Statements on Expenditure 2022-23

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 (SG).

Following on from this, SG 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 Departmental Expenditure Limits (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:

Estimated savings of £145,000 were achieved through our use of SG collaborative frameworks.

The collaborative frameworks utilised include, but are not limited to, those for the provision of IT equipment, legal services, printing, postage and utilities.

Shared services

In 2022-23, AiB made use of various collaborative frameworks and contracts including the SG contract for facilities management (MITIE). We also relied on the SG for our building security arrangements.

AiB made use of the Scottish Government Legal Directorate for advice and awarded call off contracts using the Scottish Government framework for banking services.

We also utilised the expertise of the Scottish Government Shared Services Procurement team where required. The team supported AiB in the first quarter of 2022-23 prior to the appointment of a new Head of Procurement.

As an Executive Agency we make use of many SG 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 SG systems.

AiB 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

A new Head of Procurement was appointed within 2022-23.  There are also a further 3 procurement posts within the team.

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.

AiB's Contract Management team continued to manage the majority of agency contracts in 2022/23, 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.