Chamber and committees

Yes. There is a natural sequence to these things. We have to do the part of the process that involves setting out the approach to complaint handling, and that then has to inform, to whatever extent is judged appropriate, the revisions to the ministerial code.

We hope to be in a position to complete any issues in relation to the ministerial code within three months of the formalisation of the policy. I hope to formalise it by the end of February, subject to the various views that we want to listen to, and then take the three months to resolve any issues with the ministerial code.

We have within our staff members a broad range of such characteristics. I might invite Lesley Fraser to say more about this, as it falls within civil service territory, but it is an active recruitment—or, I should say, personnel—priority for the Scottish Government to make our employment as diverse as we can. We have a number of networks in the organisation with which we regularly discuss staff matters; those discussions are conducted through civil service channels, and a huge amount of energy is taken up with ensuring that that dialogue is appropriate.

That is a fair point. I like to think that the procedure will never be used; I hope that we have a culture that avoids the necessity to use it.

However, if, as I hope, the procedure is seldom used, there is a risk that it will not be given the necessary focus of review. Therefore, we are building into the work that is undertaken a focus on continuous improvement. We want, through our dialogue with staff trade unions and staff representatives, to identify issues. Given the volume of open dialogue and communication on the policy approach that we are taking, it is appropriate for me to thank the staff trade unions, which have contributed a huge amount of time to helping us with development of the approach.

One of the lessons that we have learned is about how important a constant channel of open communication is to ensuring that we take the right policy approach. That will be the focus of our work to review the procedure.

That is crucial at every stage of the proceedings—not just at the appeal stage. The investigation stage, for example, will be carried out by an investigator, and their report will be passed at stage 3 to a decision maker, who will be a different person. If there is to be an appeal, it will be handled by another, entirely different, person. That fundamentally recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals have no prior involvement at any stage of proceedings as the issues are properly addressed—not only to address the issue of trust but to guarantee independence and transparency.

There is a special adviser code, which channels considerations about special advisers through a civil service channel, with a few unique elements added on. The code essentially specifies that they are temporary civil servants, so they have the obligations and the rights of civil servants in relation to how they are handled in the employment sense. They have a couple of additional obligations and opportunities around the space of political engagement, which civil servants do not have. That is all regulated by the special adviser code. The issues that affect special advisers are fully and properly considered by the nature of their code, which channels them into the civil service grouping.

Ultimately, convener, there will be a judgment about the appropriate timescale. Three months feels to me to be a bit abrupt and a year feels a bit too long, so six months feels like an appropriate judgment to come to.

Hierarchy is not exclusive to the civil service. I am sometimes struck by the obvious signs of anxiety that some civil servants exhibit in having to appear in front of someone as mild mannered as me, and I try to take account of that in how I deal with issues. It can be obvious that people are anxious about what lies ahead of them. It is important that, as part of the culture, there is an understanding of the effect that that has on the interaction of people who are in different positions when it comes to the exercise of power and responsibility. Having a respectful environment is absolutely fundamental to that.

Whistleblowing covers the entitlement of members of staff to raise their concerns without fear and favour, so that the concerns can be addressed. That is what the policy is designed to do, if necessary.

The requirement to maintain confidentiality is about creating an appropriate climate and a trusted and respectful environment in which genuine issues can be properly aired, addressed and resolved.

That might mean identification of aspects of procedure or working practice that need to be addressed as a consequence of a case. It essentially puts the onus on us—I referred to this in my response to the convener—to constantly improve how we operate as an organisation in order to ensure that no opportunity to learn lessons is missed in the handling of an issue.