Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive has in place contracts relatingto the recruitment and selection of both temporary and permanent staff. All contractswere let through a competitive tendering process.

In relation to temporary staff, the Scottish Executive has in place two contracts, one with Pertemps for the provision of admin and clerical (Scottish Executive grades A1 and A3) and Junior managerial (Scottish Executive grade B1) staff, and one with Hays for the provision of interim managers (at, or around, Scottish Executive grade C1). These contracts cover all Scottish Executive departments.

In relation to permanent staff, the Scottish Executive has a contract with Capita for the provision of recruitment services. This includes the design and delivery of assessment centres and other selection tools and covers all levels of staff. Capita are involved in the recruitment and selection of generalist staff at all levels and have also been involved in recruitment and selection for certain senior specialist and professional posts. This contract covers all Scottish Executive departments.

In relation to senior civil service staff a call off contract exists for the provision of executive search and selection services. The three participatingcontractors are Munro Consulting, Thomson Partners and Odgers Ray & Berndtson.This contract covers all Scottish Executive departments.

The total costs of these contracts for the Scottish Executive core Departments over the last four financial years has been as follows:

Year	2000–01	2001-02	2002-03	2003–04 (year to date)
Total Cost (£)	269,429	552,802	557,428	922,109

Notes:

Costs for the Pertemps and Hayscontracts cover only the margin paid to the contractor and not the wage costs ofstaff supplied.

Some of the costs in relationto the Capita contract relate to joint recruitment/promotion exercise where it isnot possible to isolate the specific element relating to recruitment. In these casestotal costs for the combined exercise have been included.

 

The increase between 2000-1 and2001-2 reflects the move to both more sophisticated selection processes and increasedexternal recruitment. This is consistent with the need to ensure we are selectingthe right people, meeting staffing needs following devolution and bringing in expertisefrom outside the civil service.

The increase between 2002-03and 2003-04 is principally as a result of a major SCS recruitment and promotionexercise using sophisticated selection techniques

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

Out of a total Development Programmeof £264 million, Communities Scotland will in 2004-05 provide £5.4 million in Inverclyde,£9.6 million in Renfrewshire for the construction of affordable housing.

In addition, a further £20 millionhas been set aside to be used specifically for the Executive’s own affordable housingreview, due out later this year.

Primary responsibility and authorityfor anti-terrorism measures lies with the Security Service, which works closelywith police forces, and in particular Special Branches, in providing the UK’s counterterrorist response. Terrorism is reserved in terms of the Scotland Act 1998.

Responsibility and authorityfor the emergency services’ response is vested in their respective Chief Officersand is delivered through standing procedures.

No guidelines have been issuedto deal specifically with the implementation of measures to combat foetal alcoholsyndrome.

A Framework for MaternityServices in Scotland, published February2001, recognised that all women of reproductive age should be empowered and encouragedto be as healthy as possible. NHS boards were given clear action points and recommendationsto address the health promotion needs of women of reproductive age.

NHS board strategies have beenaudited against the principles laid out in A Framework for Maternity Servicesin Scotland. As part ofthis audit, NHS boards were asked to provide information about how healthpromotion and education are being taken forward locally with particular referenceto alcohol and pregnancy. The results show that all NHS boards are taking measuresto raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Thesemeasures include issuing to all new mothers the NHS Health Scotland publicationReady Steady Baby, which contains a section on alcohol.

The report of the Expert Groupon Acute Maternity Services, published in 2002, recognised that risk assessmentis an essential part of maternity care. Women, and their babies, who, due to theirlifestyle or other factors, including alcohol use, are assessed as having a higherrisk of developing complications during pregnancy and post-natally should be referredfor the appropriate level of care.

The Scottish Executive has in place contracts relating to the recruitment and selection ofboth temporary and permanent staff. All contracts were let through acompetitive tendering process.

In relation to temporarystaff, the Scottish Executive has in place two contracts. There is a contract withPertemps for the provision of admin and clerical (Scottish Executive grades A1 and A3) and junior managerial (Scottish Executive grade B1)staff. This contract was originally let to Pertemps in February 2000 followinga competitive tendering process. Pertemps were successful in retaining thecontract following a further competitive tendering process in February 2003. Thereis also a contract for the provision of interim managers (at, or around, Scottish Executive grade C1) let to Hays Personnel. This contract was let through acompetitive tendering process in November 2003.

