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The Scottish Government has been investigating the potential impacts of AI on our economy and labour market for over five years.

In 2018 , Technological Change and the Scottish Labour Market , a joint Scottish Government and Scottish Trades Union Congress report, already considered AI.

Between 2019 and 2021, evidence on this topic was generated as part of the development of Scotland’s AI Strategy , which included impact assessments, an online public consultation, a citizen engagement programme and expert working groups, including one on the skills of the workforce.

The 2021 Digital Economy Business Survey highlighted key challenges faced by businesses and the importance of supporting a strong technical infrastructure for Scotland.

The 2022 Digital Economy Skills Action Plan details how we intend to ensure all sectors work together to support the people of Scotland in our move to a digital and AI-enabled economy.

Recent press coverage has made Generative Artificial Intelligence a focus of debate on economic and labour market impact. The Scottish Government also follows other strands of AI research which might be expected to have similar levels of impact – like Computer Vision and Causal AI. The impacts of any of these innovations may have many common considerations.

Experts from the Scottish AI Alliance’s Leadership Group will continue to inform and challenge our actions in this area in the coming years, in the face of accelerating technological innovation including generative AI specifically.

The Scottish Police Authority has launched a recruitment campaign on Friday 31 March 2023, looking for a new Chief Constable to lead the second largest police service in the UK, after Sir Iain Livingstone QPM announced his intention to retire in the summer of 2023 at a meeting of the Authority on 23 February.

The deadline for applications is Friday 28 April. The Authority expects to announce a successful candidate in June 2023. This will be a fixed term appointment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.

The appointment process has been reviewed and approved by the Scottish Police Authority’s People Committee. A Selection Panel has been convened which will be chaired by Martyn Evans, Chair of the Authority and will include Fiona McQueen CBE - Member, SPA, Joe Griffin - Director-General, Scottish Government, Angela Scott - Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council, Independent Member, and Martin Hewitt QPM, Former Chair, National Police Chiefs Council – UK Policing Professional. Craig Naylor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland and Lynn Brown OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority will be advisors to the panel and observe its discussions with candidates.

The appointment is subject to the approval of the Scottish Ministers.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans met with the Chair of the SPA and the Chief Constable on 22 March and they discussed the arrangements for the recruitment campaign, transition plans and timing.

Whilst there are currently no supertrawlers in the Scottish fishing fleet, a number of other fleets operate within Scottish waters, including a small number of EU supertrawlers. As well as vessels from the rest of the UK, the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows EU vessels full access to fish shared stocks within UK waters.

It is important to note that all vessels authorised to operate in Scottish waters do so under the appropriate licenses, and are obliged to follow Scottish domestic management rules, including mesh size restrictions and closed areas. These vessels also operate within agreed quotas. The majority of commercial stocks fished are managed by the use of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits. TAC levels are informed by the best available independent scientific advice, and are used with an aim to ensure sustainable fishing levels in the long term. Vessels, regardless of size or gear, are only permitted to fish the quotas that they have been allocated, in line with TACs set for each stock.

Sustainability, support for biodiversity, and consideration of the wider ecosystem is at the heart of how we manage Scotland’s fisheries and protect our marine environment. This is reflected in the 12 point action plan contained within Scotland Fisheries Management Strategy, and in the Blue Economy Vision for Scotland, which sets out our ambition for the sustainable management and shared stewardship of Scotland’s sea and coasts.

The application fee for Minimal Asset Process bankruptcy was removed from 6 February 2023.

The Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund (LCMCF) is a new Fund operated by Scottish Enterprise providing capital investment of £26m over five years.

At 17 April, £150,000 has been provided to one project supporting a business which helps to improve its own circularity via the re-use of energy.

We also support Zero Waste Scotland who provide a range of support and advice for businesses looking to develop circular business ideas.

Details of the funding provided by Zero Waste Scotland are as follows.

The most recent statistics report Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2019-22 , shows an estimated 36% of households with household heads aged 16 to 24 were in relative poverty after housing costs. Over the past decade, the estimates have fluctuated between 27% and 33% for this age group.

Whilst Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2019-22 shows that the poverty rate after housing costs for all individuals in Scotland remained below that of the UK, we recognise too many people are living in poverty, and that is why tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of three critical and interdependent missions for this government.

We are committed to using our fixed budget and all the powers we have to reach our targets of substantially reducing child poverty, providing immediate support to families whilst also tackling the underlying causes of poverty.

Our second tackling child poverty delivery plan ‘ Best Start, Bright Futures ’, focused on the six priority family types identified as being at greatest risk of poverty - including families with a mother under 25. In August 2022 we published a focus report on households with mothers aged 25 or under , presenting further evidence of the drivers of child poverty amongst this priority group to inform future action.

We are already taking significant action to tackle poverty amongst families. This includes increasing the value of the Scottish Child Payment to £25 per week, per child, and opening applications to all eligible under 16s in November 2022. Our five family payments, including the Scottish Child Payment, could be worth over £10,000 by the time an eligible child turns 6. This compares to less than £2,000 for eligible families’ in England and Wales, with Scottish support providing over £20,000 by the time an eligible child is 16 years old.

Young families can also benefit from free bus travel for under 22s and the provision of 1,140 hours per year of funded, high-quality early learning and childcare for eligible children, which would cost families around £5,000 per eligible child per year if they were to pay for it themselves. Going forward, the Scottish Government is committed to building a system of school age childcare and developing a funded early learning and childcare offer for 1 and 2 year olds, focusing on those who need it most.

The Scottish Government also provides more targeted support for young families through the Family Nurse Partnership, which we have committed to expanding to all young first-time mothers aged 21 and under by the end of 2024, and, where capacity allows, targeting first time mothers aged 25 and under who are care experienced or from the most deprived communities. This expansion will support up to an additional 500 families per year by 2025.

This intensive relational based support provided to young families is holistic in nature, aims to address immediate health and wellbeing needs and build pathways into community supports and resources to address social and economic factors, such as housing stability, welfare, education, employment and money advice.

Social Security Scotland operates three buildings, forming its headquarters in Dundee: Agnes Husband House, Enterprise House and a part of Dundee House. Social Security Scotland analysis has determined that estates capacity could be reduced, providing a saving to the public purse while continuing to meet the employment commitment made to the city of Dundee.

On this basis, the decision was made to not renew the Occupation Agreement with Dundee City Council for space at Dundee House. From 31 May 2023 Social Security Scotland will occupy Agnes Husband House and Enterprise House. There are currently no plans to reduce the estate further in Dundee.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16884 on 25 April 2023. As only one member of staff is allocated to work directly for the Minister for Independence, their individual salary cannot be released.

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/questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16876 on 25 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government records and processes correspondence addressed to Scottish Ministers on its Ministerial and Corporate Correspondence (MiCase) System. Since the start of 2023, there have been three pieces of correspondence regarding gene editing recorded and processed via the MiCase system.

Scottish Government officials are also in frequent contact with a range of stakeholders and officials in other UK administrations, where gene editing may form part of ongoing correspondence around regular liaison meetings on a range of policy topics.