Committee
Enterprise and Culture Committee, 28 Jun 2005
28 Jun 2005 · S2 · Enterprise and Culture Committee
Item of business
Business Growth Inquiry
Iain Duff:
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Well, I am involved in the business school at the University of Strathclyde. Business schools should have an increasing role in training Scottish managers. That potential needs to be tapped. A few years back, some of the financial services companies proposed introducing their own business school to train managers. I do not know whether that suggested that there were deficiencies in the existing business schools, but I remember being quoted in the press as saying that those companies should encourage and engage with what we already have.There is a role for our business schools in thinking about what type of skills we want our managers to have. They are obviously doing good work. The business schools at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh have fairly good reputations that they should build on, as their potential is untapped at present. There is certainly a role for the business schools if we are serious about ensuring that our managers have the right skills. We touch on that in our submission.We mention the determined to succeed initiative in our submission, but only in passing in paragraph 50, where we say that we should ensure that it engages effectively. We have no involvement in running the programme—I understand that we are not allowed to call it a scheme—so we want to see the effects over the longer term. Obviously, a programme such as the determined to succeed initiative will take time to produce real results, so some sort of on-going audit is necessary to ensure that the initiative engages effectively—a bit like the evidence that we gather on our young engineers clubs—before we get too excited about it.However, SCDI has put its name to supporting the determined to succeed initiative. I think that Alan Wilson is on some sort of board or grouping that helps to spread the message about it and we have had presentations on it given to our members so that they can engage with it. The initiative is not something that we do not pay any attention to. We would like it to succeed, but we would like to see more evidence of what its impact has been.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
SNP
We will take evidence from three panels of witnesses. Our first witnesses are Alan Wilson, the chief executive of the Scottish Council for Development and In...
Alan Wilson (Scottish Council for Development and Industry):
Thank you for the invitation to the committee. I apologise for producing a written submission that is 21 pages long—I did not notice until afterwards that it...
Christine May:
Lab
I have several questions so I will try to confine myself to asking some of them and hope that other committee members ask the rest. I am particularly interes...
Alan Wilson:
It should be borne in mind that there was a business poundage rate freeze in 2003. We estimate that that cost about £35 million. At that time, we asked for a...
Christine May:
Lab
Thank you. I thought that you might say that, so my next question puts the point back to you. If, for example, that money was to come from the current budget...
Alan Wilson:
That is a leading question.
Christine May:
Lab
Yes.
Alan Wilson:
Should I say that we should suddenly slice £100 million off Scottish Enterprise's budget? Jillian Moffat is behind me and she is already kicking me. I would ...
Christine May:
Lab
Thank you. I will leave that one sticking to the wall. However, the money would have to come from somewhere and you have suggested that it should be from som...
Iain Duff (Scottish Council for Development and Industry):
The issues that have been raised with us most recently seem to be in the environmental sphere, such as water regulation. Our members have recently talked to ...
Alan Wilson:
If I may, I will add a little to that. The member asked about specific industries. We have had dialogue with the whisky sector, which is particularly concern...
Christine May:
Lab
Thank you. I have a comment and a quick question, which I hope will lead to a quick answer. My comment is that you will shortly receive a call for evidence f...
Iain Duff:
The model could be extended to other areas. From the young engineers' point of view, SCDI has been driving the model through for many years—since the 1980s. ...
Christine May:
Lab
Thank you. Perhaps the SCDI could write to us with evidence on the progression of young people from young engineer clubs into engineering disciplines. It wou...
The Convener:
SNP
That would be helpful.
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I have an observation to make on business rates before I launch into my questioning. Our new Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning is on record as sa...
Alan Wilson:
The point that we are making is that there are an awful lot of schemes and initiatives that keep an awful lot of people busy in implementing and administerin...
Iain Duff:
The anecdotal evidence from companies is mixed. Some of them get an incredibly good service from particular initiatives; but others, as we say in our submiss...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
What is your view on the effectiveness of the business gateway, as opposed to Scottish Enterprise as a whole? For many small and medium-sized companies, the ...
Iain Duff:
We do not deal with it every day of the week, but reports suggest that the gateway is useful. Alan Wilson spoke about streamlining and a one-stop shop is the...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
I want to ask Alan Wilson one final question. A moment ago, you seemed to suggest that you were in favour of slimming down the LECs and centralising things a...
Alan Wilson:
I was referring only to administration—just the back-up services. What we require is more work at the coalface.
Murdo Fraser:
Con
Are you generally happy with the structure of Scottish Enterprise and with the devolving of responsibilities to local areas?
Alan Wilson:
In recent times, Scottish Enterprise has gone in the right direction in the devolving of responsibilities. I am not sure that I would like to go further than...
Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab):
Lab
I would like to ask three questions. The first is broadly on education. I would like you to address a couple of points that were not really addressed in your...
Alan Wilson:
The determined to succeed initiative has an £86 million budget over three years or perhaps longer. Teachers and practitioners to whom I have spoken say that ...
Iain Duff:
Well, I am involved in the business school at the University of Strathclyde. Business schools should have an increasing role in training Scottish managers. T...
Susan Deacon:
Lab
That is helpful.I have two more questions on potentially big subjects, so I am simply looking for an indication of your thoughts. My first question is on pla...
Alan Wilson:
I will comment first—Iain Duff can then comment and elaborate on what I have said. We are looking for more automaticity in the system. I have been told that ...
Iain Duff:
It is right to say that the Scottish Council for Development and Industry has never been against just third-party rights of appeal, although we do not think ...