 The next item of business is Scottish parliamentary corporate body questions. I would like to get as many people in as possible, so please succinct to questions and answers. Question number one, Mike Rumbles. To ask the Scottish parliamentary corporate body what steps it is taking to ensure that officers receive posts before the start of parliamentary business. I thank the member for the question. His members will appreciate for security reasons that it is important that we screen all mail coming to the Parliament off-site. In 2011 it was agreed that we would no longer pay royal mail for the early extraction of the Parliament's mail and we would bring the sorting in-house. That means that screened mail from royal mail is now delivered to Holyrood around 9.30. Allowing time for our mail team to sort the mail, the first postal delivery is now at 11am. These changes also enabled us to operate one shift instead of two, freeing up a member of staff who was redeployed within the facilities management team. We have no plans to reintroduce an early mail delivery with the significant additional costs that that could involve. Mike Rumbles. The Parliament's postings do a fabulous job and I do not want anyone to think for a moment that my question is a criticism of their work. It is not. Can the corporate body advise that there have been such shift changes that the member has just mentioned? The first post is now much later than before. Only a recent change has not happened a long time ago. Is there no possibility of restoring that earlier post so that we can give a good service to our constituents right from the start of the day? Kezia Dugdale. I appreciate that the member is a keen bean and he wants to get to work as quickly as possible. I would say to him that the cost of returning to the old system would be around £100,000 of additional revenue every year. I would ask him to carefully consider if he thinks that additional time is worth £100,000 over the cost of the Parliament. This is a saving that we have made. We have managed to redeploy staff within the building. It is desperate to see the newspapers, for example, that are available and spiced from 8 in the morning. It does not have to wait until 11 to access them. The corporate body is pretty confident that this is the right and proper thing to do. Annie Wells. To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will carry out a review of the car park booking system. Kezia Dugdale. I thank the member for the question. The car park policy is aimed at maximising the number of spaces available to members on business days and the car park booking system has been in place since we moved to Holyrood. We have reviewed the booking system several times and have found the current process for booking a parking space to be the fairest and most flexible for allocating the limited number of spaces available. We appreciate that technology is continually evolving and we would be happy to look again at other booking options including an online booking system. Annie Wells. I thank the member for her answer. That is exactly what I was going to come to—an online booking system so that MSPs and parliamentary staff can book or cancel bookings outside normal parliamentary working hours. It would also allow you to see spaces as and when they become available. Would that be something that could be looked into? Kezia Dugdale. I would say to the member that we are very keen to look at the option around an online booking system. We have looked at it before. The software does not currently exist for the nature of what we are looking to do, but we will continually review that. The other thing that I would say to members across the chamber is that a lot of people do not know is that they can book spaces on a half-day basis. People automatically think that they might require a full day. There is more flexibility than you might think, but we will continue to review that. Patrick Harvie. I ask the Scottish Parliament corporate body following the installation of new security devices at pass holder entrances. What action is it taking to address queues forming and delays to entry? Jackson Carlaw. My question is obviously a matter of interest to a number of people. We are obviously all aware that during busy periods, mainly between 8.30 and 9.30, and on business days, queues have been forming, particularly outside the Queen'sbury house entrance. There are three reasons driving the delays. The Parliament has experienced a software issue resulting in the entry system occasionally resetting, and that has caused a delay. Engineers are on site this week in implementing an agreed fix. The other causes are the volume of people arriving during peak times and that some pass holders haven't yet perfected their technique and present their pass and finger too quickly to the reader, which means that the pass has to be presented again. To address those issues, we will be reminding all pass users that, alongside the single entry turnstile at Queen'sbury house, there are two turnstiles at Cannongate, which offer direct access into the garden lobby, as we all know. We have security staff on site to offer support and encouraging anyone having issues accessing the Parliament to schedule a follow-up appointment with the pass studio. We are also discussing with the manufacturer of the turnstiles the possibility of changing the exit turnstile at Queen'sbury house. There are two entrants and one exit, but changing the exit turnstile at Queen'sbury house into a bidirectional turnstile, allowing it to be used to alleviate queues during peak times. All that fancy language means that we are still establishing the technical fixed costs and timescales of that initiative. That