Shetland Islands Council Management Expenses

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Shetland Islands Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Shetland Islands Council,
Please provide details of all expenses claimed, by the Chief Executive , Corporate Director’s and the Corporate Management Team officers in total, for the financial year’s 2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 & 2015/2016 from public funds from Shetland Islands Council.
Receipts are not required but details of individual claims, amounts, date claimed, and reason for claim, are required.
Also please provide information on the responsible signing authority, signing off each of these claims.

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson

Shetland Islands Council

Mr Henderson

We acknowledge receipt of your request for information.

This is receiving attention, and we will provide you with a response as soon as possible.

Regards, L Adamson

Louise Adamson
Committee Officer
Shetland Islands Council
Montfield
Burgh Road
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0LA

Tel: 01595 744555

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Dear Shetland Islands Council,

Could you please give an indication when you intend to respond to my FOI request as detailed above.

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson

Dear Shetland Islands Council,

Could you please give an indication when you intend to respond to my FOI request as detailed above, I did send a request for an update on the 23rd February but didn't get any response from Shetland Islands Council?

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson

Shetland Islands Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Henderson

 

I refer to your recent FOI request and apologise for the delay in
responding to you.  I can now advise that the Shetland Islands Council
responses to your queries are as follows:   

 

Q1. Please provide details of all expenses claimed, by the Chief
Executive, Corporate Director’s and  the Corporate Management Team
officers in total, for the financial year’s 2012/2013, 2013/2014,
2014/2015 & 2015/2016 from public funds from Shetland Islands Council.

 

A1.  Please find as attached an Excel spreadsheet which summarises the
information requested as above in question 1.  

 

 

Q2. Receipts are not required but details of individual claims, amounts,
date claimed, and reason for claim, are required.

 

A2.  This is information which the Council does not collate separately,
but is contained within individual claim forms.   Having considered the
time that it would take for staff to compile that information it is
considered that this would be over the statutory threshold of £600. 
 Given the current workload of those staff, it would be impractical for
the Council to spend time in providing you with the level of detail you
have asked for, and to do so would not be the best use of the Council’s
resources.    In this regard the Council is refusing to provide you with
this information in terms of Section 12 of the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 in terms of the excessive cost of compliance.   

 

In general terms, I can advise that travel and expenses are duly
authorised, as explained in A3 below, and all bookings and claims follow
the Council’s approved travel and expenses policies and procedures.   Such
matters are regularly checked by our internal and external auditors, and
remuneration, including taxable expenses, for senior employees, are
published in the Council’s annual financial accounts.  The accounts can be
found on our website [1]http://www.shetland.gov.uk/about_finances/

 

 

Q3. Also please provide information on the responsible signing authority,
signing off each of these claims.

 

A3.  Levels of approval/authority – Executive Managers’ claims are duly
authorised by their respective Directors.  Directors’ claims are duly
authorised by the Chief Executive and the Chief Executive’s claims are
authorised by the Executive Manager Governance & Law.

 

 

I trust that this response meets your request.  However, if you are
dissatisfied with the way in which the Council has dealt with your request
for information then you may ask the authority to review its actions and
decisions in relation to your request, by submitting a formal appeal.  The
process for lodging appeals is set out in the attached leaflet. 

 

Kind regards,

Marie

 

Marie Robertson | Business Support Assistant

Governance & Law, Executive Services,

Shetland Islands Council, 8 North Ness Business Park,

Shetland, ZE1 0LZ

 

Tel: 01595 744581

 

 

 

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Shetland Islands Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Henderson

 

I refer to your recent FOI request and apologise for the delay in
responding to you.  I can now advise that the Shetland Islands Council
responses to your queries are as follows:   

 

Q1. Please provide details of all expenses claimed, by the Chief
Executive, Corporate Director’s and  the Corporate Management Team
officers in total, for the financial year’s 2012/2013, 2013/2014,
2014/2015 & 2015/2016 from public funds from Shetland Islands Council.

 

A1.  Please find as attached an Excel spreadsheet which summarises the
information requested as above in question 1.  

 

 

Q2. Receipts are not required but details of individual claims, amounts,
date claimed, and reason for claim, are required.

