Richard Lochhead: Scottish tech sector needs ‘joined-up thinking’

Business minister Richard Lochhead has called for more “joined-up thinking in Scotland” as MSPs criticised the failure to put the games sector on the same footing as other tech enterprises.

Addressing a portfolio question put forward by SNP MSP Clare Adamson, a computer scientist, on how the Scottish Government could support entrepreneurship in the games sector, Lochhead pointed to the action plan for the industry, which is currently being developed, adding it will “better target support” for the games ecosystem.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government approved the creation of the first video games strategy in the UK in a bid to ensure Scotland maintains its position as a global pioneer in the sector, which contributes almost £190m to the economy annually.

However, Adamson suggested the sector may be underperforming in terms of its economic value as it is not an “integral” part of Scotland’s tech funding, unlike other technologies such as artificial intelligence.

In response, Lochhead said there is a lot of “cross-pollination between the games and other high-tech sectors”, adding more should be done to recognise this.

He said: “Clare Adamson quite rightly highlights the massive potential for the games sector in Scotland and that’s why we’re very keen to hear the outcome of the current work by the industry on what a strategy should look like for the future of the sector in Scotland. There’s a lot of cross-pollination between the games sector and other high-tech sectors in Scotland. I think we should do more to recognize that and support that which could lead to more potential being realised within the sector as well.”

Labour MSP Michael Marra then said “much more” could be done, asking Lochhead whether other successful initiatives such as Screen Scotland, which supports the development of the film and TV industry, could be mirrored in the games sector.

Lochhead admitted the industry felt its wider benefits were under-recognised, and that that copying other policies was something the government should look at.

He added: “But we clearly have many high growth tech sector in Scotland at the moment, and the game sector and the technologies developed within the games sector are very central to these other technologies as well, and that’s why we need more joined-up thinking in Scotland and the games sector is very keen to be at the heart of that thinking, not just siloed into a games sector.”