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The Scottish Government recognises that a diverse and successful ports and shipping sector contributes significantly to the national, regional and local economies in which they operate. Ports and harbours are crucial gateways to Scotland and Scottish Ministers continue to support a market-driven approach to ports policy, and recognise the contributions of port and shipping operators to the economy of Scotland.

The Green Freeports model in Scotland has been carefully designed by Scottish and UK Government Ministers to build on the existing strengths of local areas, minimise displacement of local economic activity, and create new opportunities for disadvantaged areas within Scotland.

To track the impact of the Scottish Green Freeports against these aims, we are developing a monitoring and evaluation framework in partnership with the UK Government and a consortium of external evaluation experts. This framework will also monitor and evaluate the impacts of the wider English and Welsh Freeports within the context of the UK. Once the framework has been established fully, Scottish Government and UK Government will publish findings from data collected.

In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with the Scottish ports sector and trade associations going forward, to understand any issues affecting the sector, including – where relevant – any concerns around the impact of Green Freeports or Freeports.

In partnership with Scottish Renewables, we commissioned Climate Exchange to conduct a research project with the aim of assessing the ‘clean heat’ and energy efficiency workforce and the potential required workforce that would be needed to meet the targets set out within our Heat in Buildings Strategy. The report was published in July 2022 and can be found here - https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/research/projects/clean-heat-and-energy-efficiency-workforce-assessment/

The report was used to inform the development of our Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan which was published in November 2022.

Through the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), to date, The Scottish Government has awarded the following proportion of the SIETF; (a) micro 3%, (b) small 12% , (c) medium-sized 17% and (d) large 68%.

By the end of 2023, we intend to confirm the future scope of SIETF applications, taking into account the needs of Scotland's industrial base and the remaining allocated funding at that time. The decision will be informed by liaison with the UK Government regarding responses to the IETF consultation and consideration of options to extend the fund.

As the Pathways report acknowledges, delivery of its recommendation and closing the gender gap in entrepreneurial participation is a long-term undertaking. In addition to the activity outlines in the answer to S6W-21604 on 2 October 2023:

• We are addressing the issue of data to improve our collection and reporting of data, developing a dashboard of measures that show how women are supported by our business support systems and how our actions are closing the gender gap and widening participation in entrepreneurship.

The Panel has made good progress since its inception and has concluded work on Workstreams 1 & 2 which focused on market intelligence and the policy environment. The Panel is progressing Workstream 3, the sector deep dive at pace and it is right that we provide the Panel with the time they need to fully consult, analyse and inform recommendations.

To date no Scotland Innovates funds have been spent to develop submissions received via the service. We do not hold data on monies spent by other parts of the public sector who have assessed submissions.

Supplementary note “The vast majority of Scotland Innovates submissions are from SME’s and are either “at or near market ready”.

There have been a total of 95 submissions received by the Scotland Innovates service. 66 were received during the 2022-23 FY and 29 have been received so far during the 2023-24 FY.

In total 63 submissions have been closed – 36 were closed during the 2022-23 FY and 27 have been closed during the 2023-24 FY so far. Of those closed, 18 have been deemed “successful”; 9 in the 2022-23 FY and 9 in the 2023-24 FY so far.

For the purposes of Scotland Innovates the following defined closure reasons have been considered “successful”:

“Successful” submissions were targeted at the following Scotland Innovates categories:

• Food, Beverage & Catering / Catering Equipment / Catering Equipment & Supplies
• Social Care & Services / Other Social Care & Services / Other Social Care & Social Services
• Business Support Services / Information Services / Information Services
• Waste & Environmental Services / Environmental Services / Environmental Equipment & Services
• Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Sterilisation & Disinfection
• Other Goods & Services / Economic Development / Social Research Services
• ICT / IT Hardware & Software / Software as a Service
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Diabetes
• Healthcare / Healthcare Services / Digital Health
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Cardio (thoracic, vascular, ology)
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Dermatology
• Facilities Management / Cleaning & Janitorial Services / Specialist Hygiene Services
• ICT / IT Hardware & Software / Software as a Service
• Public Sector Bodies / Emergency Services / Fire Services
• Education / Schools & Colleges / Primary School Supplies and/or Services
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Cancer service
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Physiotherapy
• Clothing / Clothing & Footwear / Clothing & Footwear Supplies & Services

There are 19 submissions where assessor(s) have been or are currently assigned and 5 with assessment completed.

On 6 April 2022 we published an independent analysis of the responses to our consultation on developing an aviation strategy. Amongst other topics, the consultation invited views on the transition to low and zero emission aviation and the role that the Scottish Government could potentially play. Decarbonising aviation is also relevant to the ongoing development of the Scottish Government’s climate change plan and it is important to ensure policy coherence between the two documents. We are also considering the appropriate time to publish the aviation strategy given this context.

In the interim we continue to support the aviation sector in line with our commitment to making Scotland as well connected as its peer nations and regions, and to support and improve lifeline air services for our rural and island communities.