documentation requested. This is with the awareness the volume of documentation will vary across months . Some months documentation may still exceed the upper cost limit, if this were the case we would request an outline of the priority of the documents requested.

You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.This request exceeds the upper cost limit – we suggest limiting your request to the above information for the past month

6. Please provide all minutes and notes from meetings of the project team, senior management team involved in delivery of RSS’s, including Agenda’s, sederunts, action logs or progress updates if different from the project management documentation requested above. 

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The information would need to be carefully reviewed and redacted to ensure no cyber security weaknesses, personally identifiable data or commercial sensitive information were disclosed.

Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

We suggest you reduce the scope of time, eg a specific month, and detail eg reduce of the total documentation requested. This is with the awareness the volume of documentation will vary across months . Some months documentation may still exceed the upper cost limit, if this were the case we would request an outline of the priority of the documents requested.

You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at:

http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.This request exceeds the upper cost limit – we suggest limiting your request to the above information for the past month

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.