Minister for Public Finance's efficiency drive documentation: FOI release

Information requested

4. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government about Ivan McKee's efficiency push, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, from the last month? - https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ll-turbocharge-efficiency-drivewelfare-175351729.html

5. How much money has the efficiency drive saved so far and could you provide the evidence/breakdown of this?

Response

In response to request 4 I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in the attached documents.

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 exemptions under section 27(1) information intended for future publication of FOISA applies to the the Public Service Reform (PSR) Strategy, Medium-Term Financial Strategy, and Fiscal Sustainable Delivery Plan (FSDP). As the intention to publish these documents is within 12 weeks of the date of the receipt of your request these are exempt under Section 27(1).

Exemption 29(1)(a) of FOISA - formulation or development of Scottish Government policy - applies to a number of internal communication documents that discuss the formulation of government policy in the early stages of the policy process where options are identified and considered, risks are identified, consultation takes place and recommendations and submissions are presented to Scottish Ministers.

Exemption 30(c) of FOISA - otherwise prejudice effective conduct of public affairs - applies to information in scope but is relevant to ongoing development of the Invest to Save Fund.

Redacted copies of relevant documentation where exemptions apply have been provided. In line with Section 38 of FOISA, a number of redactions to the attached documents have been made where personal information is concerned. Further specific exemptions arelisted below.

Document 01 contains an exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA - free and frank provision of advice.

Documents 15 and 16 contains exemptions under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA - free and frank provision of advice.

Document 22 contains exemptions under section 27(1) of FOISA - information intended for future publication and under 30(b)(i) of FOISA - free and frank provision of advice.

In response to request 5 please find the below table and accompanying information.

Breakdown of projected savings (as at March 2025)

Programme	TOTAL estimated cost avoidance and cash releasing savings   2023-2025	Estimated cost avoidance and cash releasing savings 2025-2027
Collaborative Procurement	£240m	£260m
Commercial Value for Money Programme	£7.8m	£20m
Single Scottish Estate	£14.9m	£26.9m
Digital	£3.2m	TBC
Automation	£4.3m	£4.5m
TOTAL	£270.2m	£311.4m

The Scottish Government has a range of programmes that are saving money from corporate expenditure that we can use to improve services. Examples include our Single Scottish Estate, National Collaborative Procurement, Commercial Value for Money and Digital/ Automation programmes, which are securing significant cost avoidance and cash releasing savings, expected to reach up to £280m over a two year period by the end of 2024-25, with further projected savings of nearly £300 million over the following two financial years to the end of 2026-27.

These are projected savings figures and are subject to fluctuations depending on a number of elements including resourcing, technology, activity levels, markets and other factors. Work is ongoing to confirm savings figures for the period 2023-2025 and to develop savings plans for 2025-2027.

Collaborative procurement can help public bodies achieve better value for money, through consolidating volumes, driving efficiencies and social value and making better use of skills and resources. The Scottish Government establishes national collaborative procurement framework agreements on behalf of the whole Scottish public sector. Current financial benefits delivered annually are around £120 - £130m, made up of both cost avoidance and cash savings. This amounts to financial benefits of at least £240m over a two year period to the end of 2024-2025. Projections over the 2 year period to end 2026-2027 are £260m as the team starts to scale up collaborative agreements.

The Single Scottish Estate (SSE) will help us have a more efficient approach to public sector property management, optimising costs, enabling the delivery of excellent public services and providing staff with great places to work, recognising the shifts in working culture since the pandemic. SSE is projecting savings of nearly £15m over the two year period to end 2024-2025. Further savings of nearly £27m are estimated over the 2 year period to end 2026-2027.

The Commercial Value for Money programme (CVfM) is a small team providing commercial expertise and support across focused Scottish Government expenditure to maximise value for money through the delivery of monetary efficiencies and/or increased impactful policy outcomes. Nearly £8m of savings have been delivered over the two year period 2023-2025. Further savings of £20m are estimated over the 2 year period to end 2026-2027.

The Digital Programme is a key area of work delivering a new framework for digital service transformation, including the introduction of Scottish Government level control of digital investments through prioritisation; based on business need and contribution to digital public services. The programme is focused on building capacity and capability in-house to replace the need for external suppliers and contractors; and has already delivered to date, over £3.2m mix of cost reduction and cost avoidance savings through the digital recruitment service. Projected savings of over the 2 year period to end 2026-2027 will be dependent on the number of external supplier and contractors replacements.

To support efficient and effective government operations and advance AI enabled automation maturity across Scotland's public sector, the Intelligent Automation Centre of Excellence (IACoE) is evolving from a centralised model to supporting federation. This strategic shift is supported by the development of a National Collaborative Procurement Framework for Intelligent Automation, which supports the acceleration and scaling of faster, nimbler and cheaper AI enabled Automation technologies across our public services. Since it was established in 2021, the CoE has positioned Scotland as a global leader in AI-enabled automation, driving transformative changes in public service delivery with a citizen centred focus. Through this shared service, government and executive agencies have realised substantial benefits, including reduced delivery costs, enhanced compliance, increased operational capacity and significant cost savings.

 

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FOI 202500461804 - Information released - Documents

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