 

A2.  This is information which the Council does not collate separately,
but is contained within individual claim forms.   Having considered the
time that it would take for staff to compile that information it is
considered that this would be over the statutory threshold of £600. 
 Given the current workload of those staff, it would be impractical for
the Council to spend time in providing you with the level of detail you
have asked for, and to do so would not be the best use of the Council’s
resources.    In this regard the Council is refusing to provide you with
this information in terms of Section 12 of the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 in terms of the excessive cost of compliance.   

 

In general terms, I can advise that travel and expenses are duly
authorised, as explained in A3 below, and all bookings and claims follow
the Council’s approved travel and expenses policies and procedures.   Such
matters are regularly checked by our internal and external auditors, and
remuneration, including taxable expenses, for senior employees, are
published in the Council’s annual financial accounts.  The accounts can be
found on our website [1]http://www.shetland.gov.uk/about_finances/

 

 

Q3. Also please provide information on the responsible signing authority,
signing off each of these claims.

 

A3.  Levels of approval/authority – Executive Managers’ claims are duly
authorised by their respective Directors.  Directors’ claims are duly
authorised by the Chief Executive and the Chief Executive’s claims are
authorised by the Executive Manager Governance & Law.

 

 

I trust that this response meets your request.  However, if you are
dissatisfied with the way in which the Council has dealt with your request
for information then you may ask the authority to review its actions and
decisions in relation to your request, by submitting a formal appeal.  The
process for lodging appeals is set out in the attached leaflet. 

 

Kind regards,

Marie

 

Marie Robertson | Business Support Assistant

Governance & Law, Executive Services,

Shetland Islands Council, 8 North Ness Business Park,

Shetland, ZE1 0LZ

 

Tel: 01595 744581

 

 

 

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Dear Shetland Islands Council,
Thank you for the information supplied, this however looks more like a travel expenses log? There have been cases reported in local media of corporate management making claims for additional expenses the latest to my knowledge here in Shetland being Jan Riise Governance and Law manager making a claim for £2500 for overseeing the counting of votes at an election last year, can you confirm if Shetland Islands Council employees are required to declare these additional claims to their employer SIC and whether you have records of such claims and if so whether you could forward a copy?

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson

Shetland Islands Council

The information provided to you contains information relating to all expenses claimed, as requested, and no information has been omitted.

Whilst I cannot comment on media reports, the payment of £2500 to the Executive Manager - Governance and Law in 2016 which you refer to, was in his role as Counting Officer for the Shetland Islands Area for the European Union Referendum. This was not an expenses claim, but a statutory fee payable under the European Union Referendum (Counting Officers’ and Regional Counting Officers’ Charges) Regulations 2016. Such fees are authorised by, and re-paid directly to, the Council by Central Government.

I trust this clarifies the matter for you.

Regards

Anne Cogle
Team Leader - Administration
Governance and Law Service

Shetland Islands Council
Corporate Services Department
Montfield
Burgh Road
LERWICK
Shetland
ZE1 0LA

Tel: 01595 744554
Fax: 01595 744585
www.shetland.gov.uk

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Dear Shetland Islands Council,
Do you have a record of these statutory fees such as above payed by Central Government to Shetland Islands Council staff? If so would it be possible to have a copy of these? Given they are hopefully isolate and in low numbers previous 3 years would suffice
By Central Government are you referring to Holyrood or Westminster?

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson

Andy Smith (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

This is classic example of people mixing up allowances with expenses and thus getting the wrong end of the stick. Allowances are in effect remuneration/salary for performing a task, in this case conducting an election. They are not expenses where the person has to complete a form/make a claim and provide receipts.

The EU referendum was organised by the Westminster government so it would be they who would have funded all costs with conducting the referendum in Shetland, including the counting officer's allowance.

Dear Shetland Islands Council / Andy Smith
I’m not convinced these are not expenses and no claim form was completed.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__...

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson

Shetland Islands Council

I note your email, but I'm not clear what information, if any, you are now asking the Council to provide you with.

Anne Cogle
Team Leader - Administration
Governance and Law Service

Shetland Islands Council
Corporate Services Department
Montfield
Burgh Road
LERWICK
Shetland
ZE1 0LA

Tel: 01595 744554
Fax: 01595 744585
www.shetland.gov.uk

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Dear Shetland Islands Council,
Given the lack of transparency and clarity regarding these additional payments to Shetland Islands Council members of staff, whether statutory fees as you call them, allowances or indeed expenses;
I will therefore submit an additional FOI request in which I will request all addition payments to include all of these payments.

Yours faithfully,

Gary Henderson