The next Scottish government needs to demonstrate that digital transformation is a national priority
What do Canada, Norway, South Africa, and as many as 15 other OECD countries have in common?
They all develop their national digital strategies through dedicated digital ministers or ministries.
At Westminster, Ian Murray is Minister for Digital Government and Data, Liz Lloyd is Minister for Digital Economy and Kanishka Narayan is Minister for AI and Online Safety.
However, in Scotland, ‘Digital Economy’ was lost from the Minister for Public Finance role in February 2020. It’s time we re-joined the ranks of forward-looking developed nations and appoint a Minister for Digital Delivery in the next parliament.
Scotland has an enviable track record when it comes to technology and innovation, and we need all aspects of our increasingly digital lives to be brought under one senior point of responsibility for the maximum possible benefit to be realised.
We are grateful to the senior points of contact within the government who have been receptive to digital issues and opportunities, but recently this has been as an incidental part of wide-ranging briefs.
With the potential to unite key growth areas like datacentres, AI deployment, digital connectivity and digital life skills at this critical time for Scotland’s economic development, a single appointment of this type would be a statement of intent.
The Scottish government recently estimated that the Scottish tech ecosystem contributed £4.9 billion Gross Value Added to the economy, and this was before the acceleration of AI and the ever-increasing reach of the online world we all inhabit.
Digital connectivity sits at the centre of these wider ambitions, and independent research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Stantec shows that fibre rollout could deliver a £4.38bn boost to the Scottish economy by 2029.
It might sound strange, then, to raise a very bricks-and-mortar barrier to this digital future. We can solve the challenge of building in hard-to-reach places, but network builders' hands are tied when it comes to accessing flats or Scotland’s ubiquitous tenements to deliver the kit that connects people to faster speeds.
We require the consent of every person in a building before we can access communal areas in Scotland. This can lead to huge delays, especially with exacerbating factors like absent landlords.
Challenges like this, particularly when they cross over with powers reserved to Westminster, require specialist knowledge, seniority and attention. We are seeing emerging cooperation between governments in this area, but a Minister for Digital Delivery could accelerate this further.
If we overcome these barriers and join up the digital opportunities that already exist, the prize is substantial. Within this, better connectivity means improved access to the digital work, health and entertainment opportunities that will deliver profound economic and societal benefits across Scotland.
The next Holyrood election provides the ideal moment to make this change. As parties set out their visions for Scotland’s future, a commitment to a Minister for Digital Delivery would demonstrate that digital transformation is not an afterthought but a national priority
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kate Milligan
Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: The Scotsman, 30.03.2026
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