Meeting of the Parliament 27 February 2025
We look to our enterprise agencies and the bank to invest in high-growth-potential companies in the most appropriate way. A range of options is available to them, but, in short, we would generally work through arms such as the enterprise agencies and the bank to do something like that.
I have outlined what we are trying to do, but it requires close and effective collaboration with the UK Government, especially on regulatory issues, where many of the levers lie, and strong partnerships with bodies such as the National Wealth Fund, Great British Energy and the Office for Investment. Early signs from the UK Government are encouraging. We need to build on that and make co-operation systematic, and we need to do that quickly. We will play our part, and we look to the UK Government to do likewise.
In conclusion, there is much to be done if we are to meet the investment challenge for the benefit of the health and wellbeing of our people and planet. We have a plan, and although success never comes overnight, we are beginning to make a difference. I would welcome colleagues across the chamber joining us so that we can, as I have said, answer any questions that they might have. More than that, I ask them to amplify the opportunities for Scotland and to attract the investment that is needed to make them a reality.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that increasing the level of investment in the Scottish economy is critical to delivering on the Scottish Government’s priorities of improving public services, supporting a thriving economy, tackling the climate emergency, and eradicating child poverty; recognises that the Scottish Government’s programme of public investment, particularly in the priority areas of net zero, housing and infrastructure, is vital for leveraging private investment across the Scottish economy, to stimulate growth in key sectors, improve productivity and create jobs; welcomes the annual EY survey, which shows that Scotland is outpacing the UK as a whole when it comes to securing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, and three Scottish cities ranked in the UK’s top 10 locations for FDI outside of London, and believes that Scotland’s strengths and expertise in areas such as technology, financial services, food and drink, tourism and the energy transition make Scotland the ideal place to invest and deliver projects that bring wider benefits to the Scottish economy.
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