Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Practice Development Panel: FOI release

Information requested

 

In relation to the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Practice Development Panel:
A. The overall cost of the panel’s work.
B. Payment given to the chair of the panel and each individual member.
C. Any additional expenditure incurred by the panel since its formation.
Please also inform me:
D. Whether the Government’s original budget for the panel has been exceeded, and by how much.
E. How much it costs to extend the panel’s work on a month by month basis.

 

Response

 

The answers to your questions are as follows:

A. The overall cost of the Panel's work is £5366.36. This is a combined total covering venue rental fees, refreshments and a consultancy fee, as explained at point C below.

B. With regards to payments made to the chair and various members of the Panel, I can confirm that the chair and Panel members gave their time freely and received no payment from the Scottish Government (SG) for participating in these meetings.

C. On the question of additional expenditure, the Panel commissioned a contractor to carry out analysis of the Panel's consultation which was to cost £15, 000. The Panel then decided that a more targeted engagement, with the intention of seeking feedback from key stakeholders, was a more appropriate way of proceeding. As a result, the consultation did not go ahead but the contractor was paid 25% of the initial fee, to a value of £3750. These engagement meetings then took place and, in order to save money, some were held in Scottish Government or Alliance buildings in which case there was no fee. The fees for catering and venue rent for the remaining Panel engagements was £1616.36.

D. The Panel meetings all took place in the office of the Independent Chair of the Panel and, therefore, incurred no cost to the Scottish Government. The Legal Focus Group meetings all occurred in Victoria Quay and also, therefore, incurred no cost. As the members were receiving no fee and SG made no payment for venue costs, there was no original budget set for the Panel. The costs paid, therefore, cannot have gone above a budget. Considering the planned consultation was intended to cost £15,000, the overall cost of the Panel has still come significantly below this.

E. The Panel has no monthly running costs as meetings are held in venues where the Government pays no fee, and the members receive no payment for their involvement so there is no cost in order to keep the Panel running.

 

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