- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 8 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the vacancies that have been filled each year through Community Jobs Scotland have paid at least the living wage.
Answer
The Scottish Government introduced the living wage into Phase 5 of the Community Jobs Scotland (CJS) programme in 2015-16. The number of opportunities paid at the living wage in each year since it was introduced is as follows:
|
Phase
|
Numbers paid at Living Wage
|
|
Phase 5 (2015-16)
|
327
|
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects employers that use Community Jobs Scotland services to (a) have recognition agreements with the relevant trades unions and (b) pay at least the living wage.
Answer
We are committed to the Fair Work Framework which demonstrates its support of Trade Unions by saying that they are the primary channel of collective worker voice in Scotland and the UK. We encourage businesses to use this Framework to guide their activities in supporting the delivery of fair work in Scotland and promote positive relationships with Trade Unions as they provide a voice and a source of empowerment for employees.
Since 2011 we have provided funding to support the Community Jobs Scotland programme to create paid job training opportunities for young people within the third sector. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisation, who manage the programme on behalf of the Scottish Government, ensure that CJS employees have the same terms and conditions as existing employees.
Since 2015-16 we have funded Community Jobs Scotland to pay young people the living wage where the third sector employers paid this rate to existing employees or where they wanted to implement it for young people on CJS.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the rail unions.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2016
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Framework for Supported Factories and Businesses and whether a new framework will be launched after the expiry of the current agreement in September 2017.
Answer
Work is currently on going to determine the appropriate course of action on the expiration of the framework agreement. The Scottish Government is in discussions with stakeholders on how we best facilitate market access for supported businesses in line with the changed definition under the European procurement legislation and taking account of the legislative requirements within the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 which have come into force this year.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the £1.9 million awarded in the last four years through the Framework for Supported Factories and Businesses to have been sufficient, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Framework Agreement for Supported Factories and Businesses was put in place by the Scottish Government in 2012 as a means of helping public sector buyers quickly access a range of good and services from those supported businesses on the framework. However, public bodies operate independently from Scottish Ministers for their procurement activities and are free to run their own procurement exercises outside of the Framework.
Since the establishment of that Framework, and in recognition of the importance that Scottish Ministers place on supported businesses, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced by the Scottish Government contains a number of provisions relating to supported businesses. The Act places a statutory obligation on contracting authorities to consider, before starting a procurement competition, how, by the way in which it conducts the procurement process, it might facilitate the involvement of supported businesses, and then to act in a way to best bring that about.
The answer to question S5W-02408 on 20 September 2016 provides further details of relevant provisions contained within the Act. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that public bodies make the maximum possible use of reserved contracts for supported factories and businesses under the Scottish Sustainable Action Plan.
Answer
The Sustainable Procurement Action Plan called on organisations to produce their own, individual, Delivery Plans setting out how, and by when, improvements in sustainable procurement will be made. Since the publication of that Action Plan in 2009, the Scottish Government has introduced the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. The Act places a statutory obligation on contracting authorities to consider, before starting a procurement competition, how, by the way in which it conducts the procurement process, it might facilitate the involvement of supported businesses, and then to act in a way to best bring that about. To support the implementation of the Act, we issued Statutory Guidance, and delivered training that addressed this requirement.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes the Framework for Supported Factories and Businesses.
Answer
The Scottish Government sees its responsibility as promoting contracting with all supported businesses and not just those on the Framework. The Scottish Government has raised awareness across the buying community and will continue to do so. Details of the Framework are publicised on the Scottish Government website. In addition, Public Contracts Scotland has a facility within the portal that automatically alerts buyers when a supported business can fulfil the requirements of their planned contract and has helped buyers identify suitable third sector/supported business organisations.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that public bodies have at least one contract with supported factories and businesses; whether it is aware of any that do not and, if so, which; for what reason and what action it is taking.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold details of all contracts awarded by all public bodies in Scotland. However, since 18 April this year, all public bodies are required to publish a contracts register detailing regulated contract awards. For those bodies that have an annual procurement spend of £5 million or more, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 will require them to publish an annual procurement report, which should contain a summary of any steps taken to facilitate the involvement of supported businesses.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 26 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of objections from over 700 people and the decision of the local planning authority, what its position is on reviewing the decision of its reporter to uphold the appeal to extend the excavation area at Hillend Quarry, Caldercruix.
Answer
In keeping with the majority of planning appeals to Scottish Ministers a reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government was appointed by Ministers to make a delegated decision on their behalf.
Once a reporter issues a decision on an appeal, the decision is final and neither the reporter, nor Scottish Ministers, have any further jurisdiction in the matter, nor do Scottish Ministers have any power to review that decision. Any interested party aggrieved with the decision has a right of appeal to the Court of Session, within
6 weeks of the date of the decision.
The reporter fully considered all of the information submitted by all parties in relation to the proposal, including the appellant's grounds of appeal, the council's reasons for refusal, all letters of representation received from interested parties as well as a visit to the site.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2016
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 26 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government which body would be held liable for any damage to health from air pollution from a project that a local planning committee refused planning permission for but that went ahead following an appeal by the Scottish Ministers’ reporter.
Answer
The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan identifies that aggregates minerals are a significant natural resource and are essential to sustainable economic growth and development of the city region. However the Scottish Government recognises that the operation of quarries can give rise to land use and environmental issues which require to be mitigated and controlled through the planning system.
Operators of sites such as these need to demonstrate that both dust and particle emissions from the site are adequately controlled and are within acceptable limits. In this instance, the DPEA reporter's decision was issued subject to 43 planning conditions. Those planning conditions include the necessary implementation of mitigation measures to prevent dust creation at source, control times of operations, control noise, blasting and restoration of the site and mitigate potential impacts in respect of dust, odour and noise. Those conditions also make it clear to the operator what is expected of them while allowing the outcomes to be monitored by the relevant planning authority. Other sources of dust (and odour) such as rock crushing and the asphalt plant would be regulated by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), who did not object to the proposed development, under separate legislation and monitored by SEPA to meet EU standards of operation whilst setting out conditions the operators must meet.
