Concordat between the Cabinet Office and the Scottish Administration
Part 3 – Other Cabinet Office Issues
Best Practice in Public Service
23. The Cabinet Office has a central role in researching and establishing
best practice in the conduct of government business and the delivery of
public services. It also provides guidance for UK departments (and the NDPBs which they sponsor) on the
discharge of many of their individual responsibilities. Both parties
recognise the advantages which accrue from mutual exchange of best practice
in areas of common interest. To this end, the Cabinet Office will continue
to make its research and guidance available to the Scottish Executive on
request. The Scottish Administration will contribute to the cost of any
external research in which it has expressed an interest on the same basis
as UK departments.
Regulatory Impact
24. The Cabinet Office has a central role in identifying and promoting
regulatory good practice, and associated guidance, training and reporting
in UK departments. In Scotland this is a devolved matter, and the Scottish
Executive is accountable to the Scottish Parliament for how it regulates
and makes available information about new regulations with an impact on
business and others. The Cabinet Office and the Scottish Administration
agree that there is advantage in working together to identify good
regulatory practice and to share experience of arrangements which are clear
and user-friendly to business, consumers and citizens.
Charter Mark
25. The Charter Mark award
scheme [External website] will continue as a
UK-wide scheme. The Cabinet Office will liaise closely with the Scottish
Administration as with UK departments over the running of the scheme, in
particular on issues concerning funding and eligibility. The Scottish
Administration will continue to assist in the vetting of potential winners
and in the promotion of the scheme. Any proposals affecting UK coverage of
the scheme should be discussed at least one year in advance of their
proposed introduction.
International co-operation on Public Service and other
issues
26. The Cabinet Office retains overall responsibility for the formulation
of UK policy on EU public service
and regulatory impact initiatives. It also represents the UK at the OECD[External website] and in other international fora concerned
with public service policy and the modernisation of government, and
co-ordinates the progress reports and other action required under the
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
and following on from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
However, the Cabinet Office will seek fully to involve the Scottish
Administration where appropriate. In particular, the Cabinet Office will
inform the Scottish Administration of all new policy initiatives touching
on devolved matters originating from the European Union or other
international fora as soon as possible after it becomes aware of them, and
provide timely access to all necessary information to enable agreement to
be reached between the two administrations in accordance with the
Memorandum of Understanding, the Concordat on Co-ordination of European
Union Policy Issues, and the Concordat on International Relations. The
Cabinet Office also retains a central policy interest in the principles
governing transposition of EU Directives into UK law. It will consult the
Scottish Administration when producing guidance on this issue.
Protective Security
27. The Cabinet Office has a central role in developing protective security
policy and promulgating guidance which applies to all UK Government
departments and agencies, UK Government contractors, and others who have
access to sensitive UK Government assets. The Scottish Administration will
base its own protective security régime on this guidance, and the Cabinet
Office will consult the Scottish Administration on any changes it proposes
to make.
Cabinet Office Services
28. The Scottish Administration has access to the services listed in Annex D provided by the Cabinet
Office, its Agencies and the Central Office of Information, on the same
basis as UK departments.
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