Armed with exam success or improvements to be made, Scotland’s school pupils have returned to school to begin the new year.

Assessment and evaluation remain critical components of measuring success, determining whether something is working and whether, in the case of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First evaluation, further support should be given to the project.

The resounding evidence in this case is yes, but in our name and on standards that befit Scotland’s workforce, not those of the Scottish Government.

For the uninitiated, Fair Work First is the Scottish Government’s flagship policy for promoting high-quality, fair work and greater workforce diversity across our labour market. It does this by applying specific Fair Work First criteria to grants, other public funding and public contracts to encourage employers to provide fair working conditions and practices.

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Roughly translated, that means, or should mean, that every time one pound of public money is awarded to organisations and employers, it should be granted strictly on the basis that they adhere to Fair Work conditions, namely paying at least the real Living Wage, ensuring effective worker voice, avoiding zero-hours contracts and investing in the workforce, among other measures.

The evaluation of the policy found that the introduction of conditionality in public grants and changes to procurement policy had contributed to strengthening employers’ commitments to Fair Work.

However, like other Scottish........

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