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Scotland has a thriving tech community with home grown digital technology companies like Skyscanner and Rockstar North achieving global success – we want more of them to do so. We are trialling new methods of supporting business innovation, including a digital sector pilot project in Edinburgh, which is being developed by members of the Scotland CAN DO Innovation Forum.

We also know that right now in Scotland we need several thousand new entrants a year into digital professions to meet both replacement and growth demand – a need that our labour market cannot currently meet. We are therefore working with partners to deliver the ICT & Digital Technologies Skills Investment Plan – a range of projects that aims to meet the immediate needs of industry and broaden the future talent pool.

We believe that the adoption and use of digital technologies by business will assist growth across all sectors. We want to ensure that all of our businesses have access to the skills and connectivity which will enable them to reach new customers and markets, to innovate and grow and importantly create more highly paid, highly skilled, job opportunities.

While further investment in digital infrastructure is to be welcomed, it is important that Scotland benefits from this new funding to reflect the greater challenges associated with delivering telecoms here.

The Scottish Government is engaging with UK Government to obtain more information on the Autumn Budget statement announcements and to highlight opportunities for collaboration, particularly around 5G trials and delivery of our 100% superfast broadband commitment.

We expect delivery of our 100% superfast broadband commitment to involve a number of different interventions, utilising a range of technologies and commercial solutions. Further details will be provided during 2017 once we have analysed the results of the recently launched Open Market Review – a consultation with broadband suppliers to determine their commercial investment plans over the next 3 years, and undertaken further market engagement.

The Scottish Government is engaging with UK Government to obtain more detailed information on the Autumn Budget statement announcements and to seek opportunities for collaboration. We will work closely with the UK Government to ensure that Scotland benefits from this new funding, given the unique challenges that we face in deploying telecoms networks.

As business rates are devolved to the Scottish Government, we will examine the UK Government’s announcement regarding 100% Business Rates Relief for new
full-fibre infrastructure and consider Scotland’s position.

In February 2015 I announced that £10 million had been allocated within the Scottish European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme for 2014-2020 for collaborative projects to make all of Scotland’s cities smarter. The £10 million in ERDF grant (which is matched with funding from the cities) is part of the ‘Scotland’s 8^th City – the Smart City’ Strategic Intervention.

The Scottish Government is working with the cities via the Scottish Cities Alliance (the unique collaboration of Scotland’s seven cities and the Scottish Government) to deliver a number of projects funded via this intervention.

Our shared ambition is to make a step change in the use of smart technology for integrated city management across the seven cities, not just individually but collectively, so creating the 8^th city.

The first phase of smart projects was announced by the Scottish Cities Alliance on 13 December see: http://www.scottishcities.org.uk/media/press-releases/alliance-launches-smart-cities-projects

The Scottish Government is keen to work with UKG to ensure that the investment announced in last week’s Autumn Statement supports 5G trials and deployment in Scotland. On 25 October 2016 I wrote to Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, seeking a meeting to progress a range of digital issues, including 5G, to ensure UKG’s plans align with our ambitious digital agenda. I am awaiting a response from the Minister.

We are already working to ensure that Scotland possesses the underlying infrastructure needed to support the future evolution of digital technologies such as 5G. With our partners Scottish Futures Trust, we are already engaged with the 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey and are working with Ofcom on a range of issues relating to mobile coverage to ensure Scotland's needs are recognised and addressed by the regulator. This is a platform to build greater collaboration in future to ensure that Scotland is at the forefront of 5G development and deployment.

We believe that the adoption and use of digital technologies by business will assist growth in all sectors in areas across Scotland. This is why we are so determined to ensure that all of our businesses have access to the connectivity which will enable them to reach new customers and markets, to innovate and to grow.

Our commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband coverage by 2021 will play a vital important role in improving the productivity of businesses, especially those in remote and rural areas.

Our refreshed Digital Strategy, which we expect to publish early 2017, will set out these plans in more detail.

It will also reflect on the steps which our investment of over £15 million since 2013 has taken to help grow Scotland’s digital economy and capability. These include funding for #HelloDigital in Inverness, led and operated by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. This centre offers a diverse range of showcases, master classes and events bringing together industry experts, academic leaders and the business community.

The UK Government’s announcement of planned investment in digital infrastructure could potentially help to deliver the Scottish Government’s world class ambitions and our commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband access by 2021.

Although the Scottish Government was not consulted on the proposals prior to their announcement, we will work closely with the UK Government to ensure that Scotland benefits from this new funding, given the unique challenges that we face in deploying telecoms networks.

We have increased student teacher intake targets for the fifth year in a row and are setting targets to train teachers in the subjects where they are needed most.

We delivered a successful #inspiringteachers campaign focusing on STEM subjects which has resulted in 41 students studying Computing initial teacher education courses in 2016, compared to 20 students in 2015 which is an improvement of 105%. We will be running a further teacher recruitment campaign, which includes a focus on the STEM subjects, in the coming months.

On 30 November we announced that eleven new routes into teaching will be developed by Scottish universities to help address recruitment difficulties in the hard to fill subjects. Included in these new routes, the Universities of Dundee and Strathclyde will be offering an accelerated route for STEM graduates. It is expected that the new routes will be ready for student intake in August 2017.

STEM education and training is vital for meeting the demands and challenges of our economy and for building the society we want to see now and in the future. The Scottish Government have a comprehensive and ambitious plan for improving Scotland’s STEM talent and capability. For the first time we have published a plan that coordinates all of the work underway to promote STEM skills and capability across all age ranges and settings in one strategy, and we are outlining the Scottish Government’s future plans for improving the STEM talent pipeline. The consultation was launched on 8 November 2016 and will run until 31 January 2017. We will publish a final version of the Strategy next Spring. We will set ambitious targets for Government and its agencies to drive delivery.

Universities are committed to improving take up of STEM degree courses. The number of entrants to first degree courses in STEM subjects at Scottish universities has increased by 15 per cent, up 3,155, from 21,125 in 2006-07 to 24,280 in 2014-15. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) funded a total of 1,200 additional university places for STEM subjects over the four-year period 2012-13 to 2015-16, and, between 2013-14 and 2016-17 the SFC is funding nearly 1,200 additional places for undergraduates in key skills, including STEM.