Chamber and committees

Thank you very much for that opening statement. In a relatively short statement, you mentioned on three occasions that the lessons that have been learned have been put into practice. The committee and I are well aware that we are in the middle of a process, but what specific lessons have been learned so far?

Throughout the process, what steps have been taken to ensure that the procedure is lawful and conforms to natural justice?

If a minister had concerns about an individual member of staff, how would they be progressed?

According to the draft procedure,

“For complaints which are not upheld, this could include actions to resolve remaining issues informally or other management actions.”

What sort of actions would be contemplated?

Thank you for that clarification. Are the definitions of bullying and harassment that are detailed in the ministerial code and for staff who work with ministers clearly explained to ministers and civil servants, and will they be updated as the procedures develop?

Why did you decide on six months instead of three months or a year, for example? Is there a specific reason?

One issue that has not come up at the meeting but is in the implementation plan and is important is the information management review and the need to improve the quality of digital storage and retrieval processes. That is perhaps not the most exciting issue that has been raised but it is critical. The Government’s response has five bullet points that list the steps that should be taken on it. Will you talk to us about the philosophy behind why that is important to the process?

Good morning, and welcome to the third meeting in 2022 of the Finance and Public Administration Committee. This morning, we will take evidence from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery on progress in delivering the actions in the Scottish Government’s implementation plan from June 2021, which is part of its response to the findings of three recent harassment investigations, and an updated complaints procedure for handling formal complaints by civil servants regarding the behaviour of a minister or former minister.

The Deputy First Minister is accompanied, from the Scottish Government, by Lesley Fraser, director general corporate; and Ian Mitchell, deputy director for propriety and ethics.

Today’s scrutiny falls within the public administration element of the committee’s remit. The evidence session will therefore focus on the lessons that have been learned, the actions that have been taken and the progress that has been made by the Scottish Government in response to the findings of the three investigations that concluded last year, rather than on revisiting the events that led up to them. We have about 90 minutes for the discussion.

I welcome the Deputy First Minister and his officials to the meeting. I thank him for advance sight of his opening statement, and I ask him to put those remarks on the record.

I have a final question before I bring in colleagues around the table. You wish to have the process in place—more or less, but not fully—by the end of this year. Why will it take such a long time? I realise that culture might not change, but surely processes can change a bit more quickly than that.

The schematic diagram to which you referred says that, for example, building

“complaint investigation capability, to ensure confidence of those participating”

and

“Staff training on grievance policy and best practice refresh”

will not be achieved until December this year, so there are still a number of steps to be taken. There are other issues to be addressed beyond December, such as a

“Review of the processes in use, including Propriety & Ethics”.

Do you envisage that the process will not end as such and that it will be about continuous development?