Statements on expenditure

Sustainable Economic Growth

In 2021/22 the Agency continued to deliver functions designed to ensure access to fair and just processes of debt relief and debt management for the people of Scotland, which take account of the rights and interests of those involved.

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) is committed to promoting and increasing sustainable economic growth through the exercise of its functions in line with the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy. The Agency helps to contribute to promoting and increasing sustainable economic growth through its activities. 

Key points to note in respect of AiB’s efforts to increase sustainable economic growth include:

• the purpose of bankruptcy is to allow people a fresh start free of debt - that includes sole traders and partnerships.
• AiB’s key role in the Government's economic strategy is to provide a supportive business environment, contributing to the growth of the Scottish economy.
• AiB supports an infrastructure and framework of borrowing and lending in the economy and ensures an effective system for creditors to recover their debts.
• the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) is designed to facilitate debt recovery and maximise returns to creditors.

Efficiency, effectiveness and economy

Efficient government

In 2004, the Scottish Government began developing a programme to improve efficiency in the public sector. A target of increasing efficiency savings by 2% for each year of the 2007 Spending Review was applied to portfolios across the Scottish Government. Following on from this, the Scottish Government set targets of 3% savings which were to be achieved each year going forward. The baseline against which the percentage efficiency savings is measured is 2010-11 DEL. For AiB this was £3.2 million and a savings target of £96,000. 

AiB continues to work to this target and the total efficiency savings for the last two years are shown below:

Savings as a percentage of the total expenditure budget is as follows:

Savings of £54k were generated in 2021/22 on payments made to insolvency providers by securing a reduced fixed price for case administration through the procurement process.

A further £115k savings were achieved through our use of Scottish Government collaborative frameworks. The collaborative frameworks utilised include, but are not limited to, those for the provision of IT development and equipment, legal services, printing, postage and utilities.

Shared services

In 2021/22 the Agency made use of various collaborative frameworks and contracts including the Scottish Government contract for facilities management (MITIE). We also relied on the Scottish Government for our building security arrangements.

The Agency made use of the Scottish Government Legal Directorate for advice and awarded call off contracts using the Scottish Government framework for legal requirements in relation to the management of insolvency cases.

The Agency also utilise the expertise of the Scottish Government Shared Services Procurement team where required. The team supported the Agency through the implementation of various new contracts in 2020/2021.

As an Executive Agency we make use of many Scottish Government systems. We use the Scottish Government Accounting System (SEAS) to record financial transactions, we also use the Scottish Government EASEbuy system for some procurement activity. Some finance support is also provided by the Scottish Government Treasury and Banking team, for payments and banking of income, and Central Accountancy Services provide support for financial statements consolidation work. All human resource activity, including payroll, individual casework, grievances, HR policy and advice, contract management and recruitment for specific roles utilises the Scottish Government systems.

The Agency also has a strategic partnership with the Scottish Government’s Information and Technology Services division (iTECS) which delivers SCOTS & network services, telephony and applications support.

Procurement and contract management

The Head of Procurement post was vacant for the entirety of 2021/22. Procurement support was provided from SG Shared Service Procurement team and a shared procurement resource from another Agency within the Scottish Government.  The Head of Procurement post was filled within 2022-23. 

Our procurement policy and purchasing procedures for staff are communicated through our internal and external websites, ensuring up to date contract information is available for interested parties. Annual procurement strategies and reports are published on the website.

A Contract Management team within the Agency continued to manage the majority of AIB contracts in 2021/22, ensuring up to date management information was being collated to allow review of performance. This management information continues to be used for commodity and supplier analysis in tendering exercises. Other contracts such as IT and Estates Management were managed by specialist staff throughout the Agency.