Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27777.

My colleagues and I are absolutely committed to the delivery of a fair, open and transparent public appointments system. Arrangements are kept under continuous review and improvements introduced whenever and wherever appropriate.Neither the audit reports received by the Executive nor the Commissioner's Annual Report refer to individuals or specific public bodies. The contents of the reports are a matter for the Commissioner who is generally satisfied that the Executive complies with her Code of Practice. She has also made it clear that no appointment made by Scottish ministers was brought into doubt as a result of the audit and that the concerns expressed in her report related solely to the process adopted. Action taken by the Executive to address these issues is set out in the following table.

Key Audit Findings	Action Taken by Executive
A sponsor team within the Executive failed to comply with the Code of Practice in several significant respects when making a number of appointments to an advisory NDPB.	All sponsor teams have been firmly reminded that they must comply with the Code of Practice.
Ministers not offered a choice of candidates	Sponsor teams have been firmly reminded that, if more than one candidate meets the criteria for appointment, ministers must be given the choice of who to appoint. If only one candidate meets the criteria for appointment, ministers must be given the option of re-opening the competition. Where re-opening the competition is unlikely to bring forward new candidates because of the open process that has been followed, this should be made clear to ministers. Teams have also been asked to ensure that vacancies are made known to as wide a field of candidates as possible. As part of the parliamentary notification system introduced in May this year, the Executive's Public Appointments Team sends details of all vacancies to all ministers, Parliament and a number of outside bodies. The team also maintains details of vacancies on the Executive's Public Bodies website.
Failure of an applicant to complete an application form	Sponsor teams have been firmly reminded that application forms must be completed by all applicants by the agreed closing date, irrespective of the circumstances.
Failure to obtain completed political activity forms prior to appointment	This problem was uncovered before the audit took place and the commissioner and her auditors were informed in advance. In response to this issue, I announced on 26 March action to centralise the appointments process. In addition, checks are now in place to ensure that the political activity forms for all appointees are completed in advance.
Lack of proper record keeping	Sponsor teams have been firmly reminded of the need to ensure that all appointments are fully documented and key decisions and actions are recorded.
Lack of central guidance	The Commissioner's Code of Practice and the Cabinet Office Best Practice Guide are already available to, and used by, sponsor teams. Guidance on specific issues is circulated to sponsor teams whenever necessary. Consolidated guidance on appointment arrangements is being prepared by the Executive. This should be available in the autumn and a copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
Performance Appraisals of appointees not conducted on an on-going basis	Sponsor teams have been firmly reminded about the requirements of the Code of Practice and the guidance contained in the Best Practice Guide. To underline the need for regular appraisal, this issue will be covered in the Executive's own guidance on appointment arrangements currently in preparation and an annual standard performance assessment proforma will be introduced as a minimum requirement.
Press releases not containing prescribed material	Sponsor teams have been firmly reminded about the requirements of the Code of Practice in relation to press releases announcing public appointments. All press releases are now also cleared by the Public Appointments Team as part of the Parliamentary Notifications system.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.The data requested is not available as Jobcentre Plus does not collect details of New Deal clients into jobs by sector.

Both the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Construction Licensing Executive have consulted the Department of Trade and Industry on the launch of the Scottish Construction Licensing Scheme.

The Scottish Executive is concerned to develop a joint approach with the DTI between the Scottish construction licensing scheme and the Quality Mark Scheme. Scottish Executive and DTI officials are discussing the options in developing such a joint approach.

The Scottish Welfare to Work Task Force Construction Sub-group has not developed a New Deal scheme. Working closely with employers, CITB, local authorities, Scottish Enterprise and local training providers, it has agreed a generic construction industry access model for the long-term unemployed, and those disadvantaged in the labour market. It is intended that this could be used across the country in areas with skills shortages. Discussion is on-going to identify a suitable pilot area. At this time, it is likely that this will be in Glasgow.The model will make use of national and local welfare to work training funds.

The decision on whether a Public Appointments Committee should be established is entirely a matter for the Parliament.

The aim of the Scottish Welfare to Work Task Force Construction Sub-group is to increase the number of long-term unemployed people entering the Construction Industry through an employer-led welfare to work access model, tailored to the needs of Scotland. The group has not set specific targets of numbers into work. Its role is to develop and test the access model, with a view to implementation across Scotland using local partnerships.The objectives of the Sub-group are:

• Research and evaluate various construction industry initiatives throughout the country and specifically in relation to Glasgow;
• Increase awareness of Welfare to Work programmes and their potential contributions within the sector;
• Develop a generic access model for training welfare to work clients in Scotland;
• Connect key players to Jobcentre Plus (CITB, employers, training providers, Local Enterprise Companies and Development Companies) and to support the development of local partnerships, and
• Ensure that the mechanism is in place to implement employer-led routeways through these partnerships.

It intends to complete it's objectives by December this year.

The use of cash retentions is a common practice that has, for decades, been a feature of standard conditions of contract widely used in the construction industry. Whilst retentions are at times unpopular with contractors, they do provide some comfort to clients by providing an incentive for contractors and suppliers to comply fully with their obligations, or to fund the making good of defects. However, cash retentions are not a matter in which the Scottish Executive has any regulatory authority.

As with the Scottish Welfare to Work Task Force itself, the Construction Sub-group is an unpaid advisory group. It seeks to provide a co-ordinated employer led approach to helping the unemployed take up jobs in the construction sector, drawing in expertise from all areas, local and national, including trainers, funders and employers.