FOI Request - Investigative Software
Request 101003574354
This FOI request pertains to your use of third-party investigative software, which considers software used to collect, analyse, and report on issues / breaches of policy in your council.
Examples of this software include case management, financial investigation, digital forensics, and covert operations software.
If some data is not available or falls under an exemption, please respond with the available information, and provide an explanation for each missing or exempted item.
1. Please list the departments that conduct investigations into issues / breaches of policy (e.g. for fraud, planning enforcement, licensing, etc.) in your council?
a. Please list the approximate number of FTEs (full time employees) that work on investigations in each department?
b. If not covered in question 1.a., please also note the number of total FTEs focused on fraud (and note the number of fraud specialists specifically) in your council?
2. Considering third-party investigative software (e.g. for case management, financial investigation, covert operations, etc.), is this software typically procured by a centralised council IT team or by each investigation department?
3. What was your councils overall spend on third-party investigative software last year? £…k
4. In percentage terms, approximately how has your overall spend on third-party investigative software, on an annual basis, changed over the past 3 years?
a. Why (e.g. increase in number of users within existing departments, increase in departments, adopting new software, price increases, etc.)?
5. Please populate the below table, specifying if your council uses the listed third-party investigative software categories, noting your annual spend for each and your current software provider(s) if so.
Note that the total annual spend across the below categories should approximately sum to the overall annual spend on third-party investigative software, as per Q3.
Response 19-06-2024
1. In accordance with the Council’s Financial Regulations, if any matter arises that involves or is thought to involve irregularities concerning the finances, property, services, or policies of the Council or any suspected irregularity in the exercise of the Council's functions, it is the responsibility of the Audit and Risk Manager to investigate in consultation with the Depute Chief Executive (Education, Communities and OD).
a) The nature of the allegation will determine the resources needed for the investigation. Please see below information from specific departments:
- Environmental Health: 10 employees carry out investigations; however, time spent on investigations not 100%.
- Building Standards: 12 Building Standards team members could be dealing with enforcement cases.
- Trading Standards: There are 4.6 FTE in Trading Standards who all work on investigations
b) Within the scope of the answer to question 1, management is responsible for ensuring effective counter-fraud and corruption arrangements within the Council, supported by the Audit and Risk Manager.
2. This will depend on the nature of the investigation requirement, e.g., trading standards, planning enforcement, environmental health, etc. However, for financial investigations, data evaluation and analysis software is used, and procurement is the responsibility of the Audit and Risk Manager.
3. Not held in this format. Within the Internal Audit Section, a data evaluation and software application is used, but this is for audit, assurance and investigative purposes. In addition, the Council participates in the National Fraud Initiative, a data matching project conducted by the Cabinet Office on behalf of Audit Scotland. Services involved include Housing, Council Tax, Health and Social Care etc. There is no presumption of fraud; simply, a match comprises two or more records where there appears to be some anomaly that would merit further review. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.
4.a) Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.
5. Details of providers of third-party investigative software used by service should not be for public disclosure, as disclosure of information under the Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the prevention or detection of crime. This information is therefore exempt under Section 35(1)(a) of Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - prevention of crime