Chamber and committees

Scotland’s economy has remained resilient over the past year, growing by 0.4% in 2016. This is despite the continued challenges posed by the slowdown in the oil and gas sector and the uncertainty created by the EU referendum result. There is a clear consensus among forecasters that leaving the European Union will damage the UK economy. The Fraser of Allander Institute confirms the risks Brexit poses to Scotland’s economy, predicting that after ten years, GDP could be over 5% (£8 billion in 2015-16 terms) lower after leaving the EU than would otherwise be the case.

The Scottish Government continue to take action to support the Scottish economy, in keeping with the Programme for Government, and informed by the priorities set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy.

We are taking forward our Infrastructure Investment Plan, with projects valued at more than £6.4 billion currently in construction or estimated to be in construction during 2017. We are also supporting significant investment in digital infrastructure and affordable housing and are taking action to encourage business investment, including through progressing with the Scottish Growth Scheme. We are supporting innovation through our plan to invest more than £1 billion in our universities in
2017-18, and through our Innovation Centres. A Board of Trade has been established, as part of our actions to boost Scotland’s trade, exports and international connections. We are undertaking a range of actions to support small businesses, including through our package of business rates support. We are also supporting the oil and gas sector, including through the Energy Jobs Taskforce and the Transition Training Fund.

We’re equipping our young people for the future by increasing the number of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities to 30,000 per year by 2020, and by taking steps to introduce a Job Grant to support young people aged 16-24 who have been out of work for six months or more.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08935 on 8 May 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government is committed, alongside public, private and third sector partners, to realise the potential of our people and see Scotland become a world-leading entrepreneurial nation through the Scotland CAN DO approach.

Through our enterprise agencies we are ensuring that ambitious businesses are offered the right support at the right time to deliver upon their potential including a range of support to innovation in producing processes and services.

Complementing this overarching support, specific support schemes for low carbon projects include:

The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) focuses on supporting the acceleration of low carbon infrastructure projects across the public, private and community sectors to develop investment grade business cases to help projects secure public and private capital finance.

The LCITP Innovative Local Energy Systems Call was launched on 21 March 2017. This Call is designed to support and accelerate the development and delivery of innovative, local low carbon energy opportunities across Scotland

The Knowledge Exchange Network, funded by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and ETP Member Universities, catalyses and accelerates Knowledge Exchange activity between academia and industry, increasing innovation and advancing the development of the low carbon economy in Scotland.

The draft Energy Strategy consultation, launched on 24 January, asks key questions around support for Scottish companies and research institutions, at the forefront of innovation, from the Scottish Government and it’s enterprise agencies. Responses to the consultation are welcome by 30 May 2017. The consultation can be accessed via the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/01/3414

The Resource Efficient Scotland programme, funded by the Scottish Government, offers free, specialist advice and support to businesses to implement energy, resource and water efficiency measures that will reduce carbon emissions and translate to cost savings.

Loans of up to £100,000 are available to Scottish businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisations through the Resource Efficient Scotland SME loans scheme. The scheme provides finance for the installation of energy and resource efficiency measures and renewables technologies.

Our Green Network for Businesses is an important resource to promote low and zero carbon technologies. It provides SMEs with the opportunity to visit green businesses within their local area and view first hand installations which help to cut energy, water waste and raw material costs in a real business.

We are clear that the wellbeing of all NHS staff in Scotland is critically important. The Scottish Government continues to actively support all health boards to address the challenge of sickness absence which has fallen under this administration.

Every health board is required to have policies in place which comply with national policies on managing health at work.

Labour market statistics published this month show that between December 2016 and February 2017 the unemployment rate in Scotland fell to 4.5%.

Scotland outperforms the UK on youth employment, unemployment and inactivity rates

Scotland’s youth unemployment level has halved over the last year to 32,000. The youth unemployment rate (8.9%) is the 3rd lowest rate in the EU.

Scotland has the second lowest female unemployment rate (15-74) across the EU at 4.7%, behind Germany at 3.7%.

As outlined in our Labour Market Strategy, published in August last year, the Scottish Government is committed to a more inclusive approach to the economy. It is an approach supported by a growing body of evidence which shows that countries with more equal societies typically enjoy stronger, more sustainable growth over the long run. Our focus will be on creating more jobs, better quality jobs and jobs that work for every individual in terms of skills, pay, security, and prospects.

