Questions relating to work on "Building a New Scotland" document: FOI release

Information requested

With respect to the team of civil servants working on the Building a New Scotland series of papers, please disclose:

1. The number civil servants working on the papers as of 28th July 2023
2. The number of civil servants who have asked to be redeployed away from the writing of the Building a New Scotland series of papers, in the period 22nd November - 28th July 2023
3. The number of civil servants who have left the team since 22nd November 2022 because they asked to be redeployed away from the writing of the Building a New Scotland series of papers

Response

Response to your request

Part 1

At 28 July 2023, staff in the Scottish Government’s Constitutional Futures Division, who are co-ordinating work on the prospectus, comprised of one Senior Civil Servant and 23 other officials.

The work to develop the prospectus also draws on a range of other officials across the organisation who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government.

I am unable to provide you with a figure for the total number of staff contributing to the prospectus because in line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded because there is no business need to do this. This is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

Parts 2 and 3

In the period 22nd November 2022 - 28 July 2023, no civil servants working in the Constitutional Futures Division have asked to be redeployed away from the writing of the Building a New Scotland series of papers, and none of them have left the team on this basis.

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