Scotland's Economy

  • HM, Mr Clooney and the Scottish Business Pledge

    24th November 2015 by

    I doubt that I’ll ever again have cause to mention Harper Macleod and George Clooney in the same sentence. The reason I can is that my firm was fortunate enough to win the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award at last week’s Scottish Business Awards – whose guest speaker brought a dash of Clooney-mania to the...

    Read more

  • Veterans mean business

    18th November 2015 by

    To mark Global Entrepreneurship Week, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has met and heard the stories of ex-service personnel who have set up in business since re-entering civilian life. Supported by X Forces – a social enterprise that nurtures entrepreneurial ambition in the UK military community – the businesses produce innovative products and provide new...

    Read more

  • Global Entrepreneurship Week is Go

    16th November 2015 by

    Today marks the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, a chance to celebrate innovation and job creation. Our ambition is to make Scotland a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation, bringing new ideas to life and growing the economy in a way that benefits everyone in society. Our approach to unlock Scotland’s huge entrepreneurial potential is Scotland...

    Read more

  • Have your say on our cities

    22nd October 2015 by

    Digital technologies are transforming our lives. The ways in which we live, work and interact with one another – socially and economically – are changing fast. The Scottish Government is fully committed to building a strong digital economy, future proofed infrastructure, high quality digital public services and a society whose citizens are equipped with the...

    Read more

  • Scottish Steel can still have a future

    21st October 2015 by

    For decades, there wasn’t a family in Scotland’s industrial heartlands who didn’t know a steel worker. The manufacture and processing of steel was part of the backbone of our economy. The 1980s and 1990s, of course, changed that. Lanarkshire was badly hit, as Gartcosh closed in 1986 then Ravenscraig in 1992. Today we all stand...

    Read more

  • Queen re-opens Borders Railway

    10th September 2015 by

    This new Borders Railway line is the result of £300m of investment and the expert work of more than 1,000 peopleFirst Minister Nicola Sturgeon and 150 other guests joined Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh on an iconic steam train journey from Edinburgh to mark the official route opening, before a special plaque was...

    Read more

  • UK Budget ‘encourages inequality’

    12th July 2015 by

    The Chancellor is cutting disproportionately from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society, short-changing those on low incomes and removing work incentives, whilst giving tax breaks to the better-off. The changes in the minimum wage, whilst welcome, are nowhere near enough to offset these changes. The UK Government’s budget simply encourages inequality. Tax credits...

    Read more

  • Scottish cuts ‘bitter pill’

    8th June 2015 by

    In the face of strong opposition and no mandate for austerity in Scotland, the Chancellor plans to plough ahead and slash the Scottish budget this year. The cut of £107 million is substantially lower than the UK Government’s original estimate but this still too bitter pill to swallow. This comes on top of an overall...

    Read more

  • Record-breaking employment numbers

    28th May 2015 by

    Scotland had 2,558,800 people in employment in 2014, the highest since comparable records began in 2004 and the lowest ever number of 16 to 19 year olds not in education, employment or training. This is a remarkable set of figures that demonstrates that the work the Scottish Government is doing to improve employability and get...

    Read more

  • Scottish Business Pledge launches

    26th May 2015 by

    Read more