The information requested is set out in the following table:

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling digital exclusion. We recognise that some groups, including older people and low-income households, often face additional barriers to digital participation and we are addressing those through a range of initiatives.

The Connecting Scotland programme, delivered in partnership with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, has provided over 61,000 internet-enabled devices, connectivity, and digital skills support to those in need, including targeted support for older people and low-income households.

Building on this, since August 2023 Connecting Scotland has funded 39 local digital inclusion projects. This includes device-lending libraries, social housing initiatives, and place-based schemes. The most recent data shows that the majority of these projects have supported older people and low-income households to gain digital access and develop digital skills and confidence.

The £2 million Digital Inclusion Programme has supported 20 projects, focusing on digital inclusion in mental health and housing. Delivered in partnership with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Programme has benefited over 3,500 people, helping them to access services and support online, develop essential digital skills, and improve their wellbeing. It has also supported over 600 staff and volunteers, and trained over 300 digital champions.

In addition, the Scottish Government continues to deliver the £3.2 million Digital Lifelines Programme, which has supported over 5,000 people at risk of drug-related death to access digital devices, skills and affordable connectivity, and has trained over 500 people as digital inclusion champions.

The Scottish Government’s work to tackle digital exclusion is underpinned by programmes that are delivering resilient digital connectivity infrastructure. Our £600+ million Reaching 100% (R100) programme is connecting homes and businesses across Scotland and throughout 2025 we will continue to award Project Gigabit in Scotland contracts, building on R100’s transformational impact. Overall, more than one million faster broadband connections have been delivered in Scotland in the last ten years, deploying over £1 billion of publicly driven investment.

We will continue working to make services as accessible and inclusive as possible, so that no-one is left behind. However, we also recognise that engaging with digital services is a choice and non-digital options for accessing public services will remain available for those whose needs are best served in this way.

Spend on digital connectivity infrastructure for the current parliamentary session and projected spend for the remainder of the session is set out in the table below by financial year. The Scottish Government has also secured UK Government funding for investment in digital infrastructure through the Project Gigabit programme which will further increase planned digital spend in 2025-26.

The Full time equivalent (FTE) annual employee count was:

2020-21 - 262

2021-22 - 314

2022-23 - 295

2023-24 - 281

2024-25 - 277

The increase to 314 FTE is associated with increased funding to deal with the consequence of EU Exit.

The Scottish Government will hold a data summit with all local authorities in Scotland on Additional Support for Learning focused on recommending actions for improving consistency of identification, support and reporting of children’s needs at a local level.

It is not the policy of the Scottish Government to create a Scottish food agency. Following the manifesto commitment to set up a Scottish Food Agency, exploratory work was undertaken and the decision was taken not to proceed. Scotland Food & Drink and the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership bring together the key actors in food and drink in Scotland for collaboration, with excellent results.

The Scottish Government was concerned to hear about the withdrawal of funding from the Notre Dame Centre. We recognise that the potential closure of the Centre as a result will be causing concern for the children and families that use its services. Scottish Government officials have received assurances from the Integrated Joint Board that alternative services will be available and transition plans put in place for those currently using the services provided by the Centre.

Although it is for the IJB to make decisions about the local provision of services they fund, we expect these decisions to be made in consultation with the communities in which they are based. The Scottish Government also expects the IJB to consider the impact this may have on those that use the Centre, particularly vulnerable users, and on other services which may be asked to step in.

As part of the 2020-21 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government introduced the Green Jobs Fund, an investment of up to
£100 million aimed at supporting new and increased opportunities for green job creation across Scotland.

The Green Jobs Fund supported businesses and their supply chains to help them better transition to a low carbon economy. The support provided by the fund, all of which was capital, aimed to create green employment through investment in equipment, premises, and research and development.

Since its creation, between the Enterprise Agencies and Scottish Ministers, the Green Jobs Fund has provided £38.7 million in grant funding to support 122 projects. Figures provided by the recipients of these awards estimated that these projects will support up to 7354 jobs over the life of the individual projects.

The Green Jobs Fund has been discontinued. In addition to financial pressures associated with its continuation, the Fund formed a relatively small part of the Scottish Government’s broader investment in the transition to net zero. This includes many institutions, funding packages and investment vehicles which provide advice, support, and financial assistance for businesses at the forefront to building Scotland’s green economy.

The Green Industrial Strategy provides further strategic direction on how such investment supports the development, growth and scale-up of existing and new businesses seeking to take advantage of the global opportunities of the transition.

In August, we published our action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools, jointly with COSLA. This includes a specific action on empowering staff through provision of relevant professional learning to support relationships and behaviour approaches and practice and to respond to emerging trends in behaviour.

Education Scotland offers a wide range of professional learning to support the prevention of distressed and distressing behaviour. This includes professional learning on relationships, emotional regulation, de-escalation, expectations and consequences, restorative approaches and trauma.

As set out in the Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Action Plan 2024-27 Progress Report, published in March 2025, Education Scotland has delivered in-person professional learning to probation teachers on Being Restorative and on Expectations and Consequences.

Local authorities have responsibly for the delivery of education, which includes ensuring all employees receive adequate training.

The Scottish Government has not had any engagement with the Bank of England, regarding support to train and recruit more economics teachers in Scottish schools.

We are aware of the Bank of England’s new jointly funded initiative with the University of Manchester, which will see existing teachers offered training to deliver A Level economics alongside their core subject. We will note feedback as the pilot programme progresses and consider if there is applicable learning for the Scottish education sector.