Parliament Workbench
Data: Official Report to 12 Nov 2026

Official Report · Committee

Current Petitions

Employment Opportunities for Disabled People (Public Procurement) (PE1036) Employment Opportunities for Disabled People (Home Working) (PE1069)

Tuesday 15 April 2008 Public Petitions Committee Petitions 13 contributions · 4 speakers

Speakers

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The record

13 contributions
Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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We link petitions as much as we can do. If members are unhappy about that, they can say so. PE1036 was brought by John Moist on behalf of the Remploy consortium of trade unions and calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government, in partnership with Remploy and other sheltered workshop employers, to promote employment opportunities for disabled people by reserving local authority and/or Government contracts for supported businesses, as permitted by article 19 of the European Union directive on public procurement.PE1069 was brought by Clive McGrory and calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to encourage employers to provide home working opportunities for people with disabilities that prevent them from accessing the workplace. Do members have comments on how to deal with the petitions?

Nanette Milne Con North East Scotland
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On PE1069, the issue is how to get the message to business that people with disabilities want employment at home. We all know that able-bodied people work from home, but people with disabilities also want such opportunities. Is it worth approaching the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland or the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, which have a handle on business and might disseminate information among their members?

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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That is a reasonable suggestion.

Nanette Milne Con North East Scotland
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We could approach Scottish Enterprise, too.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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Okay. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth gave evidence to the Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee. It would be helpful to get a summary of the key points on how the Government is encouraging access to employment for people with disabilities and ensuring that people who perhaps struggle to get out of the house but can still work have opportunities for employment at home.

John Wilson SNP Central Scotland
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It might be worth while contacting the National Group on Homeworking to find out about some of the issues that arise from home working. In a previous existence, I dealt with concerns that arose because of the way in which employers treated individuals who worked from home. We need to safeguard those individuals' rights. Three or four years ago, several high-profile cases arose in which people who were working from home were regarded by employers as low-cost employment. Those people were not guaranteed their right to the national minimum wage and other conditions. It would be useful to contact the National Group on Homeworking to find out whether it has concerns over the proposals. The group produces useful information for people who undertake home working to ensure that they are guaranteed their rights. If we move down the road that is suggested, there is a danger that rights may be eroded by certain unscrupulous employers.

Nanette Milne Con North East Scotland
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An issue arises with supported employment, too. The situation in Aberdeen, where the former Blindcraft organisation could be under threat, has been all over the press, although I know that that is not mentioned in the petitions. A lot of work is being done to ensure that the organisation does not close. A suggestion has been made—I have approached the Government about it—that it might be better if some supported employment organisations were brought under an umbrella organisation, to allow them to cut administrative costs by having central procurement and administration personnel. That would allow the organisations to work as individual units, but more efficiently than they can at present, given that they have to look after all aspects of the business. I have been trying to explore the idea and I wonder whether it would be worth while for the committee to emphasise it.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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I am happy to take on those points.

John Wilson SNP Central Scotland
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I want to raise a concern about Nanette Milne's suggestion. Some organisations such as Remploy and the Blindcraft organisations—particularly Blindcraft in Glasgow—have taken and continue to take different approaches to how they recruit people. An issue might arise if we tried to get those organisations to work together to cut administrative costs, as they have different philosophies and outlooks in relation to whom they work with and why they work with those groups. Remploy is a UK-wide organisation, whereas the Blindcraft organisations are usually local authority based. Blindcraft in Glasgow does a lot of good work—not just with people who have a visual impairment, which is what the name suggests, but with individuals with various disabilities. It takes a different approach to its work from that taken by similar organisations. I would be concerned if we suggested that those organisations should be brought together under one umbrella, because there are different philosophies and outlooks and different approaches to how the organisations treat individuals with disabilities.

Nanette Milne Con North East Scotland
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I was not necessarily suggesting that we should do that; I was purely wondering whether the idea was worth exploring to see what response we would get.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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We will handle the idea with care.

Rhoda Grant Lab Highlands and Islands
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I will try to be helpful. Nanette Milne seemed to moving towards the idea of having a system in which companies that offer supported employment are assisted in bidding for Government contracts. I understand John Wilson's point—indeed, many of the companies employ folk in their administrative back-up services who need assistance, too. Perhaps we need an advisory group that helps those companies to bid for Government contracts.Can we ask the Government about its meeting with supported employment businesses? Many of the action points arising from that meeting were about setting up various projects. We should ask for an update on progress on the action points and what results have been achieved.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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That is helpful. Do members accept those comments and recommendations?Members indicated agreement.

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