will be one of those succinct answers. I am going to resist the ample opportunity for NU Endo here. I might be prejudiced on this one. I might be biased on it. My natural instinct is to feel that the expectation of having my fingerprints taken and having to present biometrics to go into my place of work is something out of a dystopian nightmare, but this is more Brazil than 1984. It does not work. It takes ages. I am all in favour of technology if it is going to make things easier, but this is technology that is making getting in and out of the building worse, more difficult and more time consuming. If it does not work, can we just rip it out? I hear Patrick Harvie's difficulties that have been experienced as we facilitate the new system. He will know the problem with the old system, which was just a one-factor identification, was that, quite inappropriately, many people were handing past back their past to allow other people into the building who did not have a past. Obviously, if you think it through, you have presented serious security risks. The two-factor authentication is designed to make access into the building more secure. The biometrics are exclusively contained within the card and not held anywhere else, so there is no breach of personal data that Mr Harvie needs to be concerned about. Yes, it may take some time for us to perfect the system for it to work efficiently, but it is there to ensure that all of the public access points into this building are as secure as they have to be to ensure that we can all operate safely within the building at all other times. Presiding Officer, can I remind the chamber that I convene the cross-party group on credit unions and ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the take-up is of the credit union payroll deduction scheme? Sandra White Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I thank the member for a very interesting question. At the moment, I can answer on behalf of the SPCB, there are currently 35 individuals choosing to make a payroll into the credit union account through the payrolls managed by the SPCB, of those 19 SPCB staff, 10 MSP staff and 6 MSPs. This is out of a total of 1,399 people who are served by our own payroll service. Ruth Maguire I appreciate that answer. The role of credit unions in reducing poverty and the impact of financial worries is well recognised. Everyone will know that the membership is based on a common bond. It seems a wasted opportunity to not offer staff and members the benefit of wage deduction directly to one of their local credit unions. I would, for example, love to be able to offer my own staff or indeed anyone from Ayrshire the opportunity to have deductions made to First Alliance credit union. Would Sandra White MSP meet me and see how we could possibly make this happen for everyone? Sandra White I agree entirely with the member. It is a very important issue for the credit unions and having access to it. The member will be aware that the SPCB does advertise the credit union, which we facilitate at the moment. However, I think that what she has raised today is an excellent idea. I cannot give an answer today, obviously, on my own behalf, but if the member is content, I will take it forward to the next SPCB meeting and discuss it there. I am more than happy to meet the member and discuss it also. Christine Grahame Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Parliament corporate body how it will mark the contribution to the Parliament of staff past and present who were here in 1999. Liam McArthur I thank Christine Grahame for a question. In our 20th anniversary year, the corporate body wishes to express our thanks to those staff past and present who helped to establish the Parliament in 1999. Christine Grahame might be interested to know that there are around 80 members of the current parliamentary service staff group who joined before the first election in May 1999 and a total of around 120 who started at some point during that year. The corporate body values the contribution made by all staff and contractors in the Parliament from all parts of the organisation and regardless as to how long they have worked here. Throughout 2019, the in-house newsletter staff will be reflecting on their time at the Parliament and this is an opportunity for those who joined in 1999 to share their memories from that year and their reflections on how the Parliament has evolved over the past two decades. Christine Grahame I thank the member for his response. I associate myself with his remarks congratulating the staff past and present. Here is my B plan. If we are to have a modest 20th birthday bash, that if we are going to ask former MSPs can we also ask former members of staff to attend as this Parliament very much operates as a team? Liam McArthur I reciprocate by echoing the sentiments expressed by Ms Grahame as she will know that our intention is for the Parliament to celebrate its 20th anniversary at an event on 29 June. All members of staff past and present will be encouraged to attend that event when further announcements are to be made later in the spring. I understand that the chief executive of St Paul Grace will be writing out to current staff and past staff to that effect. 