- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Funding has been awarded to (a) micro, (b) small, (c) medium-sized and (d) large businesses to date.
Answer
Through the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), to date, The Scottish Government has awarded the following proportion of the SIETF; (a) micro 3%, (b) small 12% , (c) medium-sized 17% and (d) large 68%.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 19 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21604 by Neil Gray on 2 October 2023, whether it will provide updates on the three of the four key recommendations not referred to in its answer, and what funding has been allocated to implement the four key recommendations.
Answer
As the Pathways report acknowledges, delivery of its recommendation and closing the gender gap in entrepreneurial participation is a long-term undertaking. In addition to the activity outlines in the answer to S6W-21604 on 2 October 2023:
- We are addressing the issue of data to improve our collection and reporting of data, developing a dashboard of measures that show how women are supported by our business support systems and how our actions are closing the gender gap and widening participation in entrepreneurship.
- We are working with our enterprise agencies, the Scottish National Investment Bank, and private sector investors to make investment avenues more accessible for women-led businesses, and for other under-invested groups; and
- We are working with partners to enhance entrepreneurial learning in schools
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 13 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21633 by Neil Gray on 27 September 2023, what the reason is for the delay to the publication of the recommendations of the Investor Panel.
Answer
The Panel has made good progress since its inception and has concluded work on Workstreams 1 & 2 which focused on market intelligence and the policy environment. The Panel is progressing Workstream 3, the sector deep dive at pace and it is right that we provide the Panel with the time they need to fully consult, analyse and inform recommendations.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many submissions to Scotland Innovates have been successfully brought to market in each year since its introduction, and what any such submissions were for.
Answer
In total 63 submissions have been closed – 36 were closed during the 2022-23 FY and 27 have been closed during the 2023-24 FY so far. Of those closed, 18 have been deemed “successful”; 9 in the 2022-23 FY and 9 in the 2023-24 FY so far.
For the purposes of Scotland Innovates the following defined closure reasons have been considered “successful”:
Closure Reason | Number of Submissions |
Closed – Introduction made to framework manager/buyer | 9 |
Closed – Existing DPS/Framework | 5 |
Provided Information to the supplier regarding the procurement route to market | 3 |
Closed – Pilot or Trial | 1 |
“Successful” submissions were targeted at the following Scotland Innovates categories:
- Food, Beverage & Catering / Catering Equipment / Catering Equipment & Supplies
- Social Care & Services / Other Social Care & Services / Other Social Care & Social Services
- Business Support Services / Information Services / Information Services
- Waste & Environmental Services / Environmental Services / Environmental Equipment & Services
- Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Sterilisation & Disinfection
- Other Goods & Services / Economic Development / Social Research Services
- ICT / IT Hardware & Software / Software as a Service
- Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Diabetes
- Healthcare / Healthcare Services / Digital Health
- Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Cardio (thoracic, vascular, ology)
- Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Dermatology
- Facilities Management / Cleaning & Janitorial Services / Specialist Hygiene Services
- ICT / IT Hardware & Software / Software as a Service
- Public Sector Bodies / Emergency Services / Fire Services
- Education / Schools & Colleges / Primary School Supplies and/or Services
- Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Cancer service
- Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Physiotherapy
- Clothing / Clothing & Footwear / Clothing & Footwear Supplies & Services
There are 19 submissions where assessor(s) have been or are currently assigned and 5 with assessment completed.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been spent on developing submissions to Scotland Innovates in each year since its introduction.
Answer
To date no Scotland Innovates funds have been spent to develop submissions received via the service. We do not hold data on monies spent by other parts of the public sector who have assessed submissions.
Supplementary note “The vast majority of Scotland Innovates submissions are from SME’s and are either “at or near market ready”.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many submissions have been made to Scotland Innovates in each year since its introduction.
Answer
There have been a total of 95 submissions received by the Scotland Innovates service. 66 were received during the 2022-23 FY and 29 have been received so far during the 2023-24 FY.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work has been done on the aviation strategy since the consultation closed in January 2022, and whether it will provide an update on when it plans to publish the strategy.
Answer
On 6 April 2022 we published an independent analysis of the responses to our consultation on developing an aviation strategy. Amongst other topics, the consultation invited views on the transition to low and zero emission aviation and the role that the Scottish Government could potentially play. Decarbonising aviation is also relevant to the ongoing development of the Scottish Government’s climate change plan and it is important to ensure policy coherence between the two documents. We are also considering the appropriate time to publish the aviation strategy given this context.
In the interim we continue to support the aviation sector in line with our commitment to making Scotland as well connected as its peer nations and regions, and to support and improve lifeline air services for our rural and island communities.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to introduce (a) a National Productivity Programme, (b) a Research Commercialisation Programme and (c) an Innovation Scorecard, as part of its Innovation Strategy.
Answer
In June 2023 the Scottish Government published the National Innovation Strategy which sets out our ten year vision for Scotland to once again become one of the most innovative small nations in the world.
The Strategy sets out a number of programmes to enable us to achieve our vision and ensure all of our businesses, people and institutions are ready and able to meet the global economic challenges and opportunities we face over the next ten years. These include a National Productivity Programme, a Research Commercialisation Programme and the publication of an annual Innovation Scorecard.
Work on implementing the Strategy has begun, in close partnership with our enterprise agencies, and the Programme for Government recently announced an additional £15m enterprise package which will be utilised to help deliver the Strategy.
Further details will be announced following the conclusion of delivery discussions between the Scottish Government, it’s agencies and institutions.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) its "comprehensive plan to establish the Scottish higher education system as a world-class hotbed of startup creation and scaling" and (b) the £100 million Scottish Innovation Fund, as outlined in its National Innovation Strategy.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s National Innovation Strategy included an action to publish a "comprehensive plan to establish the Scottish higher education system as a world-class hotbed of startup creation and scaling". This plan, the Entrepreneurial Campus, was published in June, shortly after the publication of the Strategy.
To achieve our aims, the Entrepreneurial Campus, sets out actions across a number of themes in collaboration with our excellent further and higher education institutions, underpinned by regional alignment, inclusivity and a guiding framework for change.
As announced in the Strategy, Scottish Universities are developing a Scottish Innovation Fund to invest in early stage start-ups. We are liaising with relevant Universities as they develop the Fund and will work closely with them as they progress their ambitions.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 4 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many organisations applied to develop pilots for the launch of the Culture & Business Scotland Marketplace in May 2023; how many organisations were awarded places beginning in May 2023; how many organisations had, in addition to the pilots, or the launch of the Marketplace, developed and tested programmes ready to be rolled out across companies, and which of those organisations had the resources to do so; whether any of the organisations that were subsequently awarded places in the Culture & Business Scotland Marketplace had previously been turned down for funding or had funding reduced by Creative Scotland; if so, whether there has been any communication between the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and Arts & Business Scotland or Culture & Business Scotland regarding the Marketplace, and how many organisations had informed Arts & Business Scotland or Culture & Business Scotland by January 2023 that they had already developed and tested programmes that had a wealth of evidence to show their effectiveness, and had teams of practitioners who are leaders in the field of arts-based wellbeing and development.
Answer
Culture & Business Scotland (C&BS) received 39 applications for the Marketplace pilot programmes. 24 of these were successful and awarded places in the Marketplace pilot. Three of the successful applicants to participate in Marketplace had developed one of their proposed products to a business before.
C&BS state that they do not ask applicants to Marketplace about their contractual relationships with funders, and therefore they do not know if applicants have previously been unsuccessful for funding or had funding reduced by Creative Scotland.
