ADMINISTRATION
Portfolio Responsibilities
The Administration Budget covers the costs of running the core administration of the Scottish Government to help it deliver its Purpose - To focus Government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth - and its Strategic Objectives.
What the budget does
The Administration budget covers the costs of running the core administration of the Scottish Government. The majority of these costs relate to civil service staff, with the remainder supporting office accommodation, information technology, training and travel. The spending supports the delivery of the Government's contribution to all of the strategic objectives set out in this document for all the Ministerial portfolios.
Summary of Key Spending Priorities
Statement of priorities
The Administration portfolio's priorities are:
- To ensure that the Scottish Government is best equipped and organised to support the delivery of the Purpose and Strategic Objectives, including assisting the process of economic recovery in Scotland;
- To ensure that the organisation offers maximum value for public money, and in particular - by operating a policy on the deployment of staff employed by the Scottish Government that is proportionate and reflects the current economic climate - to support overall priorities for public spending within the current tight financial perspective;
- To ensure that the percentage of total expenditure devoted to administration costs, across the core government and our agencies, remains at least 25% below the comparable percentage for the UK government;
- To implement a range of measures to deliver a reduction in emissions across the Scottish Government. Specific measures introduced include installation of a Building Management System across the whole estate to provide additional control through optimisation of building lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling systems; and installation of a voltage optimisation device at main buildings to reduce the voltage supply. More information about the measures to be implemented are set out in the Scottish Government Carbon Management Programme publication.
- To ensure that the organisation continues to contribute to promoting equality by remaining committed to becoming an exemplar in the field of diversity and equality. The Scottish Government's equality initiatives will play a key role in supporting the delivery of all national outcomes, engaging with stakeholders and our own staff to share best practice to ensure our diversity and equality messages are communicated throughout the organisation and beyond.
Spending Plans for 2010-11 are set out below.
Table 7.01 Detailed spending plans (Level 3)
| 2009-10 Budget £m | 2010-11 Draft Budget £m |
|---|
Scottish Government Staff | 174.1 | 168.1 |
|---|
Accommodation | 20.6 | 19.8 |
|---|
Other Office Overheads 1 | 42.3 | 41.1 |
|---|
Training | 5.2 | 5.4 |
|---|
Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland | 0.1 | 0.1 |
|---|
Capital Charges | 17.7 | 17.7 |
|---|
Capital ICT Projects | 7.4 | 7.4 |
|---|
Other Capital Expenditure | 2.6 | 2.6 |
|---|
Total | 270.0 | 262.2 |
|---|
Notes:
1. Includes ICT projects and minor non-pay items e.g. travel, transport, stationery, hospitality, etc.
2. The breakdown of spending plans for 2010-11 is subject to change as we seek to reduce overhead costs in favour of minimising the reduction necessary in the number of staff available for deployment to support existing and new priority activities.
Table 7.02 Detailed spending plans (Level 3 real terms) at 2009-10 prices
| 2009-10 Budget £m | 2010-11 Draft Budget £m |
|---|
Scottish Government Staff | 174.1 | 165.6 |
|---|
Accommodation | 20.6 | 19.5 |
|---|
Other Office Overheads 1 | 42.3 | 40.5 |
|---|
Training | 5.2 | 5.3 |
|---|
Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland | 0.1 | 0.1 |
|---|
Capital Charges | 17.7 | 17.4 |
|---|
Capital ICT Projects | 7.4 | 7.3 |
|---|
Other Capital Expenditure | 2.6 | 2.6 |
|---|
Total | 270.0 | 258.3 |
|---|
Budget Changes
Our spending plans include the following changes made since the publication of Draft Budget 2009-10 which showed total budget plans of £278.8m for 2010-11. These changes in total result in a net reduction to plans of £16.6m giving the revised budget figure of £262.2m in table 7.01 above.
Contribution to HM Treasury budget cut
The draft Budget proposals include a £14m reduction in the 2010-11 Administration budget as a contribution to the total Scottish Government budget cut. This is consistent with the requirement on central Government to provide leadership within the public sector at a time of budgetary constraint, and also with the commitment to prioritise expenditure on frontline public services and economic recovery.
Transfers within the Administration Budget
The capital charge (depreciation and cost of capital charge) on the value of the Scottish Government's assets is forecast to be below the level planned in the 2009-10 budget. The resources made available (£6/6m) will help to meet commitments in other elements of the Operating Budget.
Transfer to Rural Affairs and Environment
Decrease of £3.2/3.2m due to the transfer of administration resources to Marine Scotland - a new delivery-led Directorate combining the functions of Fisheries Research Services, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency ( SFPA) and the previous Marine Directorate.
Transfer from other Portfolio programme budgets
Increase of £0.9/0.6m which will fund administration costs for time limited projects.
Transfer to Finance and Sustainable Growth
Decrease of £0.8/0.0m for Scottish Futures Trust which is an initiative designed to support the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure investment, leading to real and improved value for money solutions.