Chamber and committees

(a) The DigitalBoost programme was a national programme of digital engagement and business support funded via the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership and delivered by Scotland's Enterprise Agencies and Business Gateway in partnership. The Scottish Government has committed to continuation of the programme into 2017-18 with support to be delivered nationally and targeted to the digital skills needs of SMEs in each region.

(b) The Digital Economy Business Survey (DEBS) which provides the data for the Digital Economy Maturity Index (DEMI) will be carried out this summer, with the DEBS 2017 report due to publish by the end of the year. The survey has been updated to take account of the numerous digital advances which have taken place since the original survey in 2014. However to ensure robust comparison with the 2014 results, the questions in the survey which provide the DEMI indicators have not been changed to ensure a consistent approach to measuring digital maturity. A Scotland wide approach has been taken to gathering the data via the survey, with an additional target for businesses in rural Scotland particularly the South of Scotland to help support the South of Scotland enterprise vehicle, once established, to respond to the needs of businesses in that the area.

(c) The Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership has provided almost £500k over the past year to fund a Cyber Resilience support programme delivered via Scotland's Enterprise agencies which included a Cyber Resilience Voucher. 200 targeted companies received up to £1,500 to earn Cyber Essentials accreditation, the GCHQ endorsed training course. Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies and business support organisations already promote cyber essentials as the recommended baseline level of cyber resilience and will continue to do so, we are working closely with the National Cyber Resilience Leaders’ Board and other key partners to develop plans to promote even greater uptake of Cyber Essentials accreditation across Scotland’s public, private and third sectors.

(d) There are clear connections between Scotland’s Digital Strategy and the work being taken forward by Scotland’s Creative Industries Partnership. The digital and creative sectors are naturally aligned, that’s why the Scottish Government are working to ensure that activities in the creative sector are closely aligned with the actions in the digital strategy, particularly with regards to skills, in order to effectively support the development of Scotland’s creative industries.

The Scottish Government are committed to supporting the growing digital sector and wider economy to enable them to grasp the opportunities that technologies present. As set out in the refreshed Digital Strategy ‘Realising Scotland’s Potential in a Digital World’ published in March, the Scottish Government are supporting a variety of projects, programmes and funds to:

• Align the education and skills pipeline with employer needs as set out in the ICT Skills Investment Plan; projects are governed via the Scottish Government’s digital skills public/private partnership;

• Support the wider economy to develop their digital capabilities through training programmes like ‘DigitalBoost’ delivered by Business Gateway; and through up-skilling and reskilling the current workforce via the recently announced £36m Digital Growth Fund; and

• Address the immediate technical digital skills needs of the Digital Technologies sector, through initiatives such as the Digital Skills Academy, CodeClan.

Recent independent research published by Skills Development Scotland “Scotland’s Digital Technologies: Summary Report” notes there are 12,000 opportunities every year which employers are currently struggling to fill; this is of course, an increasingly difficult task due to the implications of the outcome of the UK Government’s referendum to leave the EU and the impact this is already having on the sector's ability to attract and retain talent.

Whilst the introduction of new air routes at Scotland's airports is primarily the responsibility of the airports, the Scottish Government and its agencies work closely with the airports to maximise route development opportunities. In the pursuit of routes which are important for enhancing Scotland's economy by providing improved business connectivity and increased inbound tourism, the Scottish Government works with the airports and interested airlines to provide detailed information on route potential and on Scotland as an attractive destination. The Scottish Government also works with airlines in providing cooperative marketing packages which help to market an air service in the initial years, which are crucial for the longer-term sustainability of the service.

This assistance from the Scottish Government has helped Scotland's airports secure prestigious new services in recent years such as Edinburgh's services to the Middle East and Glasgow's services to North America.

Our plans for Air Departure Tax (ADT), which we intend to introduce in April 2018, are designed to further improve the competitiveness of Scotland's aviation sector. We are committed to reducing ADT by 50% over the course of the current Scottish Parliament and abolishing the tax when public finances permit us to do so.

The Scottish Expert Advisory Panel on the Collaborative Economy, chaired by Helen Goulden, Executive Director of Nesta, met for this first time in May 2017. Membership was drawn from and representative of those with knowledge and expertise of the benefits and challenges of the collaborative economy, including from those with experience in regulation, industry, competition law, Global/EU awareness of the sector and economics. A range of organisations are represented on the panel full details can be found here.

The manufacturing action plan is based on a commitment to raising productivity through increased investment and innovation and a long-term partnership between government, industry, our Enterprise Agencies and other key stakeholders.

Key actions to date include:

Nine proposals for manufacturing have reached the final stage of evaluation to receive funding from the new £18m Circular Economy Investment Fund established by Zero Waste Scotland.

On 19 June 2017, the First Minister announced the funding of £8.9m for the new Lightweight Manufacturing Centre – a significant first step towards realising the plan’s commitment to establish a new joint Centre for Manufacturing Excellence and Skills Academy, and a National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland.

Over 125 business leaders have taken part in workshops to strengthen ambition and increase understanding of the latest available technology.

Scottish Enterprise has introduced a new Workplace Innovation service to provide support for firms to increase workplace innovation.

The Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) held a major conference in September 2016 attended by c.400 manufacturing leaders.

In summer 2016, Scottish Enterprise launched a new Capital Asset Review service delivered by SMAS. Over 100 reviews have already been carried out to support manufacturers to develop future proofing investment plans.

18 case studies on Digital World and 200 manufacturing related job profiles and case studies have been added to “My World of Work” site to improve awareness of careers in manufacturing and a major refresh of skills investment plans is underway led by Skills Development Scotland.

A number of Industry Leadership Groups have refreshed their sector strategies with an increased emphasis on investing in capabilities which will enhance manufacturing competitiveness going forward.

It would be inappropriate for Ministers to comment in detail on individual patient care or on individual tragic deaths. However we would expect NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to implement any appropriate safety improvements which might be required in light of these tragic deaths.

The Suicide Review Community of Practice http://www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/suicidereviews.aspx (hosted by NHS Education for Scotland in liaison with Healthcare Improvement Scotland) provides very useful guidance for mental health services staff on the process of suicide reviews, with a view to helping improve safety and driving service improvements.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland is piloting an improvement programme supporting the development of practice of mental health observation within six pilot sites across Scotland. This includes NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The pilot aims to improve observation practice through therapeutic engagement with suicidal, violent or vulnerable patients, to prevent them from harming themselves or others at times of high risk during their recovery. Revised guidance on this is to be published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in late 2017.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland is also available to provide tailored support, guidance and advice to NHS boards and services by request, or in response to identifying improvement needs - through external quality assurance processes. Requests can be made by emailing the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Suicide Review team on [email protected].

The Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/cmhs/research/centreforsuicideprevention/nci/ also provides evidence-based recommendations on improving safety in mental health services.

In 2010 we introduced legislation to reduce the maximum class size in P1 to its lowest ever level of 25, and we have committed £88 million to local authorities to maintain pupil-teacher ratios.

Our investment in teacher numbers will allow local authorities to take flexible decisions about how best to meet the needs of their schools. Had we not taken action to maintain teacher numbers, the number of teachers in our schools could have fallen further, resulting in larger classes with much higher pupil teacher ratios.

Scottish Government is working not only with Ayrshire and Arran, but with all NHS boards to review the circumstances that led to the attack, the multi-agency responses and steps that should be taken to enhance future resilience.