Congratulating John Swinney on his appointment by the Scottish Parliament as Scotland’s First Minister the Federation of Small Business’ (FSB) Scotland Policy Chair, Andrew McRae, said:
“It’s my honour to welcome John Swinney as Scotland’s next First Minister.
“Scotland is home to more than 330,000 small businesses, and we look forward to working with Mr Swinney and his team to get small businesses doing what they do best: generating revenues, creating jobs, delivering services and trading us back to growth.”
Addressing the priorities for the incoming First Minister, Mr McRae added:
“While John Swinney’s in tray won’t be light on big issues, we welcome his promise to make building Scotland’s economy and supporting jobs key priorities. His appointment comes at a critical time for the economic recovery, given that we lost as many small businesses last year as we did at the height of the pandemic.
“His number one priority must be supporting a sustainable recovery and that means taking meaningful steps to put the needs of business at the centre of all policy making and urgent action on regulation.
“The First Minister must focus on delivering the most significant planks of the New Deal for Business which, a year in, is showing signs of bearing fruit. Central to this must be ensuring there is a fuller assessment of the impact on small businesses whenever any new regulations are brought forward and accelerating work to understand the cumulative impact of regulations on small businesses.
“A culture of well-intentioned but poorly executed regulations, or even planned regulations, has been damaging for business and the First Minister can take a lead in listening to the voices of those who will be instrumental in the day-to-day execution of his plans to grow the economy – small business owners.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a non-profit, non-party-political organisation that offers its members a wide range of vital business services, including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice heard in governments. Founded in 1974, FSB celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk.
- Micro, small and medium-sized businesses comprise almost all enterprises in Scotland (99%), employ 1.2 million people and turn over nearly £123bn.
- The Scottish Government’s Business in Scotland 2023 report shows the number of small businesses in Scotland fell by 20,035, to 334,505, from 2023 to 2022. This is almost the same number as were lost at the height of the Covid pandemic when, from 2020 to 2021, the number fell by 20,060.
For further information, contact:
Euan McGrory 07734 509 227 [email protected]