Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has accepted the Panel’s recommendation and agrees it is essential that we consider the impact of policy and regulation on investment and investor sentiment. The New Deal for Business is improving how policy makers consider the regulatory impact of new policies on business and investors through an updated impact assessment. This will include early engagement with the investment community on policy proposals.

The Scottish Government has established the Graduate Apprenticeship Enhancement Group. It held its first meeting in April and met again in May. Membership includes Universities Scotland, Colleges Scotland, representatives from universities and colleges, Scottish Funding Council, Skills Development Scotland, Student Awards Agency for Scotland and members of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board. Former and current Graduate Apprentices will also be invited to join the group. The Group is developing the workstreams which will support its work.

The Scottish Government accepted the Investor Panel's recommendations and published its initial response alongside the Panel’s recommendations in November 2023. Officials have since been working with key partners to progress the development of a properly costed, shaped and prioritised pipeline of projects. The Scottish Government has committed to publishing an update on progress and the development of an investment pipeline will form a key part of this.

We are working with key partners to identify and quantify the resources currently focused on attracting mobile capital investment at scale. As part of a wider update on the implementation of the investor panel recommendations, we expect to be able to report initial findings, alongside the initial steps we can take to better define roles and responsibilities across the public sector.

The number of Apprenticeship providers by year are as follows:

Based on data provided by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) (academic years 2017-2023) and Skills Development Scotland (2020-2023), the number of employers supported in each year since the start of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) is set out below. Please note that the SFC element of the 2022-23 figure is based on interim data which will be finalised in the coming months.

a) A formal staff consultation was not triggered prior to the announcement as there are no compulsory redundancies.

Staff are VisitScotland's priority, and they are engaging with them to discuss their options such as re-skilling, redeployment and voluntary redundancy.

VisitScotland have established a staff engagement programme, which involves every iCentre and allows for both collective and individual engagement and representation throughout the change programme.

b) VisitScotland consulted with Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union prior to the announcement and continue to work with them during the on-going change programme.

VisitScotland’s Strategic Change Programme seeks to ensure that they continue to make the biggest possible positive impact on the visitor economy.

As part of VisitScotland's Strategic Change Programme, a detailed review has considered their role in information provision. VisitScotland's future information strategy is based on research including trends and data that show how visitors plan their trips. As part of the review process, VisitScotland also took into account data related to their iCentre network.

The following key research sources were utilised:

• VisitScotland insight data over a number of years as published in their annual reports: Our Annual Performance Report | VisitScotland.org
• VisitBritain: MIDAS - Full Research Report - Dec 2022
• Expedia: Expedia Group's Path to Purchase Study on Traveler Behaviors: Key Findings and Methodology
• TripAdvisor: E conomicPortraitofTraveler2023

In addition to the above, VisitScotland drew upon the professional knowledge and experience of their staff.

VisitScotland has taken the decision to close its iCentre network by March 2026 in response to reduced footfall and demand for information, with data showing that the majority of visitors to Scotland access information ahead of travelling to the country. As this was an operational decision for VisitScotland, the Scottish Government did not conduct an impact assessment.

However, data indicates that the previous phase of iCentre closures in 2018-2019 did not negatively impact the visitor economy. Since 2019, the number of overseas visitors to Scotland has increased by 14%, with the number of tourism businesses increasing by 6%.

VisitScotland continues to support the growth of the visitor economy in every region of Scotland through its marketing activity, support for events, destination development and free-to-access business advice and support programme.

The project agreement for the RIE was signed in 1998 between NHSL and Consort Healthcare. Consort are responsible for the provision of facilities management and lifecycle maintenance works until the end of the Primary Period in December 2027. The Secondary Period begins automatically following the end of the Primary Period, the exact arrangements for the secondary period, which include the possibility of terminating the agreement, will be determined by the ongoing discussions and decisions taken by NHS Lothian and Consort Healthcare, which have not yet concluded.