Skip to main content

Language: English / Gàidhlig

Loading…

Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Criathragan Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 23 November 2024
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 575 contributions

|

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Fair Work Convention

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

You suggested a number of action points for the Scottish Government, including on having clear targets for 2025, on drawing lessons from other countries that are doing well, on effectiveness of fair work first, on childcare policy support and all the rest of it. What was the response from the Scottish Government and what progress has been made over the past year?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Fair Work Convention

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

Other indicators that you wanted action on include investment in active labour market policies, more conditionality in relation to zero-hours contracts, the gender pay gap, collective bargaining and so on. How much are the Scottish Government’s hands tied by the fact that employment law is reserved?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Fair Work Convention

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

Good morning. I want to ask a couple of questions, first about the heat map that you produced.

Helen Martin mentioned that, of the fair work 45 indicators, 19 had improved and 10 had worsened. In the eight comparable countries, was there similar movement in the number of improvements and worsening positions, or were their indicators pretty stable? Were there any underlying common reasons for any movement?

10:30  

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Fair Work Convention

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

Exactly.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Fair Work Convention

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

You do not have the trends for the comparable countries.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Fair Work Convention

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

Okay. That is interesting, though, and might make my second question a bit awkward.

On the heat map you indicate Scotland’s positive performance in three areas. It is in second place for lower youth employment rate, second place for respect for workers in work ill-health, and first place for higher levels of permanent employment. Why is Scotland doing so well in those areas but not in others?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Interests

Meeting date: 1 October 2024

Gordon MacDonald

The only interest that I have to declare is that my wife is a district nurse with NHS Lothian.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Gordon MacDonald

Al Denholm, you have spoken a lot about many of the projects being multiyear. If you are to honour the commitments that you have given to those companies for their investment profile, what impact will that have on new projects and on the leverage that you have to get private capital to invest in a project?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Gordon MacDonald

Absolutely.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Gordon MacDonald

I will ask a similar question of Al Denholm. You said earlier that your investment income exceeded operational expenses by roughly £3 million. You had a big loss from Circularity Scotland, however, and we know the reasons for that. How would you be able to cope with losses such as that in the future and has your risk appetite changed in any way?