Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you. I understand that there is a new memorandum of understanding between the convention and the Scottish Government. Do you want to say a bit about the purpose of that and what you hope that will achieve?

Good morning, and welcome to the 25th meeting in 2024 of the Economy and Fair Work Committee. Our first item of business is a decision on whether to take item 3 in private. Do members agree to take item 3 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Committee members will pick up on particular areas. You have given a really helpful overview of some of the key indicators.

Do you want to say a bit more about the disability employment gap? The committee has undertaken an inquiry into that, and we are near to publishing our report, so we are interested in that area. As you pointed out, Scotland was sixth out of eight on that indicator.

You said that Scotland had made good progress on payment of the living wage and that part of that was down to the Government’s focus on that issue, with targeted improvements. Have the countries that are doing better in relation to the disability employment gap achieved progress because of Government direction? Do we need to see more activity from the Scottish Government? I know that we are making some progress, but there are concerns that there is still quite a lot to do to close the gap. Do you have a view on what the Government needs to do and on why we are sitting at sixth out of eight?

Thank you. Before I bring in Willie Coffey, I note that the witnesses will know that the committee is working on its pre-budget letter to the Scottish Government. We have in recent years seen cuts to the employability budget. We are in difficult financial times, but would you like the Government to consider reversing some of the cuts that have been made there? You talk about active labour market policies, in which employability support seems to be a key feature. If we are to make changes to labour market policies, employability support will be a big part of that.

You mentioned the public sector when Gordon MacDonald asked about permanent employment rates. In Scotland, quite a high percentage of the labour market is employed in the public sector. I do not know whether it is the same in comparator countries. Does having quite a high percentage of people working in the public sector influence—for good or not so good—the indicators?

Our next item is an evidence session with members of the Fair Work Convention. Last year, the convention published a research report that benchmarked Scotland’s progress, based on a series of fair work indicators, against that of similar countries. The purpose of this session is to provide the committee with an opportunity to discuss the report and its implications.

First, I will make a declaration of interests. I am a member of Unite, the union.

I will close with a couple of questions. We have some 18 months left of this session of Parliament. Are there areas that you think the committee should focus on in that time? Are there areas in your own work that we can work together on or that we can anticipate you publishing more reports on?

Brian Whittle has a supplementary question, and then I will bring in Kevin Stewart. I thank Kevin for his patience.

That brings us to the end of the public part of today’s meeting. Thank you both for giving evidence this morning. We now move into private session.

I welcome Professor Patricia Findlay, who is co-chair of the Fair Work Convention, and Helen Martin, who is head of the convention’s secretariat. Thank you for joining us.

Last year, the convention published a benchmarking report that compares the work in Scotland with that in comparable countries. Will you summarise the report’s key findings and reflect on the progress that has been made in Scotland? Other questions will provide opportunities to discuss the report in more depth, but will you summarise the report’s headlines and what it has told us about progress in Scotland?