- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many companies applied for awards from the 2021 round of funding
from the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Fund, broken down by the (a) name of,
(b) amount requested by and (c) amount awarded to each company, and for those
companies that were awarded funding, what payments have been made to date in
each case.
Answer
Name of Organisation | Amount requested | Amount Awarded | For Those Organisations That Were Awarded Funding) Payments Made to Date. |
UX Glasgow | £1,000 | £1,000 | N/A |
Product Forge | £49,750 | £15,000 | N/A |
Digital for Good | £17,600 | £0 | N/A |
Scotland IS | £115,000 | £0 | N/A |
Cloud Cover | £18,300 | £0 | N/A |
DIGIT | £50,000 | £10,000 | £10,000 |
Easthouse | £10,000 | £0 | N/A |
FutureX | £45,000 | £25,020 | £25,020 |
Digital Scotland | £28,000 | £0 | N/A |
University of Glasgow | £20,000 | £5,000 | £3,864 |
First Time Founder Podcast / Gigged.AI | £8,500 | £8,500 | N/A |
Michael Boniface | £3,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
I to I Communications | £46,520 | £0 | N/A |
Open Source Glasgow | £2,500 | £0 | N/A |
HALO | £50,000 | £0 | N/A |
Gigged.AI (separate application to above) | £3,800 | £0 | N/A |
Proximity | £50,000 | £0 | N/A |
Vivolution | £30,000 | £30,000 | £30,000 |
Direct Partners | £46,000 | £0 | N/A |
Egg | £39,900 | £0 | N/A |
Startup Grind | £45,000 | £45,000 | £44,942.97 |
Startup Grind (Separate application to above) | £6,900 | £6,900 | £5,707.49 |
Pawprint | £15,000 | £0 | N/A |
RookieOven | £40,400 | £0 | N/A |
SCDI | £41,490 | £0 | N/A |
Creative Edinburgh | £30,500 | £30,500 | £30,500 |
Metta | £44,500 | £0 | N/A |
Equity Gap | £4,000 | £4,000 | £4,000 |
Actionable Business | £35,000 | £0 | N/A |
Digital Skills Education | £12,800 | £0 | N/A |
CrowdX | £43,000 | £0 | N/A |
Digital for Good / Crisis | £24,000 | £0 | N/A |
EMEC / Islands Centre for Net Zero (ICNZ) | £46,000 | £0 | N/A |
SIS Ventures | £48,190 | £0 | N/A |
Women's Enterprise Scotland | £43,466 | £43,466 | £43,466 |
Scottish Business Network | £49,346 | £49,346 | £47,089.79 |
Scottish Summit | £50,000 | £0 | N/A |
Codebase | £239,512 | £0 | N/A |
NoCode Scotland | £14,245 | £14,245 | £13,496.91 |
Solstice Digital | £26,100 | £0 | N/A |
Community Lab | £42,000 | £42,000 | £42,000 |
CENSIS | £3,764 | £0 | N/A |
EdinburghJS | £3,250 | £3,250 | £2,979.48 |
Codebase (Second Application) | £42,800 | £42,800 | £39,836.69 |
Make It Happen | £36,980 | £0 | N/A |
The Data Lab | £70,000 | £50,000 | £50,000 |
Goddess Gaia Ventures | £50,000 | £50,500 | £50,500 |
Codebase (Third Application) | £49,000 | £49,000 | £47,500 |
Traveltech for Scotland | £22,800 | £0 | N/A |
Founder.Scot | £7,598 | £0 | N/A |
ScotApps | £39,090 | £0 | N/A |
Glasgow City Innovation District | £24,900 | £24,900 | £23,689.15 |
Heriot-Watt University | £47,982 | £0 | N/A |
Robert Gordon University | £14,000 | £0 | N/A |
Scottish Games Network | £49,425 | £49,425 | £49,425 |
Code The City | £10,500 | £0 | N/A |
Tech Meetup Stirling | £1,000 | £1,000 | N/A |
Exolta Capital Partners | £41,650 | £41,650 | £41,650 |
Scottish Business Network and FutureX | £29,700 | £29,700 | £28,091.80 |
