Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he is taking steps to ensure that staff in his Department who are under investigation for alleged misconduct are not named before those allegations are proven.

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers and whose HR Policies apply.

Both Ministry of Justice and Scottish Government policies follow the Civil Service HR’s wider model discipline policy, which makes it clear that disciplinary matters are strictly confidential. Confidentiality applies to everyone involved in the matter and is equally important after the matter has concluded.