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I cannot put a timescale on that, but the discussions are on-going.

As somebody who is originally from Orkney, and having visited it during the Christmas recess, I can confirm that the connectivity, particularly for mobile data, is much improved. You are correct about the connectivity for Fair Isle, and I am happy to provide a further update to the committee with more detail on the proposed work that we have coming forward on the expansion of R100 to our island communities. That update will satisfy your inquiries.

We are making substantial investments in education and health. The budget for both areas is up, the local government settlement is up and the NHS budget is up. I acknowledge Mr Whittle’s assessment that we need to make sure that we have a healthy workforce and to invest to ensure that we do. Ensuring that we have minimum unit pricing and that we tackle availability of unhealthy products are among the areas on which we need to move forward. I look forward to working with Mr Whittle on those things in order to ensure that they are got right and that, where we agree, we can move forward as quickly as possible, although those matters are predominantly outwith my portfolio responsibilities.

I recognise that we need to ensure that our skills landscape is supportive. As I said in previous remarks to Maggie Chapman and Kevin Stewart, we need a good skills landscape to ensure that we are providing the labour market with opportunities. That allows businesses to grow and it allows people to get on with taking advantage of the just transition that we see in the energy sector, for instance.

The figure that you point to on higher education places was, of course, a temporary investment off the back of Covid. The current figures are returning to pre-Covid levels, but we will of course continue to work with our university sector. Indeed, I have a meeting next week to discuss how we can take full advantage of the innovation that is going on in the sector and the investment that we are making in entrepreneurial campuses. At the University of Strathclyde last week, I saw incredible work on the entrepreneurial support that it is providing to its students; I saw the benefits from that, not just to business start-ups but in the income potential that it can achieve; and I saw the collaborative work that is going on with our universities to see the level of investment grow.

We have big opportunities. I recognise the challenges, but we will continue to work with our skills colleagues. As I have said, Graeme Dey is incredibly energised to make sure that our response to the Withers review will result in a supportive skills landscape. We will make sure that the resource that we put behind it is as much as we possibly can provide in order to ensure that we have a landscape that is as supportive as possible, not just for our employers but for our workforce.

The Fraser of Allander assessments have been helpful in demonstrating some of the positive elements of the small business bonus scheme in terms of its ensuring that some businesses continue to be viable, as well as in demonstrating that other elements are more challenging, as you pointed out, convener.

I think that it is fair to say that, across the Government, Tom Arthur is, as part of the new deal for business group, looking at what we can do to bring forward longer-term non-domestic rates reform. Some of that work is challenging, because where we make changes, there will be winners and losers, and there is a potential cost to be borne either by the Government or by the business sector. We are developing a long-term evidenced-based approach to non-domestic rates reform.

Part of the discussion with the hospitality industry last week was about what might be helpful for it and what barriers to growth there might be in the current set-up. The discussion also considered whether there are ways of reforming that would not have wider unintended consequences. Part of that assessment will be informed by the work that has been done by the Fraser of Allander Institute.

I will find out exactly where the budget line is, but we are starting with an investment of £1.5 million in implementation. I will shortly bring in Aidan Grisewood to point you to the exact place where it is held. As I set out in the letter to you and the committee—I think that it was on 19 December—the “Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship” review by Ana Stewart, alongside Mark Logan, considered a dedicated women’s business centre, consulted widely on it and concluded that it is not necessarily the best way of encouraging female participation in business. There will be differing opinions on that, but based on that wide-ranging consultation and feedback, we have decided to accept Ana Stewart’s recommendations that the likes of pre-start centres and pop-up centres will be the most advantageous way of progressing greater diversity in business start-ups and encouraging more women into business. This year, £1.5 million will be used to start expanding that. I will happily bring in Aidan Grisewood to provide greater detail.

The national strategy for economic transformation is a 10-year strategy for us to transform our economy so that we can take advantage of the opportunities that we have available to us. I believe that you need a good economy and a good society; the two are mutually reliant. You cannot have a good economy without a good society, so investment in public services is absolutely essential.

We will do everything that we can do to ensure that the money that has been prioritised for business, such as £685 million-worth of business rates relief and the maintenance of the small business bonus scheme, which is taking an estimated 100,000 business properties out of paying rates altogether, is the most generous in the UK. Ninety-five per cent of businesses here pay less in non-domestic rates than those elsewhere in the UK. We are looking to ensure that the decisions that we have taken in the budget are balanced and that we continue to see economic activity and economic growth opportunities coming through, balanced against the need to ensure that we protect public services so that we have a healthy workforce that supports a growing economy.

We are working closely with VisitScotland to ensure that we maximise what is an incredibly important aspect of our economy. The tourism sector contributes a substantial amount to our economy. International visitor numbers are up, as is international spending, and not just on the past year but on pre-Covid times. It is incredibly encouraging that people wish to visit Scotland and spend their money here, which is important for our economy.

We will work with VisitScotland on the implications of the budget and on what it is able to provide as a service to ensure that Scotland continues to be a destination of choice—not just internationally, but domestically.

No, the £50 million—

To begin with.