University of Edinburgh - Accelerating Climate Tech Adoption | £12,600 | £0 | N/A |
University of Edinburgh - EI Student Services: Breaking Barriers Events | £18,000 | £0 | N/A |
University of Edinburgh - EIE | £70,000 | £70,000 | £69,125.75 |
University of Edinburgh - Fife Tech Meet up – DDE | £19,650 | £0 | N/A |
University of Edinburgh - Health and Social Care Data Driven Innovation Community (HSCDDI) | £18,000 | £0 | N/A |
Altra | £28,470 | £0 | N/A |
Scotland's International Environment Centre (SIEC) | £40,000 | £0 | N/A |
Games Jobs Live | £9,750 | £9,750 | £9,750 |
eteaket | £5,990 | £0 | N/A |
Female Founder Squad | £38,350 | £38,350 | £26,428 |
New Norm | £3,750 | £3,750 | N/A |
Renfrewshire Council | £5,000 | £0 | N/A |
Ping Creates | £29,500 | £0 | N/A |
Raising Partners | £49,875 | £49,875 | £49,874.52 |
DTLX | £33,500 | £0 | N/A |
One HealthTech Aberdeen | £10,900 | £0 | N/A |
Construction Scotland Innovation Centre | £49,175 | £0 | N/A |
Turing Fest | £46,000 | £46,000 | £46,000 |
CodeCraft | £5,000 | £5,000 | £143.88 |
STAC | £48,400 | £0 | N/A |
Eureka!Europe | £50,000 | £0 | N/A |
AAI | £48,440 | £0 | N/A |
Prewired | £11,918 | £0 | N/A |
Korero Studios | £20,800 | £0 | N/A |
DataKirk | £50,000 | £0 | N/A |
Mint Ventures | £34,350 | £34,350 | £34,348.71 |
STEM Leaders Meetup | £6,636 | £0 | N/A |
British Esports | £25,000 | £0 | N/A |
Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance | £39,240 | £0 | N/A |
Heriot-Watt University and Filament PD | £48,000 | £0 | N/A |
Master the Curriculum | £22,000 | £0 | N/A |
Macresco | £9,000 | £0 | N/A |
DNA Coach | £30,000 | £0 | N/A |
Ewa Grabowiecka | £11,000 | £0 | N/A |
The Startup Race | £50,000 | £50,000 | £50,000 |
Niki Hutchison | £45,000 | £0 | N/A |
Drupal Scotland | £8,600 | £0 | N/A |
MoneyMatiX | £50,000 | £0 | N/A |
Urban Foresight | £42,350 | £0 | N/A |
University of Edinburgh - City Region Deal DDI Programme Office | £13,500 | £0 | N/A |
University of Stratclyde Business School | £16,400 | £16,400 | £11,863.08 |
Scottish AI Alliance | £45,000 | £0 | N/A |
Glasgow City of Science and Innovation | £48,600 | £0 | N/A |
Venus and Mars Dating | £20,000 | £0 | N/A |
A Wild Haggis | £40,000 | £0 | N/A |
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether each event awarded funding though the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Fund took place as described on its application.
Answer
All funded activity was authorised by the Scottish Government in line with the strategic aims and objectives of the Ecosystem Fund.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 October 2022
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons its Rural Entrepreneur Fund (a) has not yet been introduced, in light of its inclusion in the Programme for Government 2021-22 and (b) is not included in its Programme for Government 2022-23.
Answer
The Rural Entrepreneur Fund was a 2021-22 Programme for Government (PfG) commitment to invest £20 million over the lifetime of the current parliament.
In light of the challenging financial environment, we need to prioritise our investments to ensure that they are deliverable, impactful and affordable. Consequently, there has been no money made available for Rural Entrepreneur Fund to date.
