SFE responds to Autumn Statement
Commenting on the Chancelor’s 2023 Autumn Statement, Sandy Begbie CBE FRSE, Chief Executive, Scottish Financial Enterprise, said:
“The Autumn Statement comes against a challenging economic backdrop for households and businesses, a fact laid bare by the Office of Budget Responsibility’s revised growth forecasts. Given that context, the UK government is right to focus on business investment, workplace participation, public and private sector productivity, and targeted interventions to support the most vulnerable.
“Across many sectors, the tight labour market is a significant challenge, and incentivising people into work through the tax system has the potential to be of benefit to both households and the wider economy and we welcome the reduction in national insurance to reduce the tax burden and leave more money in workers’ pockets.
“Productivity is also a long-term barrier to the growth that our economy needs – both in Scotland and the UK - and measures to boost skills, streamline planning and incentivise business investment will be welcomed by firms. The chancellor announced a funding boost for apprenticeships in growth sectors across England and Wales and we would welcome similar support for apprenticeships in Scotland.
“The Chancellor talked about a long-term approach to supporting the key sectors of our economy and it is important that the UK and Scottish Governments work together to remove barriers to investment and the cost of doing business.
“The imperative to deliver sustainable economic growth should provide a renewed focus on collaboration between the UK and Scottish governments and the business community, as we collectively address the structural economic issues our economy faces.
“Scotland’s financial services industry has a significant role to play in delivering the sustainable growth Scotland needs and our recently launched sector growth strategy sets out how – if the business environment is attractive - we can add more than £7billion of value to the Scottish economy over the next five years.