Through Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland we will deliver up to 4,800 places for those with health conditions or disability which came into force on 1 April 2017.

We are on track to deliver Fair Start Scotland, from April 2018. Which will support 38,000 people starting the programme over the three years of referral.

We are implementing the recommendations of the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce (DYW) in our Youth Employment Strategy to reduce youth unemployment by 40% by 2021.

The Scottish Government has recently published its refreshed digital strategy, setting out its long term plans for using digital technology to transform ways of working across Government and the wider public sector.

Before January 2018, the Scottish Government plans to implement the following:

Land Parcel Identification System: replacing the legacy system to support rural payments.

LARCS (LEADER) System: to allow Local Action Groups and Accountable Bodies to submit Local Development Strategies to the SG LEADER Programme Managing Authority and to record associated projects, claim payments, monitoring requirements and reporting functions.

ScotMoves system: completing the introduction of a system on the ScotEID Livestock Movement database platform as a key step towards an online holding register for all cattle keepers in Scotland. This will enable delivery of improved traceability to protect animal and human health and facilitate livestock sector initiatives.

Cereal Certification: Data management system to support statutory work in Cereal Certification.

Online booking system: to enable Scottish Government staff to book travel and accommodation.

Gov.Scot: Improvements to Scottish Government's website.

Scottish National Standardised Assessments: The new on-line standardised assessments which will be taken by all pupils in primary 1, 4 and 7 and secondary 3, providing diagnostic information on children’s progress in literacy and numeracy in Scotland.

Glow: Re-procurement of contracts for the authentication and portal services and for the online productivity suites that support Scotland's nationally available digital environment for learning and teaching.

Agricultural Surveys: Upgrade of the system which manages agricultural surveys and provision of a new electronic data capture facility for farm businesses.

Fisheries: Delivery of a replacement database to store biological data pertaining to scientific sampling of fish caught in commercial fisheries around Scotland.

Business Intelligence reporting tool: to provide HR and finance management information.

National Salmon Catch database: replacing the system for recording salmon and sea trout caught in Scottish rivers.

Sample data: development of a Data Island to store and manage scientific sample data in Marine Scotland Science.

Farm registration: replacement of the system to register fish and shellfish farms in Scotland along with information relating to health inspections, movement orders and production information.

Marine licensing: development of the database to handle the processing of marine licences and consents and the delivery of a system to managing licensing of fish introductions into rivers in Scotland.

eCounting: to deliver electronic counting at all 32 local authority count venues for the May 2017 local government elections.

Internal Systems: Upgrades to the Scottish Government’s internal systems for payroll and managing recruitment. A project to upgrade the pension interface between internal Scottish Government HR applications is expected to start this year however it is too early to confirm whether it will be delivered by January 2018.

Open Government: Implementation of Open Government Licence requirements and making contract documentation freely available on the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to improve Scotland’s economic performance over the long term, in keeping with the priorities set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy (SES).

We are supporting investment through our £6 billion infrastructure plan, substantial investments in digital connectivity, and are taking forward the Scottish Growth Scheme to encourage business investment. We have established a Board of Trade, and are creating permanent trade representation in Berlin to add to our Innovation and Investment Hubs in Dublin, London and Brussels. We are supporting innovation through our plan to invest more than £1 billion in our universities in 2017-18, and through our Innovation Centres. We are helping to equip our young people for the future, including through our expansion of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities, and expanding funded childcare to improve young children’s outcomes and reduce barriers to parents participating in the economy.

We are progressing with Phase two of our review of the Enterprise and Skills system in Scotland. This aims to bring even greater integration and focus to the delivery of our enterprise and skills support, to help ensure we maximise the contribution our agencies make to improving Scotland’s economic performance.

We are also committed to supporting the Oil and Gas sector in Scotland. The Energy Jobs Taskforce (EJTF) is focused on supporting those affected by current challenges in the oil and gas industry, while also working to lay foundations for a vibrant industry for decades to come. Alongside this, the Scottish Government’s £12 million Transition Training Fund (TTF) has now approved support for over 1,900 individuals, which will help to retain key skills and talent in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08517 on 19 April 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

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.