Measuring levels of e-commerce uptake by Scottish businesses is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. The results of the 2001 e-business benchmarking report, which includes figures for connectivity, can be found on:http://www.ecommerce-scotland.org/internationalbenchmarking/.

This responsibility is clearly one which is shared between the Executive, other public bodies such as Scottish Enterprise, and employers. The Executive is also working with the UK Government to publicise changes introduced by the Home Office from October 2001 which will make it easier for international students completing degrees in the UK to move from student status to employed status.

The Information Technology, Communications and Electronics implementation group, which is sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills, last met in July 2001.

Scottish Development International, which is a joint venture between the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise offers a broad range of services to companies and organisations in this field to help them enter new markets and to further develop existing markets. This includes establishing focus groups to discuss issues and requirements for assistance as well as making full use of Scottish Development International's network of offices overseas and the Commercial Departments of British Embassies around the world. In the delivery of these activities Scottish Development International works closely with Scottish Enterprise's E-Business Group.

The Scottish further and higher education funding councils are responsible for ensuring further and higher education institutions invest appropriately in staff training and development. Both councils have distributed significant funding to institutions for investment in information and communications technology (ICT).In further education, specific funding is being allocated for staff development in ICT skills. Examples of how this is being used include the promotion of the European Computer Driving Licence and of developments to support teaching and learning and also for non-teaching staff, to ensure that colleges can make full use of ICT support services such as guidance, careers, library and other student services.In higher education, significant project funding has been provided to institutions to promote more effective use of ICT in staff development throughout the sector.

The information requested is not held centrally. I have asked the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and Future Skills Scotland to discuss whether reliable data can be collected on this issue.

The Scottish Executive provides guidance to the Scottish further and higher education funding councils on strategic priorities for the further and higher education sectors, including the development of specific student skills. The Scottish Executive is making available to the funding councils £15 million over a three-year period to promote information and communication technology (ICT) pervasiveness in the further and higher education sectors and to ensure use of these technologies in the management, research, teaching and learning activities of all institutions. This funding will help to promote a range of developments to improve the ICT learning environment for students throughout the further and higher education sectors. The funding councils will commission regular updates from institutions to monitor progress towards achieving the objectives set out in the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.

The Scottish Executive has taken every appropriate opportunity to work with the private sector in delivering projects, including involving the 21st Century Government Reference Group and the wider private sector in discussions about the development of various projects for the second phase of the Modernising Government Fund. Details of those partners already involved in Modernising Government Fund projects can be found on the internet at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/government/c21g/fund.asp.

The Scottish Executive working with COSLA has established the Central Local 21st Century Government Forum to promote the sharing of good practice and exchange of information with local authorities.The Executive has also provided funding to COSLA to develop a website that will help to promote this activity. The Scottish Executive website also contains details of all of the Modernising Government funded projects that are under way in local authorities; including local authorities working together with both public and private sector partners. Councils are invited and encouraged to submit suitable content and information to the Scottish Executive and to COSLA to help maintain both websites.In addition, a Newsletter is published by the Executive highlighting the projects and promoting the sharing and exchange of information relating to the electronic service delivery being promoted via these projects. The Executive website also contains information and links via the E-Envoys office to other UK and international initiatives.

The public internet access points initiative was announced as a part of the Executive's Digital Inclusion Strategy (published September 2001). It will create over 1,000 new public internet access points in a wide range of different types of venue. We expect the first of the new public internet access points to be created in the spring of this year.