6. John Mason Thank you to ask the Scottish Parliament corporate body whether it is possible to vary contracts of employment for MSP staff in order to give flexibility to suit local circumstances. Andy Wightman I thank Mr Mason for that question. The SPCB recognises, as I am sure the member does, that members are the employers of their own staff. To help members to fulfil their role as employers, the corporate body has provided a minimum set of terms and conditions on which members' staff should be employed and provided members ensure that their staff are employed on terms and conditions that are no less favourable than the minimum set by the corporate body. They are free to vary those terms as they see fit as long as they do so within the capped staff cost provision. John Mason I thank the member for that answer. However, without again to all the details, I am currently trying to get a contract adjusted for a new member of staff. I have asked for five changes in the standard contract. Human resources are resisting on two of them. It seems to me that, as we go through year by year, there is less and less flexibility, there is more and more rigidity, and I would just like an assurance from the corporate body that they will maximise the amount of flexibility that staff and MSPs have. Andy Wightman I thank John Mason for those further remarks. As I indicated earlier, it is for members to determine the terms and conditions on which their staff are employed and provided that they are no less advantageous than the minimum set by the corporate body. Obviously, we are not in a position to discuss the particular details of Mr Mason's member of staff. If he wishes to raise it with any of us, I would be happy to discuss what particular issues he is having and to find out whether, in fact, those are issues pertaining to the standard terms and conditions in which members' staff are expected to be employed. I am not aware that the conditions have become tighter over the past few years, but, if Mr Mason wants to present evidence to that regard, we can have a look again at that question and make sure that members have the flexibility that we all expect to be able to employ staff on terms and conditions in which they meet their circumstances. Question 7, Alexander Stewart. Alexander Stewart To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide an update on the on-going issues with the car park barrier system. Kezia Dugdale The car park barrier system was installed in 2007. In January this year, we experienced a series of component failures, which led to the car park barrier system being out of service for 10 days. Following those component failures, a comprehensive root cause analysis of the equipment and the controls was carried out by the manufacturers, and measures have been put in place to prevent a similar incident happening again. Alex Stewart Thank you for that response. When the barrier is at fault, we find that the staff have to be outside and deployed in all weathers, and surely this poses a greater risk to the building, because the barrier is down. Can I ask what further measures can be put in place to ensure that the risks to the staff in the building are not secure? Kezia Dugdale To the member, there is no increased security risk when the barrier is out of service, because we have the roller shutters before we go down into the car park entrance. A due share is concerns about asking security staff to be out in the cold elements, and that is why we try to avoid them having to do that as regularly as possible. The barrier system is not out of service as often as he might think it is. There are three scheduled periods in any given year for scheduled maintenance and beyond that. There were seven incidents across the whole of 2018 when it was out of order, but many of the issues behind that have been resolved now and we look forward to a more positive future in that regard. Tom Arthur Thank you, Presiding Office, to ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it supports staff who are carers. Kezia Dugdale The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body recognises that many staff face significant caring responsibilities and is committed to helping them to balance their home and work life. We appreciate the demands that that may place on staff and at times it may be difficult for them to combine their work and caring responsibilities. As an employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive working environment where carers feel valued and supported. To help us to meet that commitment, we have put in place a range of support options for carers, including access to carer friendly policies and working practices, which offer staff the flexibility and support to manage their time when care at home is needed. Tom Arthur I thank the member for that answer. He will be aware of the carer positive initiative, which recognises employers who promote carer friendly policies in the workplace. The Scottish Parliament, of course, is a carer positive employer, however it is currently at the entry level that is engaged. Can Kezia Dugdale outline how the SPCB sees the Scottish Parliament moving and progressing to become an established and eventually exemplary carer positive employer? Kezia Dugdale I thank the member for that follow-up. We are indeed a carer positive employer, and the SPCB continues to demonstrate its commitment to staff with caring responsibilities and, more widely, to support staff to lead independent, healthy and active lives. Can I reassure Tom Arthur that we are committed to achieving the highest level in the award scheme in becoming the exemplary carer positive employer by 2020? That means providing exemplary support to carers by enhancing our workplace policies. Our carer staff network, which is led by carers in the building, will have a key role in helping us to achieve the highest possible standard. That concludes the SPCB questions, and we will move on to the next item of business. Can I remind all members at this point that this question slot is considered the same as portfolio questions? Should anyone come into the chamber to ask a question or attempt to ask a question, they should stay for the full session.