Scottish Business UK

Autumn Budget: “Fewer businesses and would-be entrepreneurs will risk investing in Britain, tax revenues will drop and public services will be left to suffer. If this sets the tone for Labour’s economic approach, Britain is in for a long and painful five years.” Robert Kilgour, CEO, Dow Investments ➡️ https://ow.ly/RZl750U0quv

According to a survey, produced by the Fraser of Allander Institute, only 9% of businesses feel the Scottish government understands their concerns. ➡️ https://ow.ly/lKZj50TVOog

Young Enterprise Scotland, which has delivered enterprise education to schools and colleges for more than three decades, is likely to shut after the Scottish Government scrapped a grant funding scheme. ➡️ https://ow.ly/ygUy50TVO1x

Labour’s package of workers’ rights will cost business up to £5 billion a year, with small firms shouldering a disproportionate burden of the additional measures, according to a government report. ➡️ https://ow.ly/8x3S50TVNsB

The number of core staff employed by the Scottish government has almost doubled in the past decade under the SNP. ➡️ https://ow.ly/fybB50TUjcK

As a former Board Director of Young Enterprise Scotland for 4 years, I'm appalled at the announcement this morning that it's at risk of closure after the Scottish Government has scrapped its full grant and failed to follow through on funding assurances. YES has been delivering enterprise education to schools and colleges for more than 30 years. The imminent closure will mean that participants will no longer be able to complete the SCQF Level 6 qualification ‘higher’ in entrepreneurship. Last year YES supported over 18,000 school and college students through its enterprise programmes, including the flagship Company Programme, which many entrepreneurs credit with firing their passion to set up their own businesses. Countless entrepreneurs and business leaders have volunteered on the Company Programme, sharing their knowledge, expertise and experiences which has been invaluable to young people. As Emma Soanes, CEO of YES commented “Failing to support this crucial stage of the entrepreneurial pipeline is entirely at odds with strategic priorities reflected in the government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation and the key recommendations of the Entrepreneurial Campus report.” Let's reflect on just some of the money wasted by the Scottish Government in recent times: Ferries costing £450M+ from an original budget of £97M. An £87.4M overspend on Social Security IT systems. The replacement for Barlinnie prison £300M over budget. £9M loss over the Deposit Return Scheme (and Biffa suing them for £200M). Then we have the reintroduction of peak rail fares to strangle the working population, based upon nonsensical data gathered whilst numerous services were cut and cancelled. And let's not start about the Edinburgh trams delivered at £400M over budget. The loss of YES will be devastating for so many, not least the fantastic team and the countless thousands of young people who have had, and those in the future who would have had, their entrepreneurial spark ignited. If the majority of entrepreneurs mismanaged budgets in the way the SG do, there would be precious few businesses in existence.

Scotland is enjoying a tourism boom with new figures showing a surge in overseas visitors that have seen it outperform other parts of the UK. ➡️ https://ow.ly/tRRW50TPO8I

A study from the University of Strathclyde's Fraser of Allander Institute has revealed that economic and political uncertainty are major concerns for a vast majority of Scottish businesses, with 85% citing economic unpredictability as a significant issue. ➡️ https://ow.ly/5X3E50TPNOA

The UK Government is accelerating the rollout of a "skills passport" aimed at enabling oil and gas workers to transition into renewable energy roles, such as those in the offshore wind industry. ➡️ https://ow.ly/V83S50TPNBV

The Scottish Government has "squandered" an offshore wind opportunity presented by ScotWind, according to the UK energy minister. In an interview with Holyrood magazine, Michael Shanks said that Scotland had let slip an opportunity of "enormous potential". ➡️ https://ow.ly/Wqzz50TPMLj