News Archive

GDP Figures Reveal Sluggish Economy and Underline Need for Targeted Support

Commenting on the news that the Scottish economy grew by 0.6% in the third quarter of 2012, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: 'The news that the Scottish economy grew in the third quarter of last year is not unexpected.  At the time when the figures for the UK were published last October, it was estimated that the distortion to the figures caused by having an additional bank holiday in the preceding quarter was around +0.5%.  This is similarly a factor in Scotland and therefore what this figure tells us is that the underlying performance of the Scottish economy remains pretty much flat. 'With our own Scottish Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Business Survey projecting only a marginal improvement in output and confidence in the early part of 2013, these latest figures underline the picture of an economy that has been treading water for an extended period of time.  This is largely as a result of subdued demand. 'The good news is that there is capacity for growth in our economy and that businesses across the country are well placed to take advantage of the new opportunities that will arise from an upturn in demand.  Average household disposable income grew marginally in Scotland last year and there remains significant opportunity available to businesses in terms of overseas sales.  Coupled with the right level of support from Government, we are confident that meaningful growth can return to our economy, but 2013 will be a challenging year. 'One of the areas of great potential for 2013 is tourism, as we look to take advantage of the Olympics, Disney Pixar's Brave and the Year of Natural Scotland to showcase our country's unique tourist offering.  Our tourism sector could be transformed if the UK Government was to reduce VAT levels for the tourism and hospitality sector, as most of our European neighbours do, helping to deliver a significant competitive advantage to our tourism sector.'

05/02/13

Scotland Cannot Afford to Be Marginalised By High Speed Rail

Commenting on the publication of the details of the proposed extension of a UK High Speed Rail network to Manchester and Leeds, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: 'The that news plans for the second phase of the UK's High Speed Rail network have moved forward to a new milestone are very welcome but this is far from the end of the journey in terms of securing Scotland's future inclusion in a truly UK wide network.  Whilst marginal benefits will accrue to Scotland in terms of slightly shorter journey times if the 'Y' network is completed on schedule in 2033, the fact remains that the Department for Transport's own figures show that central Edinburgh to central London journeys will still be quicker by air than by rail two decades from now. 'Against a background of pressure on Scottish air links to London from capacity issues at Heathrow and the fact that HS2 will deliver significant connectivity benefits for English cities, this could lead to Scotland becoming even more marginalised in relative terms.  By 2033, Manchester to London journey times could be reduced by 47%, whereas Glasgow-London times would only fall by around 12%, meaning that the benefits of High Speed Rail in the absence of a true UK network disproportionately favour English cities.  In addition, even the section of the UK Government's new HS2 command paper which deals with Scotland hints that a full High Speed Rail in the future is far from being a done deal. 'High Speed Rail has the potential to be transformational in terms of connectivity and the economic success which that brings but current plans are leaving Scotland on the margins and we are looking for more from the UK and Scottish Governments in terms of their commitment to ensure that Scotland shares in the future benefits of this scheme.'

05/02/13

In Your Shoes

Ben Finnie

Gilson Gray LLP

Read more

Here's The Plan Team

Here's The Plan Ltd

Read more

Heather Whyte

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

Becca McCallum

Ginger

Read more

Clark Boles

CBO Associates Limited

Read more

Lynne Short

Dundee City Council

Read more

Liam Duncan

Astute (Scotland) Ltd

Read more

Sarah Peter

Thorntons Investments

Read more

Adam Rutter

Thorntons Investments

Read more

Neil Dymock

Dymock Properties Ltd

Read more

Katie Martin

Dunedin Advisory Limited

Read more

Susan Bennett

Advanta Wealth

Read more

A View From The Bridge

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

Wayne Paul

University of Dundee

Read more

Alison Henderson

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

Jason Condie

Condie & Co Ltd

Read more

Graham Parker

Condie & Co Ltd

Read more

Alison Henderson

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

Jenn Stewart

Johnston Carmichael (Scotland) Ltd

Read more

Take a Seat

Jason Condie

Condie & Co Ltd

Read more

Neil Mather

University of Dundee

Read more

Graham Parker

Condie & Co Ltd

Read more

Graham Parker

Condie & Co Ltd

Read more

Anthony Brennan

MTC Media Ltd

Read more

Susan McFadyen

Blackadders LLP

Read more

Graham Huband

D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.

Read more

Dr Jon Wilkin

Abertay University

Read more

Margi Vilnay

University of Dundee

Read more

Chi Onyekaba

University of Dundee

Read more

Yvette Hill

Kip McGrath Education Centre Dundee

Read more

Mark Riddell

m3 Networks Limited

Read more

In Chamber Shoes

Digital Transformation Team

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

Alison Henderson

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

2018 Draws to a close!

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more

Alison Henderson

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

Read more