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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-16798

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff each of its (a) directorates and (b) agencies has procured through external recruitment companies, also broken down by (i) what proportion were hired on (A) employment agency and (B) temporary contracts and (ii) the total value of their salaries

The Scottish Government does not use the services of external recruitment companies for vacancies at bands A-C bands - administrative through to management posts. These companies are however sometimes used at Senior Civil Service level.

In the last 5 years the Scottish Government has recruited six Senior Civil Servants to core SG Directorates and SG Agencies through the use of executive search by external recruitment companies. Of those one was recruited on a fixed term contract. The total value of their salaries on appointment was just over £608k.

One person at Senior Civil Service level has been engaged by a core Directorate through an employment agency under the Scottish Government’s Temporary and Interim Staff Services framework agreement. Costs are not being disclosed because this is regarded as personal information relating to an individual.

Tables have been supplied to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre which provide figures for Agency and temporary workers, salary costs broken down by Directorates and Agencies. Bib number 59782.

Question reference: S5W-16803

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much each of its (a) directorates and (b) agencies has spent on external recruitment agencies in each month since April 2017.

Question reference: S5W-16804

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many advertisements have been placed with external recruitment companies by each of its (a) directorates and (b) agencies in each month since April 2017, and how many staff were hired as a result of each.

Question reference: S5W-16801

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of staffing costs in each of its (a) directorates and (b) agencies is spent on (i) recruiting and (ii) hiring (A) temporary, (B) seconded and (C) employment agency staff.

Question reference: S5W-16799

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff there are in each of its (a) directorates and (b) agencies, also broken down by their total value of salaries.

Question reference: S5W-16847

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 30 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16547 by Angela Constance on 22 May 2018, whether the service will be contracted through Social Security Scotland or another part of the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S5O-02148

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has committed to transport infrastructure in the Central Scotland region.

Question reference: S5W-16576

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15241 by Jeane Freeman on 27 March 2018, when it will publish the final business case for the social security agency, including the preferred option for assessments.

The full business case for Social Security Scotland will be prepared as the agency approaches steady state and the actual costs of all of its commitments are known. This includes the commitment on the preferred option for assessments, a decision on which will be confirmed in due course. The outline business case for the agency was informed by the existing expenditure by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including expenditure on the DWP assessments process.

Question reference: S5W-16547

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government who the point of contact will be for its financial health check service.

Question reference: S5W-16530

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the delivery of its financial health check service.

We commissioned Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) to run a pilot Financial Health Check service for older people throughout November 2017. Fourteen bureaux took part across Scotland and undertook a range of different activities to attract interest in and then deliver the Financial Health Check over the month-long period. The evaluation of the pilots carried out by CAS showed a good level of financial gain for many older people who used the service.

Further, our Every Child, Every Chance: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan contains a specific commitment to launch a Financial Health Check Guarantee for low income families with children. This programme will begin rollout in 2018, based on learning from the CAS evaluation.