Chamber and committees

The Fraser of Allander assessments have been helpful in demonstrating some of the positive elements of the small business bonus scheme in terms of its ensuring that some businesses continue to be viable, as well as in demonstrating that other elements are more challenging, as you pointed out, convener.

I think that it is fair to say that, across the Government, Tom Arthur is, as part of the new deal for business group, looking at what we can do to bring forward longer-term non-domestic rates reform. Some of that work is challenging, because where we make changes, there will be winners and losers, and there is a potential cost to be borne either by the Government or by the business sector. We are developing a long-term evidenced-based approach to non-domestic rates reform.

Part of the discussion with the hospitality industry last week was about what might be helpful for it and what barriers to growth there might be in the current set-up. The discussion also considered whether there are ways of reforming that would not have wider unintended consequences. Part of that assessment will be informed by the work that has been done by the Fraser of Allander Institute.

I will find out exactly where the budget line is, but we are starting with an investment of £1.5 million in implementation. I will shortly bring in Aidan Grisewood to point you to the exact place where it is held. As I set out in the letter to you and the committee—I think that it was on 19 December—the “Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship” review by Ana Stewart, alongside Mark Logan, considered a dedicated women’s business centre, consulted widely on it and concluded that it is not necessarily the best way of encouraging female participation in business. There will be differing opinions on that, but based on that wide-ranging consultation and feedback, we have decided to accept Ana Stewart’s recommendations that the likes of pre-start centres and pop-up centres will be the most advantageous way of progressing greater diversity in business start-ups and encouraging more women into business. This year, £1.5 million will be used to start expanding that. I will happily bring in Aidan Grisewood to provide greater detail.

The national strategy for economic transformation is a 10-year strategy for us to transform our economy so that we can take advantage of the opportunities that we have available to us. I believe that you need a good economy and a good society; the two are mutually reliant. You cannot have a good economy without a good society, so investment in public services is absolutely essential.

We will do everything that we can do to ensure that the money that has been prioritised for business, such as £685 million-worth of business rates relief and the maintenance of the small business bonus scheme, which is taking an estimated 100,000 business properties out of paying rates altogether, is the most generous in the UK. Ninety-five per cent of businesses here pay less in non-domestic rates than those elsewhere in the UK. We are looking to ensure that the decisions that we have taken in the budget are balanced and that we continue to see economic activity and economic growth opportunities coming through, balanced against the need to ensure that we protect public services so that we have a healthy workforce that supports a growing economy.

We are working closely with VisitScotland to ensure that we maximise what is an incredibly important aspect of our economy. The tourism sector contributes a substantial amount to our economy. International visitor numbers are up, as is international spending, and not just on the past year but on pre-Covid times. It is incredibly encouraging that people wish to visit Scotland and spend their money here, which is important for our economy.

We will work with VisitScotland on the implications of the budget and on what it is able to provide as a service to ensure that Scotland continues to be a destination of choice—not just internationally, but domestically.

No, the £50 million—

To begin with.

I thank Murdo Fraser for pointing out the difference that is made by our tax decisions in Scotland—tax decisions that he has opposed. Our block grant has been cut in real terms by the UK Government, so we are having to take decisions in Scotland to try to ameliorate the impact that austerity has had. Our budget is therefore up in real terms, but only because of the tax decisions that we have taken.

Mr Fraser mentioned the support that we give to enterprise agencies. Of course, enterprise agencies do not exist in other parts of the UK. We have an enterprise agency network in Scotland because we value the support that we can give to our business community. That is not available elsewhere in the UK.

In short, yes. That commitment stands. It is not a single-year commitment. I fully expect, through discussions with the cluster, that that £80 million will be deployed in a way that ensures best value and the best strategic advantage for the cluster going forward. It is, however, entirely dependent and predicated on track 2 making progress. It has to be, because there cannot be CCUS without a UK Government decision. We encourage the UK Government to move much faster on that in order to ensure that we finally make up for the opportunities and promises that have been lost over the past decade or more and see the Scottish cluster advancing. We need it in Scotland for our net zero ambitions and the industrial decarbonisation of the Scottish cluster, but so does the UK. This is entirely mutually beneficial and an investment that we need to see coming forward as soon as possible. Our £80 million commitment continues to stand.

Mr Stewart is right. He tempts me to pre-empt what will be in the green industrial strategy, but we are already investing in the likes of the Net Zero Technology Centre in Aberdeen, which is bringing together interested private sector parties to demonstrate the business case for a fixed link of a hydrogen pipeline between not only Scotland but neighbouring countries and Germany. I was in Germany last year on the day of the signing of the UK-Germany hydrogen accord, and Mr Stewart is right. In Germany, there is massive interest in industrial decarbonisation based on green hydrogen. Germany wants, for obvious geopolitical reasons, to diversify from where it is getting its energy, and we feel that we have an opportunity, with the abundance of renewable energy before us at the moment and also in the future, to see some of that offtake go not necessarily to the grid but into other elements, such as the production of green hydrogen. There are huge opportunities for us to use hydrogen domestically for industrial decarbonisation as well as for export. We will be looking at that element as part of the green industrial strategy process, and we will continue to work with industry on the feasibility of getting to that point. As I said, that is already happening with the Net Zero Technology Centre and elsewhere.