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The purpose of Scotland’s Digital Inclusion Charter is to support, guide and recognise the work of organisations doing digital inclusion. SCVO will support organisations to take action to meet each pledge. The Charter is one tool that is being used to engage organisations and encourage them to act on digital inclusion.

It is the intention that the Charter will provide a useful source of data on the different activities being undertaken across all sectors to tackle digital exclusion. When organisations are asked to renew their pledges after a two-year period, they will be asked to demonstrate any progress they have made.

As with any charter or pledge, the levels of commitment by signatories is likely to vary. The priority is to secure Charter signatories who can deliver meaningful actions, rather secure large numbers of signatories with superficial commitments.

The Digital Inclusion Alliance is the proposed national delivery mechanism to bring together the public, private and third sectors to jointly agree how to tackle digital exclusion through long-term, sustainable approaches.

The work to establish the Alliance commenced in November 2023 following approval in the Connecting Scotland Full Business Case. We are currently scoping out options for the financial and legal structure of the Digital Inclusion Alliance and once these are finalised and agreed with Ministers the Alliance will be formally constituted.

To help us co-design the focus of the Alliance and define the role of the third and public sector partnership within that Alliance, we established a Short Life Working Group in March 2024. This group is co-convened by Scottish Government and COSLA using the principles of the Verity House Agreement. Its members are the key organisations in the public and third sector who will work in partnership within the Alliance.

The total cost of the Scottish Digital Academy since its commencement in January 2018 to September 2024 is £4,320,722. This includes staff and programme delivery costs.

ScotAccount launched in private beta with Disclosure Scotland in February 2023, and with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Witness Gateway in February 2024. As at 4 November 2024, there are 95,000 accounts across these services.

In total, there are 7,710 registrations from Scottish Government employees, which represents 40 percent of all registrations over time.

As stated in the answer to question S6W-30954 on 7 November 2024, there are 95,000 accounts, as at 4 November 2024. All of these are active. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Since the Scottish Digital Academy was established in 2018, it has recorded 19,209 registrations from people working across the public or third sector.

There have been 1,116 courses delivered since 2018. By the end of October 2024, 92 percent (1,030) were delivered fully or in part online. This does not include non-course events such as workshops, symposia or other types of professional learning.

ScotPayments is currently in the private Beta phase of delivery, with the first Beta partner fully transitioned onto the platform (including a new fund launched in June 2024). Feasibility assessments with three additional public bodies responsible for large volume and value outbound payments concluded in May 2024. A new Beta partner is planned to onboard to the service in January 2025 before the programme moves into public Beta phase in late 2025. Currently two public bodies and three internal Scottish Government departments use the ScotPayments Confirmation of Payee feature.

Data on supported inward investment projects secured and created in Scotland is tracked by Scottish Development International.

Supported inward investment projects (Foreign Direct Investment and Inward Investment from the Rest of the UK) over the last five years is as follows