Hansard

Since I spoke to the committee in June, there have been significant developments in relocation and in the committee. Today is the last time this session that I will report to the committee on relocation.I will start by reflecting on the context of the report. The Executive's relocation policy was inaugurated in 1999 by the then First Minister, Donald Dewar, who spelt out the new Executive's aim of dispersing Government jobs as part of our wider aims to create a more accessible, open and responsive Government and to share throughout Scotland the benefits and opportunities that such jobs bring.Our policy has had an important influence on those around us, in Ireland, Wales and the rest of the UK. The policy took effect soon after the announcement was made and, to date, we have reviewed 3,855 jobs, relocated 2,834 outside Edinburgh and decided on the proposed location of a further 1,001. That is no mean achievement, which is truly spreading the benefits of devolution throughout Scotland.We have also worked hard, with the help of your committee, on the development of the policy. Key milestones have included the inception of an additional strand of the policy—the small units initiative—in 2002; a renewal of our commitment to Government job dispersal in the partnership agreement of 2003; and, quite important, the Finance Committee inquiry in 2004 that identified a number of key issues that were also touched on by Audit Scotland in its recent report.We also published the relocation guide in June 2005. The guide was approved by the committee and by the civil service unions. It sets out a standard and agreed methodology for the application of the policy. We have come a long way in the past seven years and I think that we have made significant progress.The Audit Scotland report into relocation, which was published on 21 September and which considers 12 case-study relocations, thus comes at an apposite time. The Executive welcomes the report. It provides further useful analysis of the policy, sets out recommendations for the future of the policy, recognises the progress that has been made since 1999 and echoes the previous findings of this committee. We have taken on board the recommendations of the report and I will be happy to take your comments on the issue shortly. As the convener has pointed out, the Audit Committee will meet next week and in early January to consider the report.I previously promised the committee that we would publish an evaluation into the relocation policy. The document that you have in front of you is the draft of that report, pending comments from the committee. As we promised, we have completed a three-strand evaluation: it looks into the effect on organisations, including the effect on costs; the effect on the receiving community; and an international comparison of relocation policies and practices in other Administrations.The evaluation was an internal evaluation by the relocation policy team, but it drew on existing independent research evidence and conclusions. As the report notes, expert opinion suggests that it is not possible to assess the full impact of relocations until at least five years after an organisation has moved. In no instance do we yet have such data as the relocations in question are more recent. Bearing that caveat in mind, we have nevertheless attempted to draw out the main impacts that can be discerned to date. I would be happy to take your questions on those impacts.In addition to enabling us to acquire a better understanding of the relocations to date, the evaluation process has also brought a number of lessons to our attention. We must consider those lessons further in our future work.We have continued to make progress on relocation reviews in recent months. Since I last reported to the committee, ministers have decided that Caledonian MacBrayne's asset-owning company—or vesco—should be located in Port Glasgow. The first staff have now moved into their temporary accommodation.As we announced on 24 November, we have decided that it is not appropriate to take a decision at this time on the relocation of Registers of Scotland. Registers of Scotland is implementing a large change programme that is scheduled to achieve significant efficiencies. It is important that relocation should be managed within that context. We have therefore asked Registers of Scotland to report back to us within the next year to advise on how relocation can be integrated into the change programme. Our decision on Registers of Scotland is consistent with previous decisions not to proceed immediately with location options until the relevant body's wider organisational needs and circumstances are clearer. Our decision should not be seen as any weakening of our commitment to relocation policy and to the benefits of sharing public sector employment opportunities across Scotland, particularly in areas with social and economic needs. I confirm today that we have five location reviews in progress. They are for the new police complaints commissioner for Scotland; the Scottish legal complaints commission; creative Scotland, which will draw together the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen; the Scottish charity appeals panel; and the new co-operative development agency, which we announced last year. Together, the reviews are considering the location of a further 200 public sector posts. As with previous reviews, our final decisions will take account of the business needs of each organisation, the potential socioeconomic benefits for the areas receiving posts and our wider commitments to efficient government and value-for-money considerations.The committee has previously requested that I give an update on progress attracting United Kingdom relocations to Scotland as well as information on our own relocation reviews. In October, we organised for the office of Government commerce's programme manager with responsibility for UK relocations to come to Scotland to hold a seminar for local authorities and enterprise companies to explain the UK policy and to explain what localities can do to advance their case for some of the jobs that are being relocated to Scotland. We continue to further our links with the UK and to ensure that we are raising the profile of the benefits of operating in Scotland.We have much to be proud of, but we are not complacent; there is obviously still more to be done. I would be happy to take questions on any of the issues that I have mentioned.