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Written Question
Scotland Office: Health and Safety
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

Yes; all buildings and workplaces that staff from the Scotland Office occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on infected blood compensation payments.

Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The Government is committed to working with the Devolved Governments, where appropriate, to explore what options are available to develop an effective response to the inquiry's recommendations that delivers across the UK.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Conditions of Employment
Monday 6th February 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers. Staff working in the Scotland Office adhere to the HR policies of their parent department.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
Friday 3rd February 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps their Department takes to comply with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; and if they will make a statement.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

The Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government meet regularly with their recognised Trade Unions and present and share a range of information and data where it is appropriate and in line with privacy statements. This helps inform decision-making through formal negotiation and meaningful consultation and engagement.

In doing so, the employing departments are complying with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

In addition, there is a range of HR information which is published on GOV.UK and is therefore publicly available.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Holiday Leave
Monday 30th January 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department has notified staff to (a) tell or (b) remind them that they can sell annual leave in the last four months.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

All staff have easy access to all HR policies and guidance through their employing departments’ intranet. This includes departmental policies and guidance on managing annual leave.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Equality
Friday 27th January 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking to ensure his Department complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code; and whether that monitoring data gathered is shared with union representatives.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office is aware of, and complies with, its obligations under the Civil Service Management Code. As the Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly, detailed monitoring data is held by the employing departments.

There is a range of HR information which is published on GOV.UK and is therefore publicly available. In addition, the employing departments share routine human resources information with their recognised trade unions as part of their normal engagement.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Minimum Wage
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of employees in their Department are paid at the rate of the National Minimum Wage.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

However, all staff working in the Scotland Office are paid at a rate higher than the rate of the National Minimum Wage.

This Government is committed to paying people a decent living wage, which is being addressed through the statutory National Living Wage. In April 2022, the Government increased the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour. This will rise to £10.42 an hour from 1 April 2023, an increase of 9.7%.

By 2024, the Government has committed that the National Living Wage will reach 66% of median UK earnings.

The Government will always award contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer.

Departments must ensure that they apply the legislative increase to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Trade Unions
Wednesday 25th January 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what human resources information their Department shares with trade unions on a regular basis.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government.

There is a range of HR information which is published on GOV.UK and is therefore publicly available. In addition, the employing departments share routine human resources information with their recognised trade unions as part of their normal engagement.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Pay
Monday 20th January 2020

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department is compliant with the requirement in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies; principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain the employers.

As such, the requirement in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements, is a matter for the parent employers to consider.


Written Question
Scotland Office: Trade Unions
Monday 20th January 2020

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation has affected the right of recognised unions in her Department to bargaining information in relation to section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies; principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain the employers.

As such, it would be a matter for the employing departments to consider whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation has affected the right of recognised unions to bargaining information in relation to section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.