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Meeting of the Parliament 11 September 2013

11 Sep 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Enterprise Networks

Ewing, Fergus SNP Inverness and Nairn Watch on SPTV

Tavish Scott raises a significant point that takes up a lot of time and consideration. I recently met with the Highlands and Islands Enterprise team that is involved in the broadband exercise and with representatives of BT. The issue is close to the heart of all HIE officials, as they are all citizens, too. As Tavish Scott well knows, particularly in tourism, it is difficult for a business to be successful if it is not on broadband. Ten years ago, broadband might have been a luxury or add-on, but now it is a sine qua non of success, if I may use a Latin phrase, so we will certainly be pursuing those matters.

Our success has been recognised in not altogether likely places. The Financial Times ran an editorial that said:

“The ‘Team Scotland’ approach adopted by the devolved Holyrood government and its enterprise agencies has helped to attract high-profile investments over the past year in spite of the tough economic environment ... While parts of England are still struggling to adjust to the abolition of the regional development agencies, Scotland has benefited from stability and continuity offered by Scottish Enterprise”.

In October 2012, following a regional analysis report into UK public expenditure, one of the report’s authors said:

“An investor looking at the North East”

—the north-east of England, that is—

“has to traipse round the whole of the North East knocking on a variety of doors. They go up to Scotland, they go and see Scottish Enterprise, it sorts out grants for the land, it sorts out grants for training, it sorts out all of the support that they require and that obviously makes it a whole lot easier for them.”

Scottish business supports our approach, too. Iain Pitman, the chairman of Arran Aromatics, said that his company has

“enjoyed fantastic support from Highland & Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International over the past years and we hope these positive working relationships will continue to support further international growth and help take Arran Aromatics from a £5.2m business to a truly global brand.”

The role of account management is important, and I want to showcase that in the debate, with—I hope—support from colleagues across the political spectrum. Scottish Enterprise works with approximately 10,000 Scottish businesses, providing support to help them to grow through innovation, access to finance, exporting, leadership and other key business support areas.

More than 2,000 of those companies are account managed, which ensures an approach that is focused on and targeted at those that can deliver the greatest growth. It makes sense to focus the greatest attention—and taxpayers’ cash—on those companies that have been identified as having the greatest growth capacity. Plainly, we cannot support every company with grants, so we have used that method of prioritisation, and I hope that we can, together, endorse that methodology once again today.

Over the period from 2008-09 to 2011-12, it is estimated that 1,120 companies took part in the evaluation. They achieved a net additional increase in turnover of £1.45 billion, contributing net additional gross value added of £575 million to the Scottish economy. Multiplier effects through supply chains and spending by employees are estimated to have contributed an additional £535 million GVA. The total net additional GVA over the period is therefore estimated at £1.1 billion—£1,100 million—which was generated as a result of account management activity. That is pretty significant.

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Meeting of the Parliament 11 September 2013

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