News Archive

Sectors

Scottish Chambers of Commerce Responds to the Scottish Budget

SCC has responded to the Scottish Budget. This is based on the response they sent to the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee, with some points that were raised at the December council meeting incorporated. Read the full response here.

23/12/11

Scottish Chambers of Commerce Responds to Proposed 'Public Health Levy'

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce has written to John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment & Sustainable Growth, regarding the Scottish Government's proposed 'Public Health levy'. Read the letter here.

23/12/11

Scottish Chambers of Commerce Cautious on IAG's BMI Takeover

IAG, the company that own British Airways, have today announced that they have reached a binding agreement to buy competitor carrier BMI from Lufthansa. Following the announcement, Scottish Chambers of Commerce Chief Executive Liz Cameron commented: 'Air connectivity is hugely important to the Scottish economy and to our businesses' capacity. There needs to be confidence that this takeover is not going to be to Scotland's detriment in terms of either capacity or prices. IAG have committed to 'maintain a comprehensive domestic schedule' and this is welcome. 'This announcement is just the beginning of a process which still has a long way to go in terms of regulatory assessment, including competition clearance. IAG must continue to assure businesses of their commitment to maintaining or improving connectivity to and from Scotland.'

22/12/11

Tough Year Ahead But We Have the Tools to Succeed

2012 will be another tough year. Political turmoil in the Eurozone and, at home, falling consumer confidence as Government spending cuts continue to bite and the labour market contracts will dent business confidence. Accessing affordable finance is challenging for many companies and motivating workforces is difficult. There are no easy fixes: just hard work, innovation, collaboration, and a dose of good fortune. This region has businesses that have already risen to the challenge and will continue to do so. Michelin and GSK are the high-profile local successes we all know about, but they are not unique. Kangaroo Self Storage, GA Engineering, MTC Media and Axeon are just a few examples of other Chamber members that have prospered in 2011. We will benefit from major developments planned or underway in the region, opportunities we have because people had the foresight and courage to make long-term strategic plans to transform the local economy, through life sciences, the Dundee Waterfront Project, Carnoustie Country, the V&A and the Angus Centre for Enterprise. More recently we have all been excited because we could be a significant renewable energy hub. The timescales over which these initiatives bring new investment and jobs here will vary and, in some cases, will be medium and long-term. But they will bring jobs and investment, and the big challenge, particularly for the public agencies that are in the lead in delivering the projects, is to get in front of local companies to inform and educate them, so they know what opportunities are coming and they can get ready to take advantage. Life sciences has been a great success story for this area because of the really effective collaboration and joint planning that the key organisations like NHS Tayside, Dundee City Council and the University of Dundee achieved. That model for 'joined up decision making' has served us well in the past and will do so again in 2012. The Chamber expects the Government to play its part in supporting our members. Global trade is still rising. This means more international opportunities than ever before and effective backing from the Scottish Government will be critical to winning that business. The Scottish Government is spending a bigger proportion of its budget on infrastructure projects but that spend has to filter down to local firms. The Government must deliver a competitive tax regime in 2012. Business Rates could rise by nearly 6% in April 2012. That will damage the economy by making businesses less likely to invest. And they should re-visit their plans to subject colleges to swingeing budget cuts because reducing investment in future skills makes no economic sense. Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce will also raise its game to support local businesses with, amongst other things, an Energy Forum and a Tourism Group, to share market intelligence within these future growth sectors. In summary, a tough economic climate will challenge everyone in 2012 but there is no reason why companies in Dundee and Angus can't succeed if the businesses themselves, the chamber of commerce, the local public agencies and the Scottish Government do our jobs properly and work together better than we ever have before.

22/12/11

Glaxosmithkline Awarded a Research and Development Grant from Scottish Enterprise

GSK in Montrose has been awarded a £1.46 million grant.

22/12/11

Bank of England Agents' Summary of Business Conditions for December published

The Bank of England Agents' Summary of Business Conditions for December has been published and is available here, along with previous editions of the Summary.

21/12/11

Partnerships+ Angus Council newsletter Winter 2011

The Winter 2011 edition of Angus Council's Partnerships+ newsletter is available to download here.

20/12/11

RBS Chief Economist's Weekly Brief Available - 19th December

This week's Brief looks at the Christmas wish list for politicians, businesses and households. The RBS Chief Economist's Weekly Brief is available to download here.

19/12/11