Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26667 on 2 May 2024. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The funding for the 38,000 apprentices in training is committed. Skills Development Scotland commenced contracting for up to 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeship opportunities at the start of April, including in the construction sector.

We’re determined to do all we can to reduce alcohol-related harm and are working closely with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and the third sector to do so. Drug and alcohol services have seen a significant increase in funding as a result of the National Mission to ensure treatment services are in place to support people impacted by alcohol and drugs.

For example, we are exploring the evidence around Managed Alcohol Programmes and are delighted to be able to contribute to the running of the innovative model being piloted in Glasgow by Simon Community Scotland and its evaluation.

In addition, we are working with stakeholders to create a national service specification alongside guidance for alcohol treatment in Scotland, supported by a meaningful treatment target. This work will build on the forthcoming UK-wide Clinical Alcohol Treatment Guidelines, developed by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Public Health Scotland is currently in the process of investigating the reasons behind the apparent 40% reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol treatment services.

Scottish Government has no current plans to update the prevalence-service utilisation ratio for people who are dependent on alcohol in Scotland.

The national service specification will play a role in addressing the public health emergency of alcohol harm by providing clarity on the choices and services which must be available in every local area in Scotland. The specification will help ensure services can meet the needs of people impacted by alcohol and drugs to help reduce harms and improve lives.

For the development of a national specification for alcohol and drug services, initial engagement has begun with representative groups covering service commissioners, service providers and people who use, have used or could use the services.

We plan full public consultation on a draft specification with an aim to be publishing the final version in 2025.

Scotland is making great strides towards becoming a leading Fair Work nation.

The number of accredited Real Living Wage employers is up from 14 in 2014 to over 3,500 in 2023. That’s proportionately 5 times as many than the rest of the UK, and some 65,000 workers in Scotland have had a pay rise as a result of accreditation, making a real impact for people in the lowest paid jobs.

Our support contributes to 89.9% of employees aged 18 and over in Scotland being paid at least the real Living Wage (2023 data), higher than Wales 87.1%, England 87.0%, NI 84.4%, and the UK overall 87.1%.

Building on the work of the Fair Work Convention we’re pressing forward with sectoral agreements in Adult Social Care and Construction, as well as Retail with to help put those sectors and their workforces on a sustainable footing for the long term.

The median gender pay gap has continued on a long-term downward trend and has now reached a record low of 1.7% in 2023 for full time employees in Scotland, lower than the overall UK gap of 7.7%.

The Disability Employment Gap fell further to 30.2 percentage points in 2023 – a decrease from 31.9 p.p. in 2022 and the lowest it has been since our baseline year in 2016 when it was 37.4 p.p. There is still work to do but this suggests that we are on track to achieve our ambition to reach 18.7 p.p by 2038.

Fair Work First principles were applied to some £4bn public funds since 2019, and in 1 July 2023 we took this further by adding the requirement that all grant recipients awarded a public sector grant pay at least the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice.

Through the Workplace Equality Fund we focused on providing financial support for employers to address longstanding barriers in the labour market that particular priority groups experience, including disabled people, women, racialised minorities and older workers. In 2023-24 the WEF investment was almost £600,000 across 10 projects, bringing the total spent to over £3.2m on 71 projects since 2018 [1] . This year we are evaluating the effectiveness of the WEF to inform future interventions.

In financial years 2020-21 and 2023-24, we invested £1.2 m in the Apt Public Social Partnership (PSP)which worked to improve the recruitment and retention of disabled people by developing and testing different types of support for employers. The PSP engaged with employers in the private and third sectors, with a particular focus on SMEs throughout Scotland. An independent evaluation of the PSP’s impact will be commissioned in 2024-25. Employers involved in the partnership to date have reported benefits such as improved recruitment and retention processes, increased confidence in having conversations about employment with disabled people, and increased awareness about the benefits of a diverse workforce.

We have repeatedly voiced our opposition to legislation at Westminster that undermines workers’ rights, including the Trade Union Act 2016, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022, hire and rehire, and the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.

We have been proud to support pay deals for public sector workers that reflect the vital jobs that they do. Last year pay deals were around £800 million greater than planned and our total expenditure on public sector pay is now around £25 billion – over half of our fiscal resource. On average public sector pay in Scotland is around 6% more than the rest of the UK.

[1] Total investment in WEF projects since 2018 is £3,194,500

Our Offshore Wind International Engagement Strategy was developed working closely with Scottish Development International, using the latest market intelligence.

The strategy identifies priority countries crucial to delivering our offshore wind objectives, ensuring our engagement is focussed and resources are used efficiently.

The strategy does not preclude working with other countries or regions, or engaging with other international opportunities, with decisions being made on a case by case basis.

Given the dynamic nature of the offshore wind market, our approach will be reviewed regularly to reflect the latest market intelligence.

While employment law is reserved, we will continue to do whatever we can with the levers we have to strengthen effective voice and ultimately collective bargaining in Scotland. The Scottish Government has made a clear commitment to promote collective bargaining through the inclusion of an employee voice indicator, measured by collective bargaining coverage, within the National Performance Framework.

Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation and our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan include actions to support trade unions and promote collective bargaining.

We are continuing to promote trade union recognition and collective bargaining, at both local and sectoral levels, to achieve improved conditions and enhance effective voice. Work is underway in a number of traditionally low paid or precarious sectors to advance fair work and effective voice for workers. The Scottish Government’s work on introducing sectoral bargaining for the adult social care sector is progressing ahead of the introduction of the National Care Service (NCS), in line with the recommendations of the Fair Work Convention. Furthermore, since 1 July 2023, public sector grants include a requirement to pay at least the Real Living Wage to all employees, and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, thus strengthening our approach to conditionality.

Despite an increasingly constrained budgetary context we have continued to provide trade unions in Scotland with funding and support to advance fair work and improve worker voice, which can ultimately increase trade union recognition.