Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15423 on 7 March 2023. 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 Scottish Government believes that bullying and harassment of any worker, under any circumstances, is unacceptable. Employment law, Equality law and Health and Safety legislation remains reserved to the UK Government. Only with the devolution of further powers will the Scottish Government have the full set of levers to take real action on workplace injustices.

However, in the absence of such powers, we are using our Fair Work policy to promote fairer work practices across the labour market in Scotland.

In the Scottish public sector, while executive non-departmental public bodies have their own HR policies independent of Scottish Government, we’d expect their policies to align with Scottish Government priorities. All public bodies should have in place appropriate HR policies for their staff, which comply with current employment legislation, other relevant guidance, and the standards expected of public sector employees. These should include but not be limited to: grievance procedure, guide to standards of behaviour, disciplinary procedures, whistleblowing, and performance management for all staff.

The Scottish Government is clear that that bullying and harassment of any worker, under any circumstances, is unacceptable. All employers have a duty of care to protect the health, safety and welfare of their workers. We endorse the Fair Work Convention's Fair Work Framework and agree that every worker, regardless of status or position, should be treated fairly and with respect.

Employment law, Equality law and Health and Safety legislation remains reserved to the UK Government. Only with the devolution of further powers will the Scottish Government have the full set of levers to take real action on workplace injustices.

On 09 December 2022 we published our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan, and are committed to promoting effective voice channels, such as trade unions, allowing workers views to be heard and help tackle issues such as workplace bullying. In addition, we are also introducing a requirement for recipients of public sector grants to provide effective voice channels as a condition of the grant, effective from 1 July 2023, as per the Bute House Agreement. This further recognises the role of effective voice in allowing the other dimensions of Fair Work to be realised, and in fostering a culture where bullying and harassment is prevented.

Where workers feel they have been unfairly treated, they should have the option of raising concerns through their workplace grievance and/or bullying and harassment procedures, seeking support from their recognised trade union representative if present. All workers should have access to justice via an employment tribunal, and should seek free and impartial advice from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service wherever required.

Scotland is home to several vibrant, growing and dynamic technology sectors, and the Scottish Government recognises their importance to our current and future economy. Our 10-year National Strategy for Economic Transformation seeks to strengthen Scotland’s position in new market opportunities, and specifically cites enabling technologies, like photonics and quantum, that have close links to the semiconductor industry. Our Technology Sector Export Plan will also develop the export capacity and capability of our enabling technologies sectors.

Scotland has considerable photonics expertise, being home to approximately 60 companies, and the only Fraunhofer Research Centre in the UK - the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics. In December 2021, I announced £6.5m of funding to support the next phase of its applied photonics research and innovation activities. The development of our quantum sector is supported through institutions such as the University of Glasgow’s Quantum Technology Hub, while Technology Scotland have also established a Quantum Special Interest Group. The Group is currently drafting a paper, due to be published this year, setting out quantum technology ambitions for Scotland over the next decade.

The Scottish Government believes that bullying and harassment of any worker, under any circumstances, is unacceptable. We endorse the Fair Work Convention's Fair Work Framework and agree that every worker, regardless of status or position, should be treated fairly and with respect.

The Scottish Government promotes the role of Citizens Advice Scotland and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in providing advice and support on workplace issues, such as bullying and harassment.

We are also committed to supporting strong trade unions in Scotland for the benefit of workers and our economy. It is our belief that a progressive approach to industrial relations and to trade unionism is at the very heart of a fairer, more successful society, and we are clear that trade unions are key social partners in delivering our economic and social aspirations. Trade unions are a mechanism for providing effective voice in workplaces and have a role to play in tackling issues such as workplace bullying.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information as the recruitment and deployment of all staff in local authority schools is a matter for individual Councils.

The HIV Transmission Elimination Implementation Group will be responsible for assessing and prioritising the recommendations contained within the HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal.

The group is currently being formed and will be co-chaired by Professor Nicola Steedman, the Scottish Government’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Dr Dan Clutterbuck, Lead Clinician for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Lothian Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh.

The formal governance and reporting structures are still to be agreed upon and will form part of the discussion at the first meeting, which is scheduled for the end of March.

Although UCAS has confirmed that at the end of the January equal consideration date there has been a reduction in applications compared to this time last year, our higher education institutions will continue to accept, and consider, applications until the end of June and thereafter through any clearing process. Therefore, we expect application numbers to continue to increase. Scotland’s higher education institutions are working hard to recruit applicants to their nursing programmes and it is worth noting that not all funded places are applied for via UCAS(for example our Open University funded places), and these applications will also contribute to final numbers.

Alongside this, we continue to explore alternative pipelines into the nursing profession such as earn as you learn routes and apprenticeships. In addition to that work we will also address current challenges to the nursing profession in relation to workforce supply, retention and professional development as part of the new Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce. This will ensure our nurses, already the best paid in the UK, will have the best conditions and career opportunities.

We realise that recruitment to initial teacher education is challenging for various reasons and this is being seen across the UK. However, as in previous years, Scottish universities will keep their application processes open until they have met their targets in both primary and secondary by subject. We will continue to work with universities to monitor applications to all initial teacher education programmes. Typically, we have seen teacher training applicants increase by around 17% by the end of the application cycle.

Whilst organisations are encouraged to apply in advance, registered charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) have until 31 March 2023 to apply for the water and sewerage charges exemption scheme for the 2022-23 financial year. If exemption is granted, it will be backdated to 1 April 2022 - provided the criteria of the scheme were met at that time - and any charges will be refunded. The organisation’s income must be below £300,000 to qualify. Exemption will not be granted if:

• The organisation holds a permanent alcohol licence to sell alcohol at the premises
• the premises is a charity shop or other premises used for the purposes of retailing new or second hand merchandise
• the premises operates as a café which is open to the public and operated on a regular basis to generate income
• the organisation is a local council or an Arms-Length External Organisation (ALEO) which can be used by councils to deliver services

A strategic outline business case was approved in November 2022. A full outline business case, incorporating the findings from the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme, is due for completion in Summer 2023 and will inform the development of the full outline business case.