BIS Ministers have not had any discussions with Scottish Ministers on the practice of blacklisting in public sector procurement contracts. However, the Minister of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs at the time, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff Central (Jenny Willott), did write to Ian Davidson, Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, earlier in the year commenting on their second interim report 'Blacklisting in Employment: addressing the crimes of the past'.

The proposed review will be a UK-wide review of workforce relations in critical industrial sectors. The intention is to have a balanced review involving a range of stakeholders, including employers and employee representatives. The full details of the review will be announced in due course, once they have been finalised.

Any form of blacklisting is illegal.

With regards to the health and safety of offshore workers, the Government provides health and safety legislation and employment legislation as a framework for employers to operate in.

Employees are entitled by law to refuse to undertake work that is not safe without fear of disciplinary action.

Employers have a duty of care to their employees, requiring them to take all steps reasonably possible to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing.

It is for employers to ensure they are acting within the law and for the regulators and employment tribunal to determine if the employer has broken the law.

Blacklisting is an appalling practice and that is why we brought in the Blacklists Regulations in 2010 to make certain that it is illegal. Any business, whether it works on public contracts or not, should comply with the law of the land. We expect them not to break data protection law, trade union law or the Blacklists Regulations when planning or undertaking work for the public sector or anywhere else.

Since the Opposition debate on blacklisting on 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 330, no evidence has been presented to Government to show that blacklisting of trade unionists is ongoing. There have been a lot of accusations, but we have not yet received any evidence that blacklisting continues. We continue to urge anyone who has such information to get in touch with the appropriate authorities.

Similarly I am not aware of any evidence that the Blacklists Regulations are not doing their job.

In line with well-established policy, when they came into force in 2010, the Blacklists Regulations were not retrospective and were not intended to be. Where it has

been proven that construction companies have previously used the Consulting Association blacklist, they need to ensure that employees and investors can have confidence in their current practices.

More generally, public sector procurers are required to comply with EU treaty principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination when awarding public contracts. In addition, contracts over certain thresholds (around £4.3 million for works contracts) are subject to detailed rules set out in EU directives and implemented by the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, which set out in detail how the contract must be conducted.

Under EU procurement rules, public procurers must also exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts when they have been convicted of certain offences including conspiracy, corruption, bribery and fraud.

Where a supplier or other interested party finds an instance of what they believe to be poor procurement practice, they can raise it with the Cabinet Office's Mystery Shopper Service.

Full details of the scheme can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mystery-shopper-scope-and-remit

The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is continuing its own investigation into blacklisting and Government will be looking carefully at their final report as well as any other evidence submitted. Where there is evidence that blacklisting is currently being used in any sector of the economy, the appropriate authorities will be asked to carry out a full and thorough investigation.

We are also aware that there are some ongoing cases currently before the courts, and will be interested to see the outcome of these.

There have been two discussions with individuals or organisations about blacklisting of construction workers (we have assumed that the reference to individuals means members of the public).

I had a telephone conversation with the Information Commissioner in January 2013 about progress being made to contact individuals on the Consulting Association's blacklist.

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), met the Information Commissioner on 2 April 2013. At this meeting, the Information Commissioner provided an update on progress made to contact individuals named on the Consulting Association's blacklist. The Information Commissioner also reassured the Secretary of State that he would investigate thoroughly any evidence that blacklisting is ongoing, using the additional powers of enforcement he has been given since 2010. To date, we have received no evidence that blacklisting is ongoing, though Ministers are keen to encourage individuals to come forward with any new evidence.

Blacklisting is an abhorrent practice. That is why, in response to the findings of the investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into the Consulting Association, and subsequent consultation, the Government legislated in 2010 to prohibit the use of blacklists. The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 make it unlawful, subject to certain exemptions, to compile, use, sell or supply 'prohibited lists', ie a blacklist. Individuals who believe they are being excluded from employment because of a blacklist should seek redress in county courts in England and Wales, or Court of Session in Scotland. Other rights under the regulations can be enforced in employment tribunals.

The creation, supply or use of a blacklist is also likely to amount to a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 as information about the individual's membership of a trade union is sensitive personal data. The Information Commissioner has the power, increased in 2010, to impose fines, up to £500,000 for serious breaches, on data controllers who unlawfully process data. This can include not only the individual or company that created the blacklist, but any employer or agency using it for employment vetting.

It is also unlawful under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 to refuse to employ a person because they are a member or not a member of a trade union, or because they refuse to join or leave a trade union. It is equally unlawful for an agency to refuse employment services on those grounds. An individual can bring an employment tribunal claim within three months of the offence taking place, or longer if the tribunal decides it was not reasonably practicable to bring the claim in time.

To date, we have received no evidence that blacklisting is ongoing, though Ministers are keen to encourage individuals to come forward with any new evidence. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), met the Information Commissioner on 2 April 2013 to discuss how any new evidence would be handled.

Blacklisting is an abhorrent practice. That is why, in response to the findings of the investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into the Consulting Association, the Government legislated in 2010 to prohibit the use of blacklists. Under the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, individuals who believe they are being excluded from employment because of a blacklist should seek redress in the county courts in England and Wales, or Court of Session in Scotland. Other rights under these Regulations and other legislation, such as the right not to be refused employment because of trade union membership, can be enforced in employment tribunals.

For individuals who were blacklisted prior to 2010, their remedies lie under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992. We understand that some complaints by workers listed by the Consulting Association have already been made to employment tribunals. Actions were also taken using protections under the Data Protection Act 1998, although these have now, to all intents and purposes, been exhausted with regard to the Consulting Association. Individuals who have been blacklisted by the Consulting Association may also seek redress in the Courts: there is for example an ongoing class action against a number of construction employers.

There have been no discussions as yet. A meeting has been arranged for 2 April to discuss how best to handle any evidence of any ongoing blacklisting that emerges.

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has made clear that where there is new evidence that blacklisting is currently being used in any sector of the economy, the appropriate authorities will be asked to carry out a full and thorough investigation.

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 make it unlawful for an individual or organisation to compile, sell or make use of a blacklist.

Although correspondence has been received, no new evidence and no representations have been made to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that demonstrate workers have been blacklisted on the named projects.

Employees in the UK are protected against blacklisting by the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010. The Regulations allow them to bring a case to a civil court or an employment tribunal if they suspect that they have been denied employment, suffered detriment or been unfairly dismissed as a result of the use of an illegal blacklist.

As there is no evidence that the practice of blacklisting of trade union members is a widespread problem, the Government do not believe that there is a need for further steps at this time.