You asked
What is the total cost which ONS has spent (and plans to spend) on sending their staff on residential training courses at Penyard House near Ross-on-Wye?
Has this expenditure been authorised by HM Treasury? If yes, I would like to see all correspondence between ONS and HM Treasury regarding this matter. If no, please explain why HM Treasury were not consulted bearing in mind the policies of the coalition government regarding "awaydays" for civil servants
Please explain why it was decided to spend taxpayers money on residential courses when these training events could have been conducted at the ONS's offices without incurring any such expenses
We said
The total cost (including planned spend) of sending staff on residential training courses is £67,400. This does not include Travel and Subsistence claims as it would exceed the FOI Act's appropriate limit to compile these, nor does it include any costs that would have been incurred by ONS if these events had been held onsite. Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act states that a public authority is not obliged to conduct a search for information if such a search will exceed the cost limit of £600, or 3.5 days. In this instance ONS believes that the cost of searching all relevant material will be in excess of the limit
Authorisation for delivering the development off-site was given by Civil Service Learning, the Government's gateway for all matters relating to learning and development
Leadership and Managing Change is a core skills priority for the Civil Service. As a multi site organisation we need to bring our senior leadership team together at intervals for development. The decision to hold this training off-site was based on providing an environment that would support an immersive learning experience whilst providing value for money