Scottish Government

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has called on the UK Government to prioritise public services and economic recovery through a fresh fiscal stimulus package of £98 billion, ahead of the Spending Review on Wednesday. This support, which is at least 5% of GDP, would be on par with the economic reco

The Scottish Government has launched a survey to gather views on designated economic zones such as Enterprise Areas and the freeport model. Businesses, stakeholders and public sector organisations are being consulted on the use of place-based zoning incentives to boost economic recovery and growth i

The Scottish Government’s budget will be published on 28 January 2021, finance secretary Kate Forbes has announced. It follows the UK Government’s decision to postpone its Autumn Budget until an unspecified date in the new year.

For July to September 2020, Scotland’s employment rate estimate rose over the quarter to 74.0%, according to the latest official labour market statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today.

Ivan McKee, minister for trade, investment and innovation, has said that the lack of information, and the absence of ministerial engagement on the scheme intended to replace EU Structural and Investment Funds is "unacceptable". Mr McKee has said he is seeking an urgent meeting with the UK

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has welcomed Chancellor Rishi Sunak's 'long overdue' announcement that the Job Retention Scheme will be extended until March 2021. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will now run until the end of March with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for ho

MIME Technologies, a med-tech spin-out from the University of Aberdeen, has received £248,000 in funding from the Scottish Government to help deliver technology that will support the heavily impacted aviation industry during its recovery from the pandemic. The funding will also help drive

Grant and investment funding of almost £25 million has been committed to 90 innovative, early-stage businesses in Scotland whose growth ambitions were impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards have been made via the Early Stage Growth Challenge Fund, part of a £38m packa

Economy secretary Fiona Hyslop has called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to ensure the lowest paid furloughed workers are properly supported through its new Job Support Scheme (JSS). The JSS will replace the existing Job Retention Scheme from Sunday. Ms Hyslop has warned that the change will cut the inco

A report outlining a new targeted inward investment plan focusing on nine key sectors to further internationalise Scotland’s economy has been published by the Scottish Government. Announced yesterday by trade, investment and innovation minister Ivan McKee, Shaping Scotland’s Ec

A new strategic approach to attracting inward investors and further internationalising Scotland’s economy will be published today by the Scottish Government.  Ivan McKee, minister for trade, investment and innovation, will present Shaping Scotland’s Economy: Scotland’s Inward

Productivity Club Scotland is launching new clubs this month to help SMEs in North East Scotland, Highlands and Islands and the South of Scotland.  The new initiatives are aimed at enhancing productivity in Scotland and will be used as a tool to help businesses recover from the economic cr

Finance secretary Kate Forbes and economy secretary Fiona Hylsop have called on the UK Government to reconsider the ‘unexpected’ decision to abolish duty-free shopping in the UK. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, ministers highlight the impact this will have on ret

From November 2, Scottish firms that are required by law to close due to COVID-19 will be eligible for grants of either £2,000 or £3,000 every four weeks for as long as the restrictions last. Businesses which can remain open, but are directly constrained by the measures, will be eligible

More funding will be made available by the Scottish Government for businesses affected by the extension of temporary restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus. The First Minister announced that the current temporary restrictions will remain in place until November 2. As a result, funding for bu