Swinney pledges to 'urgently' address business concerns over rates hikes
The First Minister said he had heard the ‘strong’ concerns expressed by firms
John Swinney has admitted government in Scotland "needs to work better" as he pledged to "urgently" address the concerns of business leaders over rates hikes.
In a speech to CBI Scotland’s annual lunch in Edinburgh, the First Minister said he had heard the “strong and deeply concerned views” of firms about non-domestic rates.
He issued a guarantee that the voice of business will be engaged with “substantively” by the Scottish government over the coming years.
Michelle Ferguson, the director of CBI Scotland, praised Mr Swinney’s speech and said the organisation would press for a meeting with the First Minister.
She said overhauling business rates was “an absolute key priority, one that he has to be laser-focused on in the coming days”.
In his speech - his first formal engagement since being re-elected - Mr Swinney invited business leaders to engage with his government.
“Air with us the barriers to success,” he told the event. “Point out what is taking too long. Set out what measures would help grow the Scottish economy, and I give you the assurance that your voice will be heard.”
He said he had invited the businessman Sir Tom Hunter to Bute House, his official residence in Edinburgh, on Tuesday morning, where the pair “agreed a number of steps to make sure the ideas of business are at the heart of my government’s agenda”.
Sir Tom later told the CBI event that it was “the best political meeting I’ve ever had from a business point of view”.
Mr Swinney said he had appointed Ivan McKee as his new Public Sector Reform Secretary, and tasked him with working closely “with my new Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, to change the way government works in Scotland”.
He added: “Quite simply, government in Scotland needs to work better. Our systems and structures need to be simpler and focused first and always on the needs of the citizen, on the needs of the user - including the business community.”
On business rates, the First Minister said: “This is an area where I hear strong and deeply concerned views from businesses. We have taken steps in this year’s Budget, reducing all three property rates, and putting in place reliefs worth over £870 million.
“There is also transitional support, helping around 60,000 properties facing the sharpest increases. But I recognise that this is not just about individual measures.
“It is about how the system works overall - and whether it provides the clarity, the confidence, crucially the incentive and the transparency that businesses need to enable them to invest and grow.
“So I want us to engage urgently - within the first 100 days of this government - to identify the early steps we can take to address these concerns.”
Mr Swinney said winning his own mandate at the Holyrood election on May 7 had made an “enormous difference”.
He added: “It has given me an even greater sense of responsibility, but it has made me even more determined to lead our nation on an upward path and gives me more authority to make it happen.”
Speaking afterwards, Ms Ferguson said: “We were delighted to welcome the First Minister to the CBI Scotland lunch in Edinburgh, his first public speaking engagement since being sworn in.
“To address an audience of some of Scotland’s leading businesses so early in the new term shows just how important an issue the economy is, and will be, in the coming parliament.
“The First Minister spoke warmly about working with business to deliver the economic growth that Scotland needs.
“I look forward to meeting with him again in the days and weeks ahead to discuss how we can build a competitive and dynamic economy that delivers for the whole of Scotland.”
Earlier this week, a newly-elected SNP MSP and former special adviser to Mr Swinney said business rates must be reformed "as quickly as possible".
Jack Middleton, who represents Aberdeen Central, said rebalancing non-domestic rates must be a "top, top priority" for the new Cabinet.
He said it was clear “flaws in the system” had led to “extreme” rises for some firms.
Last month, rates revaluations in Scotland were strongly criticised by business leaders, with some firms facing a substantial increase in costs.
"We committed in our manifesto to looking at rebalancing the business rates scheme,” Mr Middleton told an event for new MSPs.
“I'd like to see that done as quickly as possible, and whoever is the economy secretary or the business minister, that's got to be a top, top priority for them. It's got to be the first thing in their in-tray.
"So it needs to be done. We need to rebalance it so the likes of Amazon, massive multinational companies aren't getting away with paying less tax and small businesses are being hammered.”
The SNP’s Holyrood election manifesto promised to “rebalance the system to make it fairer and more accountable, and to ensure that online giants like Amazon pay their fair share and contribute to their local communities”.
Graeme Downie, the Labour MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, highlighted eye-watering examples of rates hikes in his constituency in the House of Commons this week.
Campervan hire company Big Sky Campers in Rosyth saw its rates rise by 470 per cent, he said, which is more than £10,000 a year. Meanwhile, family-owned Osborne Motors in Dunfermline saw its rates go up by 375 per cent - more than £6,000 a year.
Mr Downie said these were “ridiculous rises for small business to cope with”.
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