Question reference: S6W-05662
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 14 January 2022
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 January 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many non-disclosure agreements SQA employees have been asked to sign in each of the last five years, and for what reasons.
Answer
I have asked SQA to respond:
SQA has not entered into any non-disclosure agreements in the past 5 years. In accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, SQA has entered into settlement agreements and COT3 agreements both of which include a confidentiality clause. A COT3 is a form of settlement agreement which is reached with the assistance of ACAS, usually before a tribunal takes place. The agreements do not under any circumstances prevent an employee from making a protected disclosure under whistleblowing legislation.
Please find below the numbers of settlement agreements and COT3 agreements over the last 5 years.
2018 | 1 settlement agreement 2 COT3 agreements |
2019 | 2 settlement agreement |
2020 | 2 COT3 agreements |
Due to the very small numbers involved, SQA cannot provide details of the reasons as this could lead to identification of individuals and would be in breach of data protection.