The Permanent Secretary explained the decision taken by the Scottish Government to concede the Judicial Review, taken due to an issue with the application of one paragraph in the process.

The trade unions welcomed the Permanent Secretary’s commitment to an internal review of that specific element and the Permanent Secretary welcomed the offer of trade union involvement in that review.

The unions representing staff at the Scottish Government re-iterated their pride in the role they played in negotiating a procedure by which members can raise concerns about the conduct of ministers and other politicians (current and past) that is unique to Scotland.

The unions believe the procedure makes the Scottish Government a safer and fairer place to work and is fair, robust and accessible.

Any members who feel that they have an issue which requires investigation should continue to use the procedure to take forward a complaint, and expect that the Scottish Government will handle their complaint properly. Please also continue to contact your union about such matters as we are there to assist.

Richard Hardy, Prospect national secretary for Scotland said on behalf of Prospect: “We’re grateful to the Permanent Secretary for taking the time to brief us, and the full and frank discussion that we had.

"We want to reassure our members who may be worried about using the current procedure that we believe it remains an appropriate way of ensuring the Scottish Government is a safe and dignified place to work.”