Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
2. To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Tay cities deal will have on Dundee. (S5O-05107)
Michael Matheson
Scottish National Party
The
Scottish Government’s £150 million commitment to the Tay cities region deal demonstrates our support for the future of the whole region, including Dundee.
Our investment includes £31 million for two projects that will further enhance the city’s reputation for innovation. The cyberquarter at Abertay University and the biomedical cluster at the University of Dundee will both foster world-class expertise. They will also generate opportunities for local suppliers and will create more than 700 skilled jobs. We will ensure that those jobs are accessible to local people through our complementary £20 million investment in a regional skills development and employability programme.
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
The investment and the related jobs are very welcome. Can the Cabinet secretary say more specifically what discussions the Scottish Government has had with Dundee City Council regarding Dundee’s 5G test-bed status and public wi-fi network to help further Dundee’s ambition to become a smart city, with the highest possible level of digital connectivity through the Tay cities deal?
Michael Matheson
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government continues to work with Dundee City Council in taking forward work around the 5G test bed and public wi-fi network through the Scottish Futures Trust. We believe that that will be critical to Dundee in achieving its vision of becoming a smart city.
Deployment is expected to take place later this year. The initial focus will be around a full-fibre infrastructure programme, which will provide a platform for public wi-fi services and the development of a 5G test bed. That will act as a catalyst for the rest of Dundee to develop a 5G ecosystem capable of creating a wider smart region.
That is supported through the provision of around £2 million from the Tay cities region deal, which is aiding the development of demonstration projects around 5G technology. It is hoped that, by taking that forward, Dundee will be able to ensure its position not just as a leading city for inward investment but as a leading city in the deployment of 5G technology.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
