Scotland's Economy

  • Dark Sky Observatory

    27th January 2012 by

    I travelled to Dalmelington today to join Cath Seeds and Mark Gibson in celebrating the start of work on the Dark Sky Observatory – a wonderful new project which will create a visitor attraction for buzzing stargazers and astronomers in Britain’s only dark sky park. The Galloway Forest Park area enjoys some of the darkest...

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  • Solar Feed in Tariffs

    25th January 2012 by

    Today the UK Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) lost its appeal to the UK High Court on Solar Feed In Tariffs.

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  • Rautomead

    18th January 2012 by

    On the day new statistics were published showing a rise in manufacturing exports, I visited Rautomead in Dundee - a great example of a Scottish firm that is performing well in international markets.

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  • Enterprise areas

    17th January 2012 by

    John Swinney at GlaxoSmithKline

    I was delighted to visit GlaxoSmithKline inIrvinetoday to announce the locations ofScotland’s four new Enterprise Areas – fulfilling the pledge we made in the Government’s Economic Strategy. The Glaxo site will form part of the Life Sciences Enterprise Area along with locations in Moray, the Highlands, Edinburgh and Midlothian. There are two proposed Enterprise Areas...

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  • Tourism figures

    12th January 2012 by

    Great news that the number of visitors to Scotland has risen by eight per cent in the first nine months of this year according to the latest statistics which were published today as I opened Edinburgh's newest hotel.

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  • Project Transmit

    7th January 2012 by

    I have been working with Ofgem, the National Grid, the energy sector, Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney Island councils and other interested parties to find a solution for electricity transmission charging which works for Scotland.

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  • Youth Employment

    6th December 2011 by

    It's been confirmed that Angela Constance is taking up the post of Minister for Youth Employment and in the next few weeks she'll be meeting some of our key partners to discuss the additional £30 million that the Scottish Government is investing to create opportunities for our young people.

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  • Tourism in Dumfries and Galloway

    5th December 2011 by

    There are some very exciting times ahead for tourism in Scotland. We're starting off in 2012 with Year of Creative Scotland, Brave and the Olympics, going into 2013 and Year of Natural Scotland, and finishing in 2014 with the Year of Homecoming, Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

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  • Friday in Fife

    2nd December 2011 by

    One of the most interesting aspects of my role as a Minister is having the opportunity to meet ambitious folk who are taking forward new ideas and achieving real success in what they do. A good example of this was my visit to Fife on Friday to KDM Shopfitting Ltd at Dalgety Bay, who have an impressive portfolio of clients including some of Scotland's biggest retailers.

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  • EWEA Conference, Amsterdam

    28th November 2011 by

    Scotland's huge ambitions for the generation of green energy is understood by audiences internationally, as I discovered when I attended two major european events last month. The range of Scottish companies showcasing at these events - many with support of Scottish Development International - is remarkable and a real testament to our burgeoning energy sector.

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