Chamber and committees

Legal advice was provided to individuals in relation to the Scottish Parliament Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints. The total costs were £151,811.17 (exclusive of VAT). This information is already published at Cost to Scottish Government of its participation of recent inquiry’s: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The then First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon did not consult a lawyer of any kind ahead of her evidence session at the Scottish Parliament's Committee on the Scottish Government's Handling of Harassment Complaints.

The Scotland Act 2012 introduced provisions for the UK Parliament to devolve further tax powers to the Scottish Parliament (now section 80B of the Scotland Act 1998, “Power to add new devolved taxes”).

This followed a recommendation from the Calman Commission, which stated that “we see no reason why the Scottish Parliament should not be able to legislate to create new taxes that affect the whole of Scotland uniformly and not just via local taxation, if it does so with the agreement of the whole UK Parliament”.

The specific legislative mechanism is an Order in Council which must be approved by both Houses of the UK Parliament and by the Scottish Parliament. Once approved, the Order in Council would add any new tax to the existing list of devolved taxes in the Scotland Act 1998.

Primary and secondary legislation would then be required in the Scottish Parliament for a new devolved tax to come into effect.

The Scottish Government set out in June 2021 our plan for implementing the recommendations of James Hamilton’s report, alongside the recommendations of the reports by Laura Dunlop QC and the Scottish Parliament Committee on the Handling of Harassment Complaints. Implementation was delivered through the Continuous Improvement Programme, which was reported regularly to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee. The final report on the Continuous Improvement Programme was provided in January 2023, and with the agreement of the Committee the programme was then concluded and activities absorbed into ongoing work.

The Continuous Improvement Programme, which delivered the Scottish Government’s implementation of the recommendations of the Scottish Parliament Committee on the Handling of Harassment Complaints, was concluded with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee in January 2023, with activities absorbed into ongoing work and annual reporting thereafter. The Scottish Government provided a written update to Parliament on ongoing actions on 17 May 2024, ahead of the Permanent Secretary giving evidence to the Committee on 21 May 2024.

Scottish Government Committee witnesses to the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints were not coached.

Research has focused on the wider challenges and opportunities associated with rapid localised population growth where it is occurring in parts of Scotland. This was discussed at the October 2023 meeting of the Population Taskforce and is a priority within the Population Balance strand of delivery of the Population Strategy. The minutes of the October meeting are published on the Scottish Government webpages: https://www.gov.scot/publications/population-taskforce-minutes-october-2023/

Our approach to public sector pay has provided support to public sector workers during COVID-19 and the cost of living crisis, balancing fairness, affordability and fiscal sustainability within an extremely difficult fiscal context. We have protected the lowest paid and encourage employers to take a progressive approach to pay. As a result, public sector salaries in Scotland after taxes are 6% higher on average than the rest of the UK, with median full-time pay around £1,500 higher, up from around £430 prior to the pandemic.

A short briefing note will be prepared on how the London weighting allowance is calculated and applied, which can be shared with Mr Briggs in due course.

The Scottish Government is having to make very difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year. It is therefore unaffordable to progress piloting free bus travel for all people seeking asylum in Scotland.

It was considered appropriate in the first instance to inform members of the Working Group established to help develop the pilot. Accordingly, the group, consisting of representatives from third sector organisations supporting people seeking asylum and those with lived experience of the asylum system, was informed at a scheduled meeting on 16 August. Formal confirmation was provided by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Shona Robison during a Ministerial Statement on the Pre-budget Fiscal Update in Parliament on 3 September 2024.

This decision sits within the wider context of extremely challenging financial constraints across the whole of the public sector in Scotland. I can confirm however, that people seeking asylum in Scotland who are currently eligible for free bus travel through the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, including those under 22, those aged 60 and over and those with qualifying disabilities, will continue to be able to make use of their entitlement.

The Scottish Government Integrity Group permanent membership, as per its Terms of Reference, is as follows:

• The Head of Counter Fraud Profession (Chair)
• Strategic Lead, Risk, Control & Assurance Division
• Propriety and Ethics
• The Head of Finance Programme Management
• The Chief Information Security Officer
• A nominated HR representative
• A nominated Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD) advisor
• A nominated Internal Audit representative.

The strategy, Protecting Public Resources in Scotland, is due to be updated with the 2024-25 objectives for planned continual improvement in Counter Fraud within Scottish Government and the public sector. The strategy remains extant in its current form. Current collaboration and engagement includes the following stakeholders/partners:

• The Public Sector Fraud Authority – UK Government
• The International Public Sector Fraud Forum
• The Government Counter Fraud Network – Scotland
• The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre
• Audit Scotland
• NHS Counter Fraud Service
• Social Security Scotland Fraud & Error Resolution Unit

During the wider engagement for Protecting Public Resources in Scotland in 2015, the following stakeholders were involved and endorsed the strategy:

• Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
• Student Awards Agency Scotland
• Audit Scotland
• The Department for Work and Pensions
• NHS National Services Scotland
• NHS Counter Fraud Services
• COSLA
• Serious Organised Crime Task Force
• Police Scotland
• Scottish Business Resilience Centre
• Scottish Public Pensions Agency
• Scottish Local Authority Investigators Group
• Scottish Local Authorities Chief Internal Auditors Group
• Revenue Scotland

As part of the planned update to the strategy, the Scottish Government will again engage with a broad stakeholder group to ensure that the strategy reflects the wider public sector and current counter fraud strategy and best practice.

The Scottish Government’s (SG) definition of fraud is found within the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), under the section titled ‘Fraud’. The term ‘fraud’ is used to describe a wide variety of dishonest behaviour such as deception, forgery, false representation, and concealment of material facts. It is usually used to describe the act of depriving a person of something by deceit, which may involve the misuse of funds or other resources, or the supply of false information. Computer fraud covers the use of information technology equipment to manipulate programs or data dishonestly (e.g. by altering, substituting or destroying records, or creating spurious records), or where the use of an IT system was a material factor in the perpetration of a fraud.

The Scottish Government does not use a separate definition for ‘corruption’, as it is covered by its description of fraud. The general definition of ‘corruption’ describes actions that are fraudulent and carried out by those in a position of authority or control, often involving bribery. The SG has a definition for ‘bribery’, also contained with the SPFM, which aligns to the legal definition as contained within the Bribery Act 2010.

As the Bill is currently passing through the UK Parliament, we do not yet know what its final provisions will be.

However the Scottish Government welcomes the objectives of the Bill as introduced, which we believe align with the policy of Scottish Ministers that a fully publicly owned and integrated railway will deliver the best service for Scotland. Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd. is required to follow this policy.