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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-17529

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 25 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is has provided additional resources to any contractor providing it with services for the purpose of ensuring that staff employed on such contracts are paid the Scottish Living Wage and, if so, whether it will provide details of each such contract in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government addresses the payment of the real Living Wage in all relevant contacts by having regard to the Statutory Guidance on Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage, in Procurement. Where a Fair Work criterion is included in a procurement process, a bidder’s proposed package of Fair Work practices are evaluated alongside other relevant criterion by balancing the cost and quality elements the overall bid. It is not possible to identify the cost associated with any individual element of a bidders overall bid.

The Scottish Government can confirm that a recent trawl has shown that the real Living Wage is paid to workers engaged in the delivery of 94% of Scottish Government contracts.

Prior to the introduction of the Statutory Guidance, which applies to contracts that commence on or after 1 November 2015, in 2014 one contract with MITIE Technical Facilities Management Services Ltd was renegotiated within the permitted limits of the procurement regulations to ensure all contracted staff working on the Scottish Government estate are paid the real Living Wage. The Scottish Government and MITIE agreed an approach to share the associated costs. The additional sums paid are detailed in the following table.

MITIE Technical Facilities Management Services Ltd Facilities Management Contract
Contract Period	Additional Resources Funded Directly by Scottish Government
2014-15 From 1 December 2014*	£129,548
2015-16	£416,152
2016-17	£528,539
2017-18	£565,631
2018-19 to End June*	£149,333

* N.B. Part year figure

Question reference: S5W-17530

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Sandra White on 23 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it is has provided additional resources to any contractor providing services to the Parliament for the purpose of ensuring that staff employed on such contracts are paid the Scottish Living Wage and, if so, whether it will provide details of each such contract in each of the last five years.

Since 1st January 2015 contractor staff employed exclusively and directly to work at the Scottish Parliament have been paid at least the Scottish living wage.

An estimate of the cost of meeting this commitment is provided below:

Contract	2014/15*	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18
Catering Services	£2.7k	£10.8k	£29.7k	£35.2k
Cleaning Services	£1.9k	£7.7k	£13.3k	**
Support Services (portering)	Nil	Nil	£330	£1.1k

* Costs for the 3-month period 1^st January to 31 March 2015

** The new cleaning contract was awarded in September 2016 and costs associated with payment of the Scottish Living Wage was included in the tender price.

The above figures are based on standard working time and show the difference in each year of paying the Scottish Living Wage, against the labour costs that would have been otherwise incurred. This includes costs associated with wages, employer’s National Insurance contributions, sick pay and holiday pay.

Bidders’ approach to fair work practices, including payment of the living wage is now evaluated during the tender process in relevant contracts. Any cost related to fair work practice commitments by bidders would be reflected in the overall bid price and not identified separately.

Question reference: S5O-02272

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Local Government and Housing last met East Dunbartonshire Council and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S5O-02265

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent violent crime in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire.

Question reference: S5W-16884

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether any of the contractors or sub-contractors involved in the construction of the A737 Dalry Bypass are participating in or have previously participated in the blacklisting of workers.

Prior to being permitted to be on a tender list, for a Transport Scotland contract, all applicants must first declare if they have been involved in blacklisting. Farrans Roadbridge (FRBJV), the contractor for the A737 Dalry Bypass, has confirmed that they have not at any stage previously, nor will they at any time during the period of the A737 Dalry Bypass Contract engage or participate in blacklisting activities in the employment of workers, whether this be directly employed labour or through any FRBJV engaged sub contractors. As such, FRBJV has signed a declaration to Transport Scotland stating this to be the case.

Question reference: S5W-16885

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether umbrella companies have been utilising a "margin charge" on workers' payslips during construction of the A737 Dalry Bypass, as has reportedly been the case in other Scottish Government infrastructure projects.

Farrans Roadbridge (FRBJV), the contractor for the A737 Dalry Bypass, has confirmed that "margin charges" on workers' payslips are not deducted during construction of the project. FRBJV has further advised that they will not tolerate such activities on their projects. On the A737 Dalry Bypass, FRBJV employ direct labour, sub-contracted labour and at times task specific agency labour all of which they ensure operate within their ethical business and fair work policy and approved and accepted payment guidelines.

Question reference: S5W-16886

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland's investigation into the use of "margin charges" will (a) cover all public infrastructure contracts, including the A737 Dalry Bypass, and (b) include other malpractices such as blacklisting.

Question reference: S5O-02156

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its Consultation on Free Bus Travel for Older and Disabled People and Modern Apprentices, which closed in November 2017.

Question reference: S5W-16807

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 30 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescales are for the full implementation of the forthcoming Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018.

The intention is to implement the Bill as soon as practicable in order that those who wish to exercise their legal rights in Scotland's courts may benefit from more predictable costs in civil actions, increased funding options and a greater level of equality in the funding relationship between claimants and defenders in personal injury actions.

As with all complex legislation, however, implementation will be staggered over a period of time, beginning with the commencement of some provisions of the Bill in the latter part of this year, following Royal Assent. Other provisions will require to be supplemented by rules of court which will be brought forward by the Scottish Civil Justice Council before they can be commenced. This is particularly the case in relation to Part 4 of the Bill on group proceedings.

As with the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, full implementation is therefore likely to take place over a number of years, subject to appropriate transitional provisions.

Question reference: S5O-02126

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Peel Ports to discuss the future of Inchgreen Drydock, and what other issues were discussed.

Peel Ports is a commercial company and the Scottish Government has no direct locus in business decisions made by the company on how to best utilise its resources.

However, the Peel Ports CEO of Peel Ports, Mark Whitworth, has written to me this week outlining the importance of the dry dock at Inchgreen and their plans to attract contracts and work that will utilise this facility. This includes the potential to generate investment and new jobs in Inverclyde should they be successful in attracting new contracts. Mr Whitworth has offered to meet to discuss this issue as well as other investment Peel Ports plan for its Scottish operations.