Numerous Scottish public bodies deliver support and tailored strategic investment into Scottish businesses including Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish National Investment Bank, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Business Gateway and the Scottish Government’s £42m national Techscaler programme.

The Scottish Government-backed investment funds deployed by these organisations are designed to fill gaps in the supply of capital available to businesses and at the same time crowd in private capital to create a busier ecosystem of investors active in Scotland. Underpinned by Techscaler offering online education, expert mentoring, and a network of 14 hubs across seven regions in Scotland, these funds support tech startups from creation through to scale, ensuring support is accessible and rooted in communities across the country.

Examples of this funding and support include:

• Over £118m capital raised by founders since the inception of Techscaler in 2022 and in November 2024 Techscaler, in partnership with Focused for Business launched the Funding Accelerator programme designed to help Scottish startups secure their first or second equity funding round, with investments ranging from £100k to £1m.
• In 2024/25, Scottish Enterprise made 125 investments totalling £42.5m in early-stage companies, with 52% of these investments in companies located out with Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• South of Scotland Enterprise has supported 391 individuals in the South of Scotland as part of a Pathways pre-start pilot for under-represented groups, providing start-up grants of £1,000 to eligible participants.
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise IMPACT30 programme has supported 301 young entrepreneurs across its region and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Techscaler Kickstart Grant Scheme offers grants ranging from £5,000 to £10,000 to ambitious tech founders and entrepreneurs in developing their business ideas.
• Through our Ecosystem Fund, we have supported various in-person and remote projects specifically focussed on access to finance, resulting in over 700 individuals growing their investment network.
• Scottish Government has consistently provided support for the Scottish EDGE business competition, including £1.4m in 2024-25, with an aim of identifying and supporting Scotland’s innovative, high growth potential entrepreneurial talent. This recently included a pilot Regional EDGE competition to specifically target support to different regions.
• To support the establishment of a network of entrepreneurial campuses, the Scottish Government allocated Converge with £100k to provide early-stage business microgrants. These microgrants have enabled 55 projects, run by university students and staff, to test their initial business idea. Microgrants were awarded to every university in Scotland to ensure all parts of the country have educational institutions that support entrepreneurial activity.

Following the debate in Parliament on 26 February on Scottish Enterprise Funding to Arms Companies, a Parliamentary motion was passed calling on Scottish Enterprise to “review its human rights due diligence checks to ensure that they take account of where products’ end use is, and that they fully comply with legal obligations under the Export Control Act 2002 and international law”.

In line with the motion, Scottish Enterprise immediately began work on its review. The Scottish Government continues to stay in close contact with Scottish Enterprise on this work, and I will update Parliament and wider stakeholders once the review has concluded.

The £1.8m Digital Dermatology programme referenced within the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan (OIP) is designed to reduce the number of patients who require a dermatology outpatient appointment through the creation of a digital triage system enabled through image capture within primary care.

The digital dermatology programme is now available in all 14 territorial health boards and is accessible to over 50% of GP practices across NHS Scotland. As referenced in the OIP, we continue to work towards full roll out to all GPs across Scotland by the end of Spring 2025.

For patients, evidence suggests that this will allow around 50% to be returned to the GP with advice or reassurance, without having an in-person appointment with a consultant. Some patients are also likely to be fast-tracked to further diagnostics or treatment based on assessment at this digital triage stage.

The Scottish Government commissioned National Elective Coordination Unit’s (NECU) work is complementing the national Digital Dermatology programme by focusing on high-volume patient validation within an accelerated timeline, as well as developing robust digital infrastructure for image capture and clinical triage, and ensuring a well-structured workforce model for governance and clinical safety.

The Scottish Government has worked with NECU to establish comprehensive governance arrangements and a workforce framework that promotes collaborative efforts across NHS Boards. This has enabled the onboarding of 18 dermatology consultants and the creation of digital infrastructure to support clinical workflows.

NECU’s dermatology campaign has already engaged four Health Boards – including NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Grampian, NHS Ayrshire & Arran and NHS Highland - addressing the needs of patients waiting over 52 weeks and ensuring patient requirements are correctly recorded. As we progress, our goal is to continue leveraging these innovations to improve patient outcomes and streamline dermatological care delivery.

Scottish Government officials and Ministers are in continuous dialogue with the UK Government about USA tariff barriers and we support all efforts to find mutually beneficial resolutions that are in the interests of Scotland. We have been clear that we need to see bold and decisive action from the UK Government that reflects the uncertainty that is being felt by business and families at this time.

We are also working closely with the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade on its programme of Trade and Economic Cooperation with individual US States, to reduce trade barriers and advance trade and investment opportunities for the UK and Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Guidance on due diligence: human rights sets out recommendations on how we, our executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies should undertake appropriate due diligence on companies, including their human rights record, before entering into an investment relationship with them.

As the guidance makes clear, this should include an assessment of whether an individual or company, including any parent or subsidiary, has been associated with human rights abuses anywhere in the world.

It is for the Accountable Officer of each agency and non-departmental public body to ensure that their organisation complies with guidance issued by Scottish Ministers.

In operationalising the Scottish Government guidance, Scottish Enterprise’s Customer Due Diligence Procedure sets out the process it follows in undertaking human rights due diligence checks on companies it works with. The other enterprise agencies have similar processes in place.

The Scottish Government reviewed the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process in 2021, working with key stakeholders. The review concluded that, while the process is generally effective, improvements could be made, particularly in relation to Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) and Redetermination Orders.

In response, legislative changes were introduced to streamline ETROs and clarify the use of Redetermination Orders. Transport Scotland is also considering further work, including the digitisation of TROs, to support greater accessibility and efficiency.

There are no current plans for a further formal review, but we continue to monitor feedback from local authorities and stakeholders to assess whether additional changes are needed.

The Scottish Government reviewed the effectiveness of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process in 2021, engaging with key stakeholders including all local authorities. The review found that, overall, local authorities were satisfied with the system but highlighted areas for improvement, particularly in relation to Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) and Redetermination Orders.

As a result of this assessment, legislative changes were introduced to streamline ETROs, enabling implementation with 7 days’ notice and a 6-month consultation period. Guidance was also issued to clarify that Redetermination Orders may not be required where a TRO sufficiently regulates access.

In addition, Transport Scotland is considering further work to support the digitisation of TROs, with a view to improving accessibility and administrative efficiency.

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise, I have asked Adrian Gillespie, the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, to respond to you directly.

Officials are working to update the national pipeline on an ongoing basis and are developing governance and information management protocols to ensure appropriate controls are in place to manage commercially sensitive information.

Official labour market statistics do not include data on reasons why individuals are unemployed. However, there is data available on reasons why individuals are economically inactive and not participating in the labour market.

The latest ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) statistics for 16 to 24 year olds for January to December 2024, published on 16 April 2025, show an estimated 12.7% of economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland gave their reason for being inactive as “long-term sick or disabled”.

The Scottish Government has published analysis on the link between economic inactivity and ill health. On 24 September 2024 an evidence review indicated an increase in physical and mental health conditions in inactive people since 2018, with rising numbers of young people citing mental health concerns as a reason for being economically inactive (Economic inactivity in Scotland: supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active - gov.scot). Previous analysis published on 30 August 2023 identified physical and mental ill-health as possible barriers that prevent young people from entering the labour market (Economic inactivity of young people aged 16-24: Definition, reasons and potential future focus - gov.scot).