Today, First Minister John Swinney announced out his Programme for Government, setting out the Government’s plans for the legislative year ahead. Normally set out in September, this year the First Minister chose to bring the announcement forward to give more time to deliver on the plans ahead of the Parliamentary election expected next summer.

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce had set out our asks of Government, pushing for economic growth to be a priority, and we welcomed announcements such as the Six Point Export Plan and the commitment to at least seek no further tax divergence with the rest of the UK. However, the focus now will be on delivery to ensure that Edinburgh businesses are supported to create the good economic growth we need to fund our essential public services and create jobs and opportunities for all of our people.

Key announcements for Edinburgh’s businesses and the economy are:

• A Six Point Export Plan to help Scottish exporters to diversify and access new markets
  • International Growth Support Programme, providing grant support to Scottish companies to help them unlock specific international growth
  • Sector Export Plans for Technology, Life Sciences, Renewables and Hydrogen
  • Inward missions to bring more global buyers and suppliers to Scotland
  • Expand SDI support to get companies to their target markets
  • Increase funding for the International Trade Partnership Programme with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce
  • Provide information, advice, and support to exporters to the US and develop a US Export Plan
• Attracting capital investment to Scotland in priority areas through actions including:
  • Launching ‘InvestScotland’, a new portal that will showcase investment opportunities and information for investors and provide a single point of entry to Government
  • Working closely with the UK Government to unlock up to £25m of seed capital funding for our Green Freeports
  • Seeking more co-investment from public and private pension funds into Scottish projects and businesses
  • Acting on feedback to the proposed Housing Bill to explore how to support investment in private housing whilst also protecting tenants, for example through exempting property built exclusively for rent and mid-market rent from any rent controls
• Support innovators, increase start-up creation, develop business clusters in innovative markets areas, and build on Scotland’s expertise in critical technologies
  • Launching the First Minister’s Start-up Challenge for young people from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds
  • Transforming the number of women who start and scale businesses
  • Launching AI Scotland, a new national transformation programme founded on a partnership of business, academia, agencies and government, including a national AI adoption programme for SMEs
  • Hosting an Innovation Summit as the centrepiece of Scotland’s Innovation Week
  • Partnering with the private sector to deliver an improved Ecosystem Fund, issuing grants to increase the scale, quality and profile of the Scottish start-up ecosystem
• A commitment to create better certainty and stability, and make it easier to do business
  • No further divergence from the UK on Income Tax for the remainder of this Parliament
  • A review into the valuation methodology applied to nondomestic property in the licensed hospitality sector, to report in 2026 and be acted on by 2029
  • Publishing an action and implementation plan based on an assessment of the regulatory controls which exist in key growth sectors
• Boost planning capacity and reduce barriers to delivery
  • Reversing the decline in professional planners working in public authorities
  • Providing local authorities, through the Planning Hub, with additional capacity and expertise
• Other key measures for business and the economy include:
  • Investing an additional £5m in Scotland’s food and drink strategy
  • Abolishing peak rail fares permanently from 1^st September
  • Increasing culture funding, investing at least £100 million more in the arts and culture by 2028-29, with an additional £32 million this year
  • Boosting our screen sector, with an additional £2 million
  • Working with VisitScotland, airlines and travel partners to grow international connectivity
  • Working with the UK Government to maximise opportunities for economic growth from a stronger EU/UK relationship
  • Establishing a national Recognition of Prior Learning system – formally acknowledging an individual’s skills and knowledge gained through work experience, training, or other learning outside of formal education
  • Reviewing and improving school-age and adult careers support
  • Providing £3.5m so that colleges can deliver the pipeline of skills our economy and public services need
  • A Fairer Funding pilot, providing multi-year funding for Third Sector organisations across Scotland
  • Funding for Edinburgh Innovation Hub to grow innovation-led enterprise in and around East Lothian, aiming to deliver around 100 new start-ups over its lifetime
  • Various employability measures to support more people into work, including Parental Employability Support and funding pilot projects that will develop actions employers can take to implement inclusive recruitment practices
  • Leveraging private investment to develop supply chain clusters for offshore wind

Various plans were also announced to tackle the Government’s other priorities of eradicating child poverty, tackling the climate emergency, and providing high quality and sustainable public services. You can find the full Programme for Government here. If you have any feedback on the Programme and how it may affect your business, please get in touch with our policy team at policy@edinburghchamber.co.uk