Scottish National Investment Bank: consultation paper

7. Transition Planning and the Bank’s operational costs and arrangements

"The Bank must be able to attract the right expertise into its management and delivery teams, given it will be competing for specialist staff with the private sector"

7.1 The Government accepts the recommendation that the Bank should be able to offer employment and remuneration terms which are sufficiently competitive to attract suitably skilled and experienced people. The Bank will need to recruit a range of staff with a variety of skill sets. The Bank's employment terms and conditions must assist, and not hinder the Bank in what it is intended to deliver.

7.2 A major element of the Bank's costs will be staffing. The Evidence Paper which supported the Implementation Plan set out analysis which concluded that the Bank would require between 100-150 staff and that the annual cost of operating the Bank would be between £20 million and £30 million. It also contained initial thoughts on the target operating model and structure, which will be further developed prior to introduction of the Bill, and refined during 2019. The Scottish Government considers £30 million to be at the top end of the Bank's anticipated operating costs and expects the eventual model to be below this.

7.3 The presumption is that the Bank, like most other public bodies, will be subject to Public Sector Pay Policy. It will be expected to pay the lowest remunerated staff at least the real Living Wage (sometimes referred to as the Scottish Living Wage) which equates to a full time salary of £16,900 per annum in 2018/19.

7.4 The required skillsets for the Bank, however, are not always going to be available in the public sector. Terms and conditions for some staff in the Bank may need to more closely reflect market rates and benefits in the financial services sector The business needs of the Bank need to be balanced against a wider perspective on remuneration within public bodies. The appropriate approach to senior pay and remuneration for specialist posts will be subject to further evaluation of the options and implications for Public Sector Pay Policy.

Question 14:

Do you have views on the initial operating model and costs identified in the Implementation Plan and what are these?

Question 15:

Do you have views on any criteria for the approach to remuneration for senior and specialist roles in the Bank?

Question 16:

Do you have views on areas where the current approach to public sector pay would suit the needs of the Bank, and are there other examples of variations in public pay policy that would be suitable for the Bank and any areas where some changes may be needed?