Chamber and committees

VisitScotland’s new, two–year strategy, announced on 12^th October, will see a significant increase in the number of ways that our visitors will be able to access information on places to visit and stay, with a mix of industry partners and digital products sitting alongside 26 key VisitScotland iCentres in busy locations. This follows a 58% reduction in footfall to VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland in the past decade.

Although the deployment of VisitScotland resources is an operational issue for VisitScotland and their Board, the Scottish Government maintains regular contact with the organisation and understand that VisitScotland are actively working with the industry. Visit Scotland has already established 1,500 new local partnerships right across Scotland to ensure that information provision is available, and in the innovative and adaptable formats that we know visitors are looking for.

The Scottish Government led Innovation and Investment hubs involve a range of partners including Scottish Development International (SDI). SDI have confirmed 5 appointments since the hubs were announced with the remainder following on as the hubs become operational. Of those confirmed 2 have been new starts; one at Dublin and the other at Berlin, the 3 others were existing staff who transitioned across to the hubs.

Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review confirmed that we would establish a new public body to support the South of Scotland. Programme for Government published on 5 September confirmed that legislation establishing the body will be introduced into Parliament in 2018. With Parliamentary support, the agency will be up and running by the beginning of financial year 2020. On
13 September 2017, I confirmed that we would establish an interim South of Scotland Economic Partnership by the end of this year. This will bring together organisations to support economic growth in the South of Scotland and will involve public and private partners to ensure that the area sees benefits as soon as is possible.

Throughout the Review and the current implementation phase, we have been engaging closely with local authorities to help shape the proposals for the new agency and the interim arrangements and I look forward to that engagement continuing.

The process to appoint a number of trade envoys is well underway and we expect to confirm these appointments within the next few weeks. The envoys will be appointed by the Scottish Ministers. They are not directly related to innovation and investment hubs, which are being developed separately, although both will contribute to further developing Scotland’s exporting intelligence and expertise and will work together where appropriate.

I met with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay MP, in Edinburgh on 6th October 2017. We discussed a range of issues including the Green Investment Bank, support for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, City Region deals, and Scotland’s financial services sector.

The Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse MSP met with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark MP, the Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Claire Perry MP and the Chair of UK Steel Jon Bolton at the UK Steel Council in London on 7 September 2017. They discussed the proposed steel sector deal.

The Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security & Equalities, the Minister for Social Security and the Minister for Employability and Training met the Rt Hon David Mundell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland in Edinburgh on Thursday 14th September 2017 at the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare. The Rt Hon David Gauke MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions joined the meeting by video conference. The minutes of the meeting will be published in due course.

No future meetings are scheduled at this time.

A timetable of official statistics releases is publicly available on the Scottish government website. In addition legislation permits ministers, officials and special advisers to be granted “pre-release” access to official statistics when it is necessary to enable them to comment publicly on statistics based on a correct understanding of them. Pre-release access in Scotland follows the rules and principles set out in the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008, as pre-release access continues across other parts of the UK following equivalent orders. The current maximum period of pre-release access in Scotland is 5 days, but for key economic statistics it is only provided 24 hours prior to publication. It is the responsibility of the Chief Statistician to decide who gets pre-release access to Scottish Government statistics.

The Scottish Government is currently working with its partners to progress plans for an Innovation and Investment Hub, building on the existing SDI trade and investment operation, opening in 2018. The Scottish Government first consulted Scottish Development International on the 7 June 2017.

We are carrying out work to prepare for the filling of mobile notspots, despite policy on mobile coverage being a reserved issue. The lack of a coherent UK-wide approach has meant we have had to act in this area. On 7 August we launched a consultation on the first phase of our 4G Infill Programme, an integral part of our Mobile Action Plan published last summer. The 4G Infill Programme aims to deliver mobile infrastructure and services to known ‘notspots’. We are analysing results from the consultation with an intention to enter procurement by the end of this year.

Following further engagement with the sectors, our response will be available by the end of the year.

Please see information as at 31 March 2017 relating to staff employed by SDI at the referenced locations in the following table.

Please note, although SDI has representation in Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen and Dusseldorf these locations are not categorised as hubs.