The Scottish Programme for Government 2021/22

Her Majesty the Queen opened the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament on 03 October 2021. Of course, this opens up the conversation on the difference between a Parliament and a Government:??

The Parliament is where the legislative decisions are discussed and made.? They are involved in the decision-making.? The directly-elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are comprised of all parties, not just the party that is in Government.

The Government is formed by the largest party that wins the election.? In the Scottish National Party’s (SNP’s) case, they do not hold a majority but still chose to form the Government, comprising the First Minister (above), 9 Cabinet Secretaries and 17 Ministers who are responsible for running the country.

On 20 August 2021, the SNP and the Scottish Greens, announced a ‘confidence and supply’ co-operation agreement between the two parties.? Essentially, this is an agreement where a party (the Greens) agree to support the party that is in power (the SNP) meaning that a majority is achieved in some areas – whilst agreeing to disagree in other areas.

In this regard, it is interesting to have a brief look at the political make-up of the Scottish Government since the first Elections in 1999:

• 06 May 1999 - Scottish Labour (in coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats)
• 01 May 2003 - Scottish Labour (in coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats)
• 03 May 2007 - Scottish National Party (in a ‘working agreement’ with the Scottish Greens)
• 05 May 2011 - Scottish National Party majority Government
• 05 May 2016 - Scottish National Party minority Government
• 06 May 2021 - Scottish National Party minority Government (plus Scottish Greens co-operation agreement)

The co-operation agreement saw 2 Green MSPs enter Government for the first time (Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater).

On 01 September 2021, the SNP Scottish Government published details of the agreement in a document entitled ‘Cooperation Agreement Between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group’.? There are 9 pages that detail the areas where the Greens have said that they will work with the Scottish Government, ensuring that a majority is gained in the Scottish Parliament.? In brief, these are:

• Involving and delivering their shared green agendas as per the ‘Working together to build a greener, fairer, independent Scotland’ document (section B)
• Commitment to a ‘no surprises’ approach to Parliamentary business (Section C) which involves things such as early sight of proposals
• Agree to disagree on certain areas (Sections D, F and the Annex)
• The Scottish Greens will support the SNP Government in votes of confidence and supply voted when it comes to matters relating to the Scottish Budget and on Scottish Rate Resolutions (Section G).? This is an important one for professionals as we know that the draft Budget will actually get through the Parliamentary debates
• The intention is that the co-operation agreement will last for the duration of the Parliamentary term, however, Section J allows for this to be ended earlier

Scotland’s annual Programme for Government was published on 07 September 2021 and details the actions the Government will take in the coming year and beyond.? Entitled ‘A fairer, greener Scotland’, the below points are worth noting for payroll and reward professionals:

Note that Scotland has its own social security department (Social Security Scotland), however, this does not replace or override anything to do with National Insurance Contributions and Universal Credit which apply the same UK-wide.? Social Security Scotland looks after the social security powers that were devolved to the Scottish Parliament, allowing Ministers to develop new policies on benefits that will help tackle inequality and poverty in Scotland.

However, we do need to keep an eye on these ‘further devolved benefits’ and powers in the event that they do impact payroll and reward professionals in the future.

I think that we also need to look at the extent of the Scottish Languages Bill over the course of the Parliament, as this seeks to support the use of Gaelic and the Scots language.? This must only apply to public sector but does bring the prospect of Gaelic language payslip descriptions, just as there is this consideration in Welsh public sector.

Later in 2021, the Scottish Government will consult on the current operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty which may introduce new duties on ‘relevant’ public bodies to develop accessible and inclusive communications and expand existing duties to include reporting on disability and ethnicity pay gaps.?

In 2019, the independent Just Transition Commission (JTC) was set-up to provide advice on the transition to net zero (carbon emissions).? In its final advice in 2021 was the recommendation that ‘public sector pension funds and business support funding must be directed towards ensuring companies align with the just transition to net-zero’.? Look out for a consultation in this regard.

Also look out for legislation that will ban ‘the single-use plastic items most commonly found littered on European beaches’.

Regarding training and upskilling (through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) and Individual Training Accounts (ITAs)), look out for the Government’s evaluation of these programmes and the on-going support of the National Transition Training Fund (NTTF).

Further:

• Continuation and increased investment in the Young Person’s Guarantee, connecting young people (16 – 24) with employers
• The intention to ‘secure a referendum on Scottish independence’ within the current Parliamentary term
• More job opportunities within the Scottish Government set aside specifically for veterans, though I cannot see a definition of ‘veteran’
• The requirement on organisations in receipt of public sector grants to pay at least the real Living Wage to all employees and allow such employees to have ‘effective workers’ voice, such as trade union recognition’
• Building the case for the complete devolution of employment rights.?This will be one to watch, as most of what we do in payroll and reward is derived from employment legislation
• A ￡10 million fund to support pilots of a 4-day working week.?Again, this must be within the public sector

Part of this section talks of reforms to the judicial system, something that is devolved to Scotland.?

Whilst it is not mentioned specifically, payroll, reward and software developer professionals need to look out for the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 which will apply from April 2022.? Amongst others, this piece of legislation will determine the sum to be deducted from earnings subject to a Current Maintenance Arrestment or Conjoined Arrestment Order.

Towards the end of the document is this section which, unashamedly, talks of how devolution is good for Scotland and something that the people voted for in 1997.? Yet, they did not vote for EU Exit which they say ‘has triggered an assault on devolution not previously seen’.?

This is another reference to the fact that the Scottish Government (the SNP) and their co-operation agreement partners (the Greens) will work towards ‘a legitimate and constitutional referendum’ within this Parliamentary session.

Note that the co-operation agreement is not a coalition.? The minority SNP-led Scottish Government describes this as ‘a process of close cooperation and collaboration with another parliamentary group in a way that has never been done before in Scottish politics’.??

Anything that is promised has to be paid for and Scotland want full control over how they raise this money.?T herefore, overall, we need to watch for the ‘a substantial increase in the fiscal power of the Scottish Parliament’, including:

This will be an interesting Parliamentary term.? Given that there is a Scottish nationalist majority and a co-operation agreement gives certainty, which is welcome as regards things like the Budget.?

However, there is also the potential for uncertainty, not least the shadows of an independence referendum and the devolution of employment rights, VAT, Income Tax and NICs.? It is this part that interests me the most.? An independent Scotland would obtain these increased powers by default as a result of independence.?

I wonder, though, if the UK Government would offer these devolved powers as a ‘sweetener’ to the Scottish electorate to remain part of the United Kingdom.?

All very exciting…