Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for Scottish Public Pensions Agency: FOI release

Information requested

Home Office guidance issued in 2024 recommended that all employers conduct right to work checks on suppliers of contractors/staff.

1. What protocols does your organisation have in place with contractors, of any service, to ensure that right to work checks have been conducted?

2. How many contractors/staff did your organisation use from suppliers in the calendar year 2024 and how many right to work checks did your organisation conduct?

3. The number of instances in which your organisation identified that a supplier had not conducted appropriate right to work checks, for the years 2021 - 2024. A breakdown of the measures taken (suspension of contract, refusal to engage in business, sanction).

Response

1. The Scottish Government has robust protocols in place to ensure that all individuals working within or on behalf of the organisation, including contractors, have undergone appropriate Right to Work checks.

These protocols are embedded within the broader security clearance process, specifically the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), which is the minimum level of clearance required for access to Scottish Government sites and information systems, including the SCOTS network.

BPSS Verification Includes:

• Identity
• Employment history
• Unspent criminal record
• Nationality and immigration status (Right to Work)

BPSS for Non-Employees (e.g. Interim Workers, Contractors, and On-Site Service Providers):

The SG Operational Security (Op Sec) team is responsible for ensuring BPSS clearance for all nongovernment personnel, including agency (interim) workers and individuals working on-site through thirdparty contracts (e.g. cleaning staff).

Recruitment agencies may also conduct BPSS checks on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Clearance of these checks must be confirmed to SPPA before any individual begins work.

Suppliers and Individual Contractors via Procurement:

In line with Scottish Government procurement policy, suppliers and individual contractors engaged through a procurement process to deliver services are not required to demonstrate their Right to Work status directly to SPPA or the Scottish Government.

2. SPPA does not check right to work, we check that individuals hold BPSS which is a pre-requisite for commencing employment.

3. SPPA is not aware of any instances where it has been identified that a supplier had not conducted appropriate right to work checks, for the years 2021 - 2024.

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