Kickstarting the economy

Growth will only happen if government works with business to drive investment and create jobs. Instead of government slowing things down, Scottish Labour will use government’s convening power to bring people together to find solutions and get things done. We can create real opportunities for workers and business in partnership with industry by:

• Creating a single industrial strategy to replace the complicated and confusing multitude of plans, strategies and frameworks. Developed with business, it will provide certainty for investors, give direction to economic agencies, and maximise the benefits for Scotland within the UK’s growth sectors.

• Establishing a Scottish Board of Trade to replace the myriad business working groups, delivery boards, business forums and groups that the SNP use to say they have consulted business. Under Scottish Labour, businesses and trade unions will have a single consistent channel to inform government policy and help deliver on shared, national economic objectives.

• Abolishing the unfair business rates system, replacing it with a new local business levy designed with business and which incentivises local investment, supports vibrant town centres, tackles empty properties, and encourages entrepreneurship.

• Supporting vibrant high streets and town centres, ensuring online retailers and large distribution warehouses pay their fair share, and appointing a Chief Assessor so there is true accountability over valuations.

• Promoting Brand Scotland around the world, to attract investment and boost exports in collaboration with business and the UK Government

For a small country, getting things done is unnecessarily complicated. Growth opportunities for business and communities are being lost in the maze of enterprise, innovation and investment agencies which businesses and investors struggle to navigate. Scottish Labour will end the confusion and streamline our economic agencies by:

• Refocusing enterprise agencies on delivery, taking responsibility for economic policy and strategy back into the Scottish Government so enterprise agencies prioritise innovation, international growth, and economic development across regions

• Internationally benchmarking the performance of agencies with success measured on direct and real results, including productivity gains, attracting investment, and sector-focused outcomes.

• Creating a single source of public investment capital, consolidating the Scottish Futures Trust and investment funds of Scottish Enterprise into the Scottish National Investment Bank so firms of all sizes have clarity about where to access capital.

• Clarifying the mission of the Scottish National Investment Bank, setting out new priorities for the Bank within the first 100 days so it is focused on housing development, supporting emerging businesses, and crowding in private investment.

• Partnering with local business schools and organisations to deliver early-stage business advice, ending Business Gateway and ensuring entrepreneurs and start-ups have the expert advice and local mentoring they need.

• Concentrating Scottish Enterprise on growing Scottish businesses, supporting SMEs to scale-up, and partnering with established and ambitious firms to become more productive, expand, and compete in global markets.

• Improving coordination across Scottish and UK Institutions, so that businesses at every stage, from start-up to international exporter, have clarity over where to access advice and finance that is right for them.

Scotland’s rich and diverse geography means that each region has different strengths and needs when it comes to economic development, but they are being held back by an outdated “one size fits all” approach. Scottish Labour want to champion our cities and regions and empower regional leaders to drive economic growth. We will:

• Push power out of Holyrood and grant Scottish regions the opportunity to take control of local skills and employability schemes, transport, and housing, so they can tailor interventions to local needs and encourage cooperation between local authorities to reduce duplication and deliver economic outcomes

• Consult on giving regions the right to create Regional Mayors, learning from regional devolution elsewhere. If supported locally, Mayors will be work alongside local authorities and act as democratically elected regional champions. 

• Improve intercity travel, creating a fast rail corridor that links Scotland’s cities with electrified trains and more frequent Glasgow-Edinburgh express services to boost capacity and cut journey times for commuters and rail freight.

• Establish a new National Land Use Plan, so that Scotland’s regions and landscapes are being best used for community prosperity, achieving net zero, delivering economic growth and protecting our natural environment.

Scotland has vast and well-developed rural industries and economies which deserve proper recognition and tailored support from government. If we want to reverse depopulation and protect Gaelic as a living language we must sustain livelihoods in our rural places. To support rural jobs and business, Scottish Labour will:

• Prioritise rural-specific industries within our industrial strategy, ensuring that government interventions are designed for both rural and urban areas from inception.

• Modernise Scotland’s agricultural support system so that it is fit for purpose and fairer for all. We would ensure public money for farming supports food production, biodiversity and maintaining thriving rural communities.

• Support smaller farmers and crofters by capping tier 1 payments to the largest businesses and redistributing to smaller enterprises. Any changes would be in line with our net zero ambitions and phased in so that no producers face cliff edges.

• Invest in local abattoirs and fish processing facilities, commissioning a strategic review of processing investment to support local producers and maintain quality Scottish products, recognising food and drink as a key economic asset.

• Review crofting legislation, ensuring it matches our wider ambitions for rural Scotland and keeps crofting accessible for the next generation.

• Reform fishing quota management, supporting more local governance, incentivising more sustainable fishing practices, increasing the leasing of quotas, and protecting fisheries’ workers.

• Develop the forestry and timber industry, increasing the use of home-grown timber as part of our plans to increase offsite construction of homes and helping the sector diversify into higher value products and processing.

Scotland has become a complicated and unpredictable place to do business, while low investment holds back innovation, business growth and job creation. Scottish Labour will make Scotland an attractive choice for investors, benefitting workers and communities, and supporting development across the country by:

• Overhauling the planning system, reforming NPF4 so that decision-makers can take account of the economic potential of projects, designating housing as critical infrastructure and expanding the use of zonal planning.

