Meeting of the Parliament 05 March 2025
I have a lot to get through.
I repeat my remark that, if we want to have growth, we need investment in infrastructure, and the Scottish Government should show ambition and use the power that it has in those areas.
Regardless of recent news in England, we also have to be clear that the Labour Government in Westminster values Scotland and has invested in Scotland, and it has made it clear that it intends to continue to do so. To secure the future of the site and retrain workers, £200 million has been invested in Grangemouth. There has also been more than £125 million for GB Energy, creating jobs with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and the national wealth fund, which meets our strategic goal by de-risking private investment, has just made its first investment in Scotland. Both the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, have said that Glasgow could be an AI growth zone. On a smaller scale, North Edinburgh Arts is receiving money from the community ownership fund, creating a community hub that will contain council services, spaces for artists and cafes. Today, of course, ministers rejected an English bid to change the definition of single malt whisky. Those are not the actions of a Government that considers Scotland to be “an afterthought”. When that investment in Scotland was put to a vote in the UK budget, the SNP voted against it.
However, Government investment alone is not enough to deliver economic growth. Our planning system must be reformed to expedite the progress of applications and get businesses building, not waiting. The Scottish Government’s investor panel was clear that unacceptable delays in the planning system are making investment more uncertain and increasing costs, contributing to the perception that Scotland is simply not open for business. Issues with planning contribute to the housing emergency, which is eating away at the disposable income of the public, who are spending more and more of their salary renting or saving rather than boosting other areas of our economy.
Finally, I will touch on another issue that was raised by the investor panel. The current landscape for attracting private investors is cluttered with various Government agencies that have different roles and funds. Our investment agencies should be easy to access and involve businesses in strategy and decision making, with a pipeline of projects ready for private investment.
Ultimately, members will repeat Scotland’s strengths, and we are right to be proud of our advantages, but we need to see those strengths put to work and deliver economic growth because, regardless of any recent UK Government moves, Scotland has lagged behind the rest of the UK in growth for 10 years.
The Scottish Government should be focusing on tackling the issues that we face rather than bickering with a UK Labour Government that is interested in investing in and collaborating with Scotland.