FOI release

FOI2020-11026 External training and Civil Service Learning contracts

Updated 6 January 2021

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Dear

I am writing in response to your email dated 27th September 2020 requesting the following information,

We are a UK based consultancy which has a focus on the education sector. We hope to use this data to better understand the new Civil Service Learning (CSL) contract that began this September and runs from 2020 to 2023, and how it compares to historic spend.

We would like to ask for your help in this work by requesting some data under the Freedom of Information Act The request is for the following information:

  • External training spend in the previous 3 fiscal years (2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20) in Defence Electronics and Components Agency, broken down by:
    • Amount spent through the Civil Service Learning contract and amount spent to deliver external training through other contracts
    • Under the Civil Service Learning Contract
    • Amount spent on online/digital delivery versus amount spent on in-person delivery
    • Amount of spend allocated for bespoke courses specifically developed for your needs and amount of spend allocated for ‘off-the-shelf’ training material
  • Breakdown of the 2019/20 external training spend through the CSL contract in Defence Electronics and Components Agency by course, including:
    • Total amount spent per course
    • Total number of learners per course
    • Training provider that delivered the course
    • Course delivery method – i.e. online/digital or in-person
    • Name of course
    • Subject area of course
  • External training budget for 2020/21 fiscal year in Defence Electronics and Components Agency, broken down by:
    • Budget to spend through the Civil Service Learning contract and budget to spend on the delivery of external training through other contracts
  • Any analysis undertaken on how your department’s training needs have shifted this year compared to previous years
    • For example, are you planning greater emphasis on Leadership & Management courses or training delivered through digital/online courses?
  • Total number of civil service employees working in Defence Electronics and Components Agency (please provide latest available data)

I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

In response to your queries, I have completed a search for the information within the Defence Electronics & Components Agency, and I can confirm that we may hold information in scope of your request and provide the following answer.

This information falls with scope of absolute exemptions provided in Section 12 (Exceeds spend limits) of the FOIA and has been withheld.

Section 12(1) of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them exceeds the appropriate limit, which for central government is set at £600.00. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3.5 working days determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting it. It has been estimated that your request will exceed this limit.

Under Section 16 of the Act (Advice and Assistance) DECA may be able to provide you with some information if you reduce or refine the scope of your request. In particular, it may be useful if you reduce the number of breakdowns you have requested and the number of years you have included. However I am obliged to advise you that this may still exceed the appropriate limit set out in Section 12(1) FOIA.

If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team, Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB or by e-mailing [email protected]. Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has ended.

If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate your case until the MOD internal review process is complete. You can find further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner on the Commissioner’s website

Regards

DECA FOI

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