Our PfG 2022-23 prioritises support for households, businesses and public services. Following the UK Government’s Emergency Budget we will carry out a budget review to assess opportunities to redirect additional resources to those most in need.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 October 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will no longer seek to put measures in place to double the amount of land used for organic farming by 2026, and, if so, what the reason is for its decision on this matter.
Answer
The commitment to the 2021-22 Programme for Government ambition to double the amount of land used for organic farming by 2026 is still firmly in place, alongside our commitment to establish a new Organic Food and Farming Action Plan by the end of this parliamentary session. We will extend the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme up to the end of the period of stability in 2024, which will continue to underpin the ambition for organic farming.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 October 2022
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons its Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation Fund (a) has not yet been introduced, in light of its inclusion in the Programme for Government 2021-22 and (b) is not included in its Programme for Government 2022-23.
Answer
A new funding round of the Food Processing and Marketing Cooperation Grant Scheme (FPMC) ran in late 2021 to support food processors in developing local supply chains and transitioning to net zero operations. This ultimately saw £7.3m being awarded across 29 projects.
A further funding round, with a budget of £10.2m for new projects, was opened on 9 May 2022, and closed on 19 June 2022, with 65 applications having been received from the food processing industry. The assessment process has now concluded, and businesses will be notified of the outcome of their applications imminently.
This year’s Programme for Government was published in the context of the most severe cost crisis of our lifetimes, and for that reason, the nature and immediate focus of this Programme for Government is different. As well as facing uncertainty created by the inaction of others, we face difficult choices ourselves, both as a nation and as a government and the 22-23 Programme for Government clearly sets out immediate steps this government will take to help families and businesses to get through this crisis. It is also important to note that the Programme for Government does not cover all of the work being taken forward by the Scottish Government, and that we remain committed to supporting businesses to grow and expand, whilst contributing to the development of local supply chains, and supporting the transition to net zero emissions.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will no longer seek to establish the single marketing brand for all Scottish produce, "Sustainably Scottish", and, if so, what the reason is for its decision on this matter.
Answer
SG commissioned Scottish Agriculture Organisation Society (SAOS) to undertake market research to establish demand for a new food and drink brand, and possible options. This research was based on branding that would be available to Scottish based producers, manufacturers and suppliers who can satisfy stringent criteria on provenance and low carbon operations.
The final report is expected soon. This research will be used to inform approaches that will allow businesses to capitalise on the provenance and quality that Scotland’s produce is synonymous with.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the work of the Covid Business Resilience and Support Directorate is supporting its Covid Recovery Strategy.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2022
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 August 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 16 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to make regulations under section 4 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 to
enable marriages to become civil partnerships.
Answer
We remain committed to making regulations under section 4 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 to enable marriages to become civil partnerships.
We are currently in discussion with the UK Government on reserved consequential legislation and will consider timings once these discussions have completed.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to ensure that hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 are recorded accurately and that errors in recording can be corrected.
Answer
A rigorous approach is taken to ensure accurate census paper questionnaire data.
Paper questionnaires are scanned and the answers are captured digitally using character recognition software. During scanning, the system looks to automatically allocate a numeric code to each answer, which allows the data to be easily analysed. Trained Quality Control operators perform daily checks on a sample of cases to ensure the quality of data captured from scanned questionnaires meets expectations.
It is not always possible to automatically allocate valid codes during scanning as some answers provided are not always on lists the system matches to. To ensure complete information is recorded, National Records of Scotland (NRS) set up a manual coding service where trained coding operatives visually inspect census questionnaires and make a decision on the most accurate code to assign.
Further manual inspections of the paper forms are made by NRS staff to check allocated categories and codes.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether all hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 will be digitally recorded in their entirety.
Answer
All valid paper returns from Scotland’s Census 2022 will be scanned in full and digital images created. In addition, digital data from responses for all scanned census returns, including online or paper, will be produced and retained.
