Forbes unveils ‘radical and bold’ 10-year economic strategy

Scotland must “ruthlessly and relentlessly” build an entrepreneurial culture to deliver more economic prosperity over the next decade, Kate Forbes has said.

The Finance Secretary launched the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation that she hailed as a “radical and bold” foundation to support businesses.

The strategy identified five economic areas “with the greatest potential to transform Scotland” that Ms Forbes said would focus on growth, reducing poverty and making the country fairer.

Following the launch of the strategy, STUC general secretary Roz Foyer – a member of the government’s advisory board – said the policy was merely “paying lip service” to building a wellbeing economy,

Launching the strategy in Dundee, Ms Forbes said it would help ensure the Scottish economy “outperforms the last decade, both in terms of economic performance and tackling structural economic inequalities”.

From the summer, all government grants will require recipients to pay all staff at least the living wage and include “effective” employee representation.

The strategy will see the creation of an “investor panel” led by the First Minister to raise funds for net zero projects, with Ms Forbes urging businesses to “seize the opportunity” to transition away from carbon-emitting practices.

Speaking at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc in Dundee, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy said: “This strategy clarifies our vision, it identifies the building blocks of success and it reforms the public landscape to focus ruthlessly and relentlessly on delivery.

“We all know the challenges of our day – the short term and the long term – but challenge is nothing new.

“Indeed, it has been through the tumultuous times of the past, whether a global pandemic or an industrial revolution, that Scotland has excelled.

“These are the times when we have pioneered solutions, created jobs and established highly successful businesses.

“So the opportunities ahead – yes, the opportunities of decarbonisation, disruptive new technologies and transitioning industries – these opportunities far outweigh the challenges.

“This is a unique moment and we are ready, willing and able to lead the way, and ensure Scotland capitalises on the opportunity.

“We must create the conditions to generate significant, systemic change; we must be bold and ruthless and laser-focused to maximise the impact of the actions we have identified.

Asked about the criticism from the STUC, whose general secretary said it was “more a strategy for economic status quo than economic transformation”, Ms Forbes told the PA news agency she “immensely appreciated (Ms Foyer’s) constructive input over the course of the development of the strategy”.

“I respect her desire to push us as hard as possible,” Ms Forbes said.

“Across the strategy we were committed to improving economic outcomes and raising the standard of living, so you will see a renewed focus on ensuring that we have fairness at the heart of everything we do.

“I think the most radical and bold parts of this strategy is that it focuses on not only economic outcomes, and economic growth, but also on reducing poverty and building a fairer Scotland.

“We know in Scotland that as we emerge from the pandemic, as we’ve come through Brexit, we have huge strengths and great opportunities – particularly with the just transition.

“In order to capitalise on those opportunities, for example with renewables or offshore wind, we also need to be creating fair work, and fair work directly brings households and families out of poverty.”

In the STUC statement released in the wake of the strategy’s launch, Ms Foyer said: “The National Strategy for Economic Transformation has a sprinkling of good ideas and we have successfully argued for some strong lines on the importance of fair work, decent pay and the role of trade unions, but, overall, it is a missed opportunity to address the challenges before us and make real, transformational change.”

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy for the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “It’s heartening to see the commitment to a retail strategy and recognition of the impact the pandemic has had upon the Scottish retail industry.

“However, retailers would have liked to see greater clarity on what steps are going to be taken to keep down the cost of doing business. To successfully transform Scotland’s economy to be fit for a net zero future will require investment from both government and businesses.”

Andrew McRae, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland, said: “The Cabinet Secretary for Finance pledged a ruthless focus on delivery. Delays and confusion associated with Covid grant funding shows that there’s much scope for improvement when it comes to execution.

“We’d also urge officials and ministers to continue to listen to those that run local businesses.

“For many of these operators spiralling overheads combined with Covid-related debt means that a long-term outlook just doesn’t feel possible. Helping these firms weather the ongoing storm must be a key priority for the Scottish Government.”

Scottish Conservative finance spokeswoman Liz Smith said it was a “thin and underwhelming collection of platitudes”.

She added: “It has some lofty aspirations with far too few concrete plans for delivering economic growth.

“Beneath the buzzwords, this speech contained the telling admission that many of the problems in the Scottish economy – slow productivity growth, skills shortages, entrenched regional inequalities and poverty – predate Covid.

“That’s a damning indictment of the SNP’s record in power over the last 15 years.”