Chamber and committees

The current Traineeship Fund is due to end in March 2025. Learning lessons from previous grant funding projects such as this is extremely important, and the outcome of the evaluation will help shape and inform any decisions with regards to a future Traineeship Fund.

It is important that before any decisions are taken, we continue to have constructive and meaningful dialogue with our stakeholders, particularly the Law Society of Scotland.

The Scottish Government needs to ensure that funding is targeted where it is most needed. It is also essential that there is a clear evidence base of that need and that value for money for the use of public funds can be demonstrated in line with the Scottish Government’s Public Financial Manual.

Total number of Enforcement Notices issued by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team in each of the last 5 years:

2020: 16

2021: 0

2022: 3

2023: 8

2024: 13

Enforcement Notices (ENs) are issued as a result of non-compliance with AWET correspondence. If an underpayment has been identified as a result of a wages inspection or complaint, ENs are used if an Employer fails to fulfil a request for payment. These act as the end of deliberation between the Employer and AWET, and now form a legal requirement for the Employer to provide reimbursement to an Employee.

Any further objection to the contents of an EN may now only be challenged via Employment Tribunal or an agreed settlement.

The Scottish Government has contracted provision for interpretation services (face-to-face, remote video and telephone). This provision can be used by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team under the interpreting, translation and transcription services framework should it be required.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board doesn’t use the register of criminal legal aid solicitors as an indication of solicitor availability. A small number of solicitors register and do small amounts of work to meet ad hoc requests from individual clients. They often choose to eventually withdraw from the register rather than meeting the requirements for remaining on it. A better indication of solicitor supply is the number of active solicitors – those solicitors who have carried out criminal legal aid work in the last 12 months.

The number of solicitors actively involved in criminal legal assistance has remained relatively stable for the last four years, with activity heavily concentrated among the busier solicitors. Based on active solicitor numbers there has been a reduction of 23 active solicitors – or 3% - in last four years.

The eCommerce Shared Service provides a joined up suite of procurement tools to drive excellence, consistency and best practice within public procurement. The tools include the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal (PCS mandated for all public bodies in advertising procurements £50k and over), PCS-Tender, PECOS P2P, PECOS Content management (PCM), eInvoicing. All or elements of the Service are used by all Scottish public bodies to enable and support their end to end procurement processes.

The eCommerce Shared Service is promoted via established stakeholder groups and at various events to represent and endorse the Service to public bodies. Appendix 1 shows the number of public bodies that currently use the Service.

Spending decisions on IT Systems and Consultancies is a matter for public bodies, however the eCommerce Shared Service works with public bodies to promote and drive uptake of these systems.

Appendix 1

NHS boards are responsible for managing their estates and agreeing terms for facilities management costs with their tenants. It would be for NHS Lothian and other boards to carry out any necessary impact assessment of the reported increase in facility management costs for their GP practices and determine publication.

Phase Two of the 2018 GMS Contract will change the way that practice expenses are allocated, with direct reimbursement of costs. Scottish Government is discussing GP facility management costs with the BMA as part of this work.

The Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) was paused pending the outcome of a strategic stakeholder review. This work will now be considered as part of the Scottish Government’s review of how the culture and creative industries sector can be best supported going forward as set out in PfG 2024-25.

The Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) has not been convened by The Scottish Government since its meeting on 8 June 2022. However, the Scottish Government carries out regular engagement with key stakeholders across the Creative Industries sector, including those involved with CILG, as part of the normal business of Government.

As part of the business case setup phase, each Green Freeport is required to submit detailed analysis to Government setting out the benefits they will deliver. By driving new investment, creating high-quality employment and promoting decarbonisation, both Green Freeports seek to have transformational impacts not only in their respective regional economies but also in wider supply chains across Scotland and beyond. Forth Green Freeport aims to support up to 34,500 jobs, including creation of up to 16,000 direct jobs. Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport aims to create over 18,000 jobs in the UK – over 11,000 of those in the Highlands. Both Governments have carefully scrutinised the business cases of each Green Freeport to ensure the benefits articulated are deliverable, supported by evidence, and represent value for money. The Scottish and UK Government have also established a Green Freeports monitoring and evaluation framework which will gather regular performance data, track the Green Freeports’ against their aims, and report on progress.