Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-30852

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £1.3 million 2023-34 Connecting Scotland funding was spent.

In 2023-24, total Scottish Government funding for Connecting Scotland and Ethical Digital Nation combined was £1.3 million. This was allocated as follows:

Grant funding to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) to develop digital training, continue support for existing clients and deliver existing projects. This funding covers support for a wide range of digital inclusion initiatives including:
- ‘Digital Champion’ training, delivered through Mhor Collective, which equips individuals to support others in engaging safely and meaningfully online, building digital confidence within communities;
- Offboarding support for existing Connecting Scotland users, including temporary extension of connectivity with further support for users to transition to other means of connectivity;
- Supporting the delivery of three digital inclusion programmes - lending libraries, social housing, and place-based initiatives - helping more people to get online through access to devices, connectivity, and technical support, and providing public and third-sector organisations and their staff with support in digital inclusion provision;
£100,000 for the Digital Participation Charter Fund to promote and recognise digital inclusion amongst organisations. Some of the projects funded include:
- Budding Engineers (£10,000 award) to provide access to digital skills and teaching for people with additional support needs in several areas of Scotland;
- Deaf Action (£10,000 award) to provide digital and employability support for people experiencing hearing loss across Scotland;
- Milan Senior Welfare Organisation (£9,850 award) to provide basic digital skills and digital support for older people and their carers from the South Asian community in East Lothian and Edinburgh;
Programme incidentals (e.g. software licences, training, stakeholder engagement, advertising and marketing);
Staffing costs to support the ongoing management of both programmes

Question reference: S6W-30851

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of Connecting Scotland’s £1.6 million budget for 2024-25 has been committed, and on what this is being spent.

There is a budget of £1.8m which covers Connecting Scotland, Ethical Digital Nation and Unlocking the Value of Data programmes. To date, the following spend has been committed:

Grant funding to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) to develop digital training, continue support for existing clients and deliver existing projects. This funding covers support for a wide range of digital inclusion initiatives including:
‘Digital Champion’ training, delivered through Mhor Collective, which equips individuals to support others in engaging safely and meaningfully online, building digital confidence within communities.;
Offboarding support for existing Connecting Scotland users, including temporary extension of connectivity with further support for users to transition to other means of connectivity;
Supporting the delivery of three digital inclusion programmes - lending libraries, social housing, and place-based initiatives - helping more people to get online through access to devices, connectivity, and technical support, and providing public and third-sector organisations and their staff with support in digital inclusion provision;
The University of Liverpool to undertake research on a Minimum Digital Living Standard for Scotland. The findings from this research will provide the Scottish Government with detailed Scotland-specific data to identify where there is a need for targeted support for digital inclusion, and help to inform future service design;
licenses, travel and other services
staffing costs to support the management of the programme.

All remaining spend in this financial year will be assessed in line with the guidance set out by Ministers in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and current Scottish Government guidelines on spending controls

Question reference: S6O-04010

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to boost the rural economy.

Question reference: S6W-30952

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Creative Industries Leadership Group's "working group reports", which are referenced in the minutes of the meeting on 8 June 2022, will be published.

Question reference: S6W-31225

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 18 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the average length is of courses delivered by the Scottish Digital Academy.

The professional learning offer (courses) delivered via the Scottish Digital Academy is varied and multi-faceted, as it has been designed to meet the needs of a diverse audience.

Taught courses are broadly defined into three categories with an average duration as follows:

Short courses – 3.5 hours (half day)

Courses – 12 hours (2 days)

Programmes – 30 hours (5 days)

Some events are typically 6 hours (1 day) in length and self-directed learning courses vary between 15 minutes and 3 hours, as these are taken at the learner’s own pace and to meet their individual needs.

Question reference: S6W-30989

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent account managers are currently employed by Scottish Enterprise.

Question reference: S6W-30949

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recommendations from the Creative Industries Leadership Group it has adopted.

Question reference: S6W-30950

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Creative Industries Leadership Group has been disbanded, and, if so, for what reason.

The Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) was paused pending the outcome of a strategic stakeholder review. This work will now be considered as part of the Scottish Government’s review of how the culture and creative industries sector can be best supported going forward as set out in PfG 2024-25.

This sector support review is currently under development and will include a review of Creative Scotland as the lead body for arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland. Further details on the review process will be set out in due course, including proposed timings and how the culture sector and other interested parties, can input into the review.

Question reference: S6W-30951

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Creative Industries Leadership Group has met since its meeting on 8 June 2022.

Question reference: S6W-30988

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent account managers have been employed by Scottish Enterprise in each year since 2021-22.

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