Occasional ad hocarrangements are also made to engage temporary staff at these levels forexample through other agencies for locations outside Edinburgh and Glasgowwhere the current contractor does not have a business presence. Informationrelating to this is not held centrally. These contracts cover all Scottish Executive departments.

In relation to permanent staff,the Scottish Executive has a contract with Capita for the provision ofrecruitment services. This includes the design and delivery of assessmentcentres and other selection tools and covers all levels of staff. Capita areinvolved in the recruitment and selection of generalist staff at all levels andhave also been involved in recruitment and selection for certain seniorspecialist and professional posts. This contract was originally let to Capitain January 2000 following a competitive tendering process. Capita weresuccessful in retaining the contract following a further competitive tenderingprocess in January 2004. This contract covers all Scottish Executive departments.

In relation to Senior CivilService staff, a call-off contract exists for the provision of executive searchand selection services. The three participating contractors are MunroConsulting, Thomson Partners and Odgers Ray & Berndtson. This contract waslet through a competitive tendering process in August 2001. Prior to thisThomson Partners had been used on occasional ad hoc basis. This contractcovers all Scottish Executive departments.

The purpose of EU Directive2000/78/EC is to lay down a general framework for combating discrimination onthe grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation asregards employment and occupation, with a view to putting into effect in themember states of the European Union the principle of equal treatment.

Responsibility for equalopportunities, including the matters dealt with by this Directive, is reserved.The Scottish Executive works closely and is in regular contact with the UKGovernment on a wide range of issues, including equal opportunities.

The purpose of EU Directive2000/78/EC is to lay down a general framework for combating discrimination onthe grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation asregards employment and occupation, with a view to putting into effect in themember states of the European Union the principle of equal treatment.

Responsibility for equalopportunities, including the matters dealt with by this Directive, is reserved.Information and guidance is available from the Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) to allow all employers in England, Scotland and Wales to familiarisethemselves with the regulations so far brought into force to implement theDirective, the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 andthe Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. The Departmentof Work and Pensions provides information about the Regulations to come intoforce in October 2004 to implement the disability provisions of the Directive. TheDTI also provides information about its proposals for Regulations to come intoforce in October 2006 to implement the age provisions of the Directive.

Scottish Enterprise has providedinformation on the new Regulations relating to religion and belief and sexualorientation to all of its business advisers and business clients, who mayinclude voluntary sector businesses. The Highlands and Islands Equality Forum has been tasked by Highlands andIslands Enterprise with engaging the private, voluntary and public sectors onall aspects of equality legislation and good practice issues.

The Scottish Executive is inregular contact with Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and the widervoluntary sector in Scotland on a wide range of issues, including equalopportunities.

Responsibility for equalopportunities legislation, including the matters dealt with by EU Directive2000/78/EC, is reserved. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and theDepartment for Work and Pensions provide information and guidance for employersin England, Scotland and Wales on the regulations and proposed regulations whichimplement the terms of this directive.

Withinthe partnership framework between the Scottish Executive and COSLA, the Scottish Executive undertakes to facilitate consultation with local government on allproposals which affect or might affect the structure, role, functions andfinancing of local government, including the impact of cross-cutting issuessuch as equal opportunities.

Discussionsare on-going between Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the STUC on the promotionof fair employment practice and partnership at work.

Scottish Enterprise hasprovided information on the new regulations relating to religion and belief andsexual orientation to all of its business advisers and business clients. The Highlands andIslands Equality Forum has been tasked by Highlands and Islands Enterprise with engaging the private,voluntary and public sectors on all aspects of equality legislation and goodpractice issues.

Parts 2 and 3 of the DebtArrangement and Attachment Scotland Act 2002 came into force on 31 December 2002.Part 1 of the Act sets out the framework for a national statutory DebtArrangement Scheme which will be implemented by way of secondary legislation.Before drafting theseregulations, officials met with interested parties in the field of debt adviceand those representing creditors’ interests in order that account could betaken of their views and concerns. During the secondary consultation on thedetail of the regulations in the Summer, evidence was taken by the CommunitiesCommittee (including from Executive officials) and its report can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/communities/reports/coc03-03-01.htm.Following the close of the consultation period, further discussions have takenplace with those organisations which wished to expand on their responses.

The main issues of concerndiffered according to the various sectors the organisations represented as canbe seen from the report of the meeting of 24 September of the CommunitiesCommittee. The response of the Executive to the comments of the Committee hasrecently been submitted for its further consideration. The letter can be seenwith the Committee’s papers once available.