Operating costs for Scotland House, London: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
- The annual income and outgoings of Scotland House, in London for the last five financial years.
- Any estimates the Scottish Government has made of its value to Scottish public finances in the last five financial years.
- The amount spent on (breakdown into categories, if possible) food, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, electricity and gas bills, rent, maintenance, repairs, furnishings, decorations, stationery, WiFi bills, payments to performers including but not limited to speakers, musicians and dancers.
Response
In response to question 1, please find enclosed a table which sets out the annual income and outgoings of Scotland House London for the previous 5 financial years:
|
|
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
|
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
|
Expenditure |
2,495 |
2,561 |
1,920 |
1,843 |
1,623 |
|
Partner Contribution income |
352 |
430 |
507 |
496 |
347 |
|
SHL Membership Income |
70 |
135 |
4 |
37 |
81 |
In response to question 2, Scotland’s international network delivers tangible benefits to our people, businesses and institutions: generating export growth, attracting inward investment, securing and creating jobs in Scotland, and helping us make the transition to a fairer, growing green economy. SDI figures show this work in 2022 -23 is predicted to generate £1.7 billion of trade revenue.
Scotland House London operates on a partnership model with Scottish Government, SDI, HIE, Visit Scotland and most recently Scotland Food and Drink all working in partnership, contributing to a single business plan and delivering for Scotland. Given London’s strategic importance as a global business and innovation hub, the city plays a unique role in targeting inward investment from both rUK and overseas owned businesses, prospecting for new investors as well as targeting expansion from existing investors.
The intra UK investment contribution to Scotland’s overall performance is particularly important, with the rUK market typically accounting for approximately one-third of SDI’s annual inward investment results. Whilst the delivery of inward investment is a priority across the SDI Global Investment team, London is the focal point of that effort.
In December 2023, the Scottish Government published an annual report on the work of our overseas offices, covering the period 2022 to 2023 https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-governmentinternational- network-monitoring-evaluation-report-2022-23/. This showed how Scotland’s international network delivers crucial benefits to Scotland’s people, businesses, and institutions at home and abroad over the last year. For ease of reference I have attached either the full overseas network monitoring and evaluation report or specific extracts which set out the contribution of Scotland House London across the last 5 financial years at Annex A.
With regards to question 3, we have endeavoured to provide spending for the categories outlined in your question. However our financial management process does not break down costs across all of the headings listed in your enquiry including for soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, performers, musicians and dancers. To do so would require us to interrogate every individual transaction, these costs are therefore accounted for under the collective heading of events expenditure. To be aware Wi-Fi costs across the Scottish Government are paid centrally and therefore it is not possible to separate out specific costs for Scotland House London.
Please find enclosed a table which sets out the breakdown of spend across the 5 previous financial years:
|
|
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
|
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
|
Fuel and Utilities |
12 |
12 |
7 |
8 |
33 |
|
Rent |
505 |
488 |
488 |
488 |
296 |
|
Maintenance |
1 |
19 |
25 |
22 |
19 |
|
Repairs |
25 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Furnishings/Decorations |
25 |
9 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
Stationery |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Events |
42 |
48 |
18 |
49 |
82 |
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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