• Speeding up planning decisions, transforming the planning hub into a national planning agency, with expertise and specialist teams that local authorities can draw on for complex projects and guaranteeing timelines for decisions.

• Hosting an annual Scottish Economic Forum, bringing together Scottish business to showcase Scottish produce and projects to investors and international markets.

• Targeting foreign direct investment that adds value, evaluating impact based on jobs created and the critical infrastructure that it delivers.

• Creating a National Transport Connections Plan, identifying priority transport projects and investments across Scotland which will help drive the economy and support growing businesses.

• Backing local infrastructure projects in every region, reviewing the government’s infrastructure pipeline to ensure it improves connectivity and economic development across the country.

Growing businesses are key to a strong economy and the creation of good jobs, but too many promising SMEs and start-ups are struggling to expand in Scotland because of a lack of capital. Scottish Labour will help businesses get the support and funding needed to grow, rather than get stuck in a cycle of bureaucratic grants by:

• Prioritising business scale-up in government funding, shifting enterprise support towards loans focused on delivering growth and improving business productivity, with stricter criteria for returns on public investment.

• Refocusing SNIB’s innovation mission, so that it specialises in de-risking Scottish scale-ups, crowding in private investment and attracting commercial investment that creates benefits across Scotland.

• Increasing Scotland’s spin out rate to match the UK average, with dedicated funding to encourage collaboration between business and university researchers to develop early stage spin-outs with market appeal.

• Equipping Scottish graduates with business experience, developing dedicated business startup modules and workshops that can be added to degrees alongside mentorships, competitions and voluntary entrepreneur programmes.

The SNP’s failure to back Scottish businesses with government contracts has cost the country jobs and prosperity. Scottish Labour will use government spending power to support strategic supply chains, backing Scottish jobs and industry. To make sure we build more of our ships, buses and infrastructure in Scotland we will:

• Embed social and economic value weighting into public contracts, delivering long overdue reforms to Scottish procurement laws so public money delivers public good.

• Establish a long-term procurement plan for shipbuilding with our new ferry agency, giving domestic shipyards certainty about pipelines of work and consistency of design.

• Expand procurement challenges for Scottish businesses, with dedicated mentorship and financial support for Scottish businesses to develop and test innovations that government can adopt as first customer.

• Revamp business support and training so Scottish SMEs are encouraged and helped to bid for and deliver public contracts.

• Improve data gathering on origin of goods and local procurement, mapping opportunities for businesses and the social and economic value created by procurement.

Innovation helps Scottish businesses stay competitive, open new markets, and build resilient local supply chains. Technological innovation does not stand still and so neither can Scotland if our growing tech sector is to thrive. To strengthen Scotland’s tech ecosystem and ensure Scottish business have the skills to make the most of new developments, we will establish:

• New rounds of digital adoption funding, to help businesses adopt digital tools that improve their productivity and help them grow.

• A target to improve R&D so it matches the UK average, with strategic advice and support for business on accessing UK R&D reliefs and encouraging R&D through government procurement challenges.

• A National Data Library, to support researchers who want to develop solutions to improve healthcare, tackle inequality and test the impacts of innovation.

• An expanded Techscalers network, prioritising areas where there are geographic gaps and where it can have most impact on business growth.

• Dedicated support for creative technology businesses, ensuring Techscalers and Scottish Enterprise are set up to help grow innovative creative industry businesses.

• Innovation clusters for key growth sectors, connecting enterprise agencies with universities, colleges and large businesses to expand the reach and market potential of new research.

• Accelerate internet connectivity, prioritising the deployment of full-fibre broadband and working with the mobile network operators to roll-out 5G in under-served areas.

The energy transition represents a huge opportunity in Scotland but to date there has been a failure to turn renewables’ potential into domestic jobs and prosperity. Oil and gas production will continue in the North Sea for decades to come, and we will ensure there is a genuine just transition that generates growth, creates good skilled jobs, and gives Scotland energy security once again. To deliver for energy workers and our economy we will:

• Remove the ideological block on new nuclear energy, ensuring Scotland can benefit from the investment, jobs and zero-carbon energy that comes from the development of small modular reactors and prevent the need for Scotland to rely on imported nuclear power.

• Support transition plans for key industrial sites, such as Grangemouth and Mossmorran, working with businesses, local partners and the UK Government to attract new industry and secure a viable industrial future for these areas

• Improve the passporting of skills, building on progress made to date with our new Digital Skills Passport to allow offshore workers to move seamlessly between oil and gas and renewables.

• Plan for the energy sector within our industrial strategy, classifying grid build as a national planning priority, supporting the expansion of renewable energy including wind, pumped hydro, solar and tidal, and promoting Scotland’s expertise in decommissioning.

• Introduce a new Marine Plan, so there is clarity for all industries within Scottish waters and a commitment to develop 40GW in offshore wind by 2040.

• Back the transition in the North East, delivering £40m of funding over the Parliament for Opportunity North East and the Energy Transition Zone in Aberdeen.

• Deliver transition loans to supply chain businesses, to ensure Scottish business can meet the manufacturing needs of the renewables’ expansion and building necessary expertise in the Scottish National Investment Bank in partnership with GB Energy and the UK National Wealth Fund.