Chamber and committees

On 28 June 2016, the Scottish Parliament agreed by an overwhelming majority that the Scottish Government should engage with European Governments and institutions in order to raise awareness of how Scotland voted in the EU referendum and the steps being taken to protect Scotland's relationship with the EU.

In response to that mandate, Scottish Ministers have engaged with European Governments through a mix of incoming visits, overseas visits and engagement with London-based Embassies.

Details of Ministerial engagements with EU Member States and European institutions undertaken between June and November 2016 were provided in a letter dated 5 December 2016 and addressed to the convener of the Scottish Parliament's European and External Relations Committee. Please see

http://www.parliament.scot/S5_European/General%20Documents/CTEER_Fiona_Hyslop_to_Convener_2016.12.05.pdf

A full list of all Ministerial engagements as well as information on the relative costs is periodically and proactively published on the Scottish Government website at: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/?publicationTypes=transparency_data.

Scotland’s islands are a key draw to tourists, with their varied and evocative landscapes and rich cultures and traditions. Recognising this, VisitScotland continues to promote the islands, through marketing campaigns, social media, trade and press familiarisation trips and through its iCentres and VisitScotland Information Partner programme arrangements with local businesses and community groups.

The recent claim is based on an opinion rather than an official credit rating. There has been no official update to the May 2014 report issued by the rating agency Moody’s which concluded that an independent Scotland would hold an investment grade rating.

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Final costs for the visit are not yet available. They will be proactively published on the Scottish Government's website.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all of Scotland have the opportunity and ability to access the benefits that the digital world brings. In the last ten years the percentage of Scottish Households who have internet access has increased from 58% to 80%, with significant progress being highlighted amongst poorer communities.

We have developed a cross sector movement of change which includes commercial organisations, Social Landlords and Voluntary organisations working in partnership to help reach those individuals who are not experiencing the benefits that the internet brings. These organisations, along with our vital network of Digital Champions who offer help, encouragement and support to empower people in our marginalised communities to engage with the digital movement.

Most Libraries and Public Buildings in Scotland can now offer free Wi-Fi to members of the public. In addition there are community hubs where citizens are offered training and support to grow their online skills in a safe friendly environment, for example the Wheatley Group “Click and Connect” project which has 68 hubs throughout Scotland. Wider hubs include local food-banks, community centres and local coding clubs, who are often supported through volunteers linked to the SCVO One Digital project, and inter-generational work through schools and youth clubs.

Addressing social isolation and loneliness is key to improving wellbeing and supporting people to participate in their community. That is why we created a £500,000 Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund (2016-17) to support 36 community-based projects tackling social isolation and its impact. We have also supported projects that tackle these issues through our Equality Budget (£20.3m) and Empowering Communities Fund (£20m).

On 19 April 2017 we hosted wide range of stakeholders as part of our collaborative work to develop and shape a National Strategy to reduce social isolation and loneliness and encourage increased social engagement. We plan to bring forward a consultation on the development of a National Strategy in the summer.

I have been informed by the Electoral Commission that there was no cost in creating the Snapchat geofilter, other than staff time.

There was on-going engagement with stakeholders throughout the development of the draft Climate Change Plan, culminating in a major cross-sector stakeholder engagement event on 8 December 2016.

CodeClan has received over £2 million in public sector support to date, to help offset its start-up and initial operating costs.

There is no evidence that elections in Scotland have been subject to outside interference, either by electronic or other means.

The security of elections is a matter for returning officers and electoral registration officers in consultation with Police Scotland. There are regular meetings between Electoral Administrators, the Electoral Commission and Police Scotland where any threats to the integrity of elections are discussed.

Cyber-security advice for political parties and individual candidates at elections is available from a number of sources, including the National Cyber Security Centre, which was established earlier this year to offer expert, trusted and independent guidance on cyber-security to UK industry, government departments, the critical national infrastructure and private SMEs.