Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has no plans to commission an independent report to determine whether blacklist is continuing in the construction sector. The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee is currently carrying out an inquiry. The findings of this inquiry, which the chairman said is to determine the scale of the problem and what is being done to eradicate it, will facilitate further areas of investigation.

Companies which are awarded public contracts are expected to maintain high standards of business and professional conduct. Companies’ suitability and their compliance with all relevant legal obligations are considered on a case by case basis prior to the award of every high value public contract.

We do not hold this information. The ICO assumed control of the Consulting Association’s database and are operating a telephone service for people to check whether information about them was held on it. This service is being run until related employment tribunal hearings are concluded. At that stage the ICO will decide whether to continue the service.

The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into the use of blacklists and the findings from this will facilitate further areas of investigation.

Whilst the Scottish Government has not had discussions with employers and/or trade unions about the use of blacklists in the construction sector, we are totally opposed to blacklisting or the compiling of a blacklist on such a basis. We welcome the current inquiry into blacklisting by the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee and the investigation carried out by the Information Commissioners Officer (ICO) into the Consulting Association. We also commend subsequent actions taken by the ICO, including assuming control of the company’s database.

A number of companies that have been awarded contracts by the Scottish Government and its agencies since 2007 have been named by the ICO as companies which subscribed to the Consulting Association. The Scottish Government is totally opposed to blacklisting or the compiling of a blacklist. We have no evidence that blacklisting has been used in connection with the performance of any contracts awarded by the Scottish Government or its agencies. Companies which are awarded public contracts are expected to maintain high standards of business and professional conduct. Companies' suitability and their compliance with all relevant legal obligations are considered on a case by case basis prior to the award of every high value public contract.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) published details of construction companies which subscribed to the Consulting Association. This list can be found at the ICO website. The ICO assumed control of the Consulting Association’s database and are operating a telephone service for people to check whether information about them was held on it.

The Scottish Government is aware of the investigation carried out by the Information Commissioner’s Office into practices of the Consulting Association which has now ceased trading, and the subsequent penalty imposed on them for a breach of the Data Protection Act in 2009. Companies which are awarded public contracts are expected to maintain high standards of business and professional conduct. Companies' suitability and their compliance with all relevant legal obligations are considered on a case by case basis prior to the award of every high value public contract.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10877 on 18 December 2012. Information is not held centrally on the award and value of subcontracts awarded to companies named by the Information Commissioner’s Office as companies which subscribed to the Consulting Association.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has no plans to look into the past activities of the Consulting Association and their impact on employment in Scotland. The company has already been the subject of a successful investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office resulting in a penalty being imposed for a breach of the Data Protection Act.