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The SHC come to their own view as to whether Health board proposals are major or not. Ministers make the final determination on designation where necessary (Health boards often decide that proposals are major themselves and follow the appropriate process without the need to ask Ministers), as informed by the views of the particular Health board and SHC.

The Scottish Government does not gather data on women’s representation on listed private sector boards in Scotland. However, since 1999, the Cranfield School of Management has published an annual female FTSE benchmarking report providing a regular measure of the number of women executive on the corporate boards of the UK’s top 100 companies.

The Cranfield School of Management’s Female FTSE Board Report 2016 provides statistics on women’s representation on the boards of FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE 350 boards in the UK. The report shows that in 2016 women held 26% of directorships on FTSE 100 boards, an increase of 11% since 2012. In March 2016, women held 20.4% of directorships on FTSE 250 boards and 22.4% on FTSE 350 boards.

There are currently no Scottish Development International staff employed in the Dublin, Brussels or Berlin hubs. When our London Hub opens in 2017, the eight people working for Scottish Development International in London will transfer there. SDI is currently considering how the additional staff resources can be most effectively deployed across Europe according to market opportunities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05560 on 14 December 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05560 on 14 December 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Our intention is that the bodies involved in enterprise and skills delivery will each retain their separate legal status and chief executive. We will consult on potential governance options as part of taking forward phase two.

We are taking a number of actions to support and strengthen Scotland’s economy, in keeping with the priorities identified in our Economic Strategy.

We’ve taken action to support the economy’s resilience following the EU referendum result, including through our Capital Acceleration Programme. The Scottish Growth Scheme will help to support investment in Scotland. We’re taking forward a number of actions to improve our innovation performance, and our expansion of childcare will help parents to participate in the economy, supporting inclusive growth. We are promoting Scotland on the international stage through our Innovation and Investment Hubs in Dublin, London, Brussels and Berlin.

Our Enterprise and Skills Review will bring even greater integration and focus to the delivery of our enterprise and skills support, to help ensure we maximise the contribution our agencies make to improving Scotland’s economic performance.

I refer to my comments on these points in evidence to the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee on 29 November 2016.

On 25 June 2015 the First Minister launched the Partnership for Change 50/50 by 2020 campaign, inviting private sector companies, voluntary sector organisations and public bodies to sign up to a voluntary commitment to work towards 50/50 gender balance on their boards by 2020. At the time of writing, the Partnership for Change has 191 signatories, including 36 private sector companies.