Flagship SNP business support scheme ‘has not helped’ Scots firms

A FLAGSHIP £500 million business support scheme hasn’t helped a single firm since it was announced by Nicola Sturgeon 10 months ago, The Sunday Post can reveal.

The Scottish Growth Scheme received top billing when it was announced in the SNP’s Programme for Government last September, with the First Minister calling the three-year arrangement “a half-billion-pound vote of confidence in Scottish business, workers and the economy”.

But Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has now confirmed it has yet to help a single business – and that it only became operational three weeks ago.

Labour’s Shadow Economy Secretary Jackie Baillie said: “This week we saw Scotland flirt with recession, and stuttering schemes like this are the reason why.

“This plan was announced to great fanfare in the Programme for Government.

“A full parliamentary year has passed since then, and the scheme has not helped a single business.

“This SNP government is more concerned with PR exercises than economic development. This week, Labour outlined an industrial strategy which would grow the economy, increase productivity and give a better deal for working people.

“Nicola Sturgeon should care a little less about headlines and focus on the day job.”

Scotland’s economy avoided recession this week as it rebounded in the first quarter of this year to outstrip the UK as a whole’s performance.

A boost from growth in production and services saw Scottish GDP grow by 0.8%, having shrunk by 0.2% in the previous three months, while the UK saw growth of just 0.2% in the first three months of the year.

Scottish production grew by 3.1% and the services industry expanded by 0.3% but construction contracted by 0.7%.

Both the Scottish and UK Governments welcomed the figures after some economic forecasters had warned that Scotland could slip into technical recession following contraction in the final quarter of last year.

On an annual basis, the Scottish economy grew by 0.7%.

Equivalent UK growth was 2%.

When the scheme was announced, the Scottish Government said it would “unlock investment for the private sector, which is facing increased uncertainty as a result of Brexit.”

Individual investment guarantees and loans of up to £5m would be available to small and medium-sized firms that would otherwise be unable to grow because of a lack of investment finance under the programme.

Last night, a Scottish Government spokesperson said the scheme would deliver investment to businesses.

The spokesman said: “When the scheme was announced, it was clearly indicated that work would be undertaken to develop and design it, working with financial institutions, and our enterprise agencies.

“The first tranche of this work was completed with the introduction of the scheme in June 2017 with further support elements of the wider programme to follow in the coming months.”

ANALYSIS

Growth across the whole of the UK is shoogiy.

There are a great many reasons for the weak performance but there is one issue that keeps rearing its head.

Brexit is the bogeyman, according to businesses.

The CBI, Britain’s biggest trade representative group, last week urged Theresa May to negotiate a temporary deal with the European Union that would keep Britain in the single market and customs union. That amounts to nothing less than firms telling the Prime Minister to rip it up and start again.

North of the border, when the Scottish economy is slowing or going backwards, the opposition parties blame the SNP and the SNP blames the UK Government.

When things are going well, the SNP tries to take the credit and the opposition parties say it proves the strength of the UK.

Rather than doing mental somersaults in an attempt to land political punches, perhaps politicians should concentrate on making a positive difference to put more pounds in our pockets.