Pathfinders to the Parliament

Lord Macdonald, the Scottish Business & Industry Minister, launched the Pathfinders to the Parliament initiative on 20 January 1999. The aim of the initiative was to give key industrial and business sectors the opportunity to set out their priorities for action by the forthcoming Scottish Parliament.

Currently there are 13 sectors which have 'Pathfinder groups' each with a chair, appointed by Lord Macdonald, they chairs would then make their own sectors appointments and to decide how their group would function.

The 13 Pathfinder Groups & Chairs

Construction - Sir Fraser Morrison, Morrison Construction Defence Sir Bob Easton, GEC Drinks & Hospitality Andrew Dewar-Durie, Allied Distillers Electronics Hugh Aitken, Scottish Electronics Forum Engineering Peter Hughes, Scottish Engineering Finance Mike Ross, Scottish Widows Manufacturing John Ward, Macfarlane Group Retail Tom Hunter, TBH Trading Small Business Gerard Eadie, CR Smith Glaziers Textiles Belinda Robertson, Belinda Robertson Partnership Tourism Lord Gordon of Strathblane, Scottish Tourist Board Transport Brian Souter, Stagecoach Holdings Utilities Ian Robinson, ScottishPower

Each group had to compile a report to present to the Scottish Parliamnet before the The Pathfinder Groups were asked to report by early March with a view to bringing together the reports from the Groups in a single document which would be issued before the Scottish Parliament elections on 6 May. This report meets that commitment. Although each of the Pathfinder Groups was considering issues within its particular sector, some issues such as skills and taxation are obviously relevant to all business sectors in Scotland and these issues indeed feature in many of the individual Group reports. There is a general view that more needs to be done to improve and adapt the education system at all levels in Scotland, including the promotion of a more entrepreneurial culture. In particular, the need to address skill shortages and improve the overall skills base are seen to be crucial for the future of the Scottish economy. The Government has recently issued "Skills for Scotland", a skills strategy for a competitive Scotland, which aims to address these particular issues. There is also a strong view that the Scottish Parliament should not put Scottish business at a disadvantage by adopting financial or regulatory policies which put additional burdens on Scottish business and make them less competitive in the global market. The need to improve the transport infrastructure in Scotland is highlighted in a number of the reports and there is strong support for additional investment in the Scottish roads network. This is needed to reduce supply costs and improve accessibility to certain areas. Another recurring issue is how business support could be better organised in Scotland and there are suggestions to rationalise the current situation and also to improve the consistency of support available through the Enterprise Network. Interestingly, the importance of the tourism sector in Scotland is recognised not only by the Tourism Pathfinder Group, but also features in the findings of other Pathfinder Groups, such as Drinks and Hospitality and Small Business. Three other issues raised in the reports are also worth highlighting. First, many businesses in Scotland could stand to benefit considerably from the growth in e-commerce, particularly those in more rural and remote areas. There is therefore the need for a clear strategy to take this forward in Scotland. Second, the planning system is deemed to be a constraint on business growth and should be overhauled. Third, the lack of comprehensive statistics for business sectors in Scotland is commented on in several reports and it is felt that this has to be addressed if the Scottish Parliament is to be in a position to make sensible policy decisions. Action has already been initiated by the Government to address these issues in Scotland. Some of the recommendations from the Groups are not within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to implement. For example, tax incentives for companies will be a reserved matter whilst the introduction of a Scottish Transport Bond would require an amendment to legislation by Westminster. However, in such cases the Scottish Parliament could lobby for change, and this is recognised by many of the Groups as an important role for the Parliament within the UK and Europe. Inevitably some of the priority actions relate only to the specific sector. For example, the Drinks and Hospitality Pathfinder Group recommends the modernisation of Scottish licensing laws to bring them into line with European neighbours and also to meet the expectations of both domestic consumers and visitors to Scotland, whilst the Retail Pathfinder Group calls for increased action on retail crime. Finally, there is a clear message from Scottish business that it wants to assist and be involved with the Scottish Parliament in whatever way is best, be this standing sectoral forums or through involvement with the Committee(s) of the Parliament. The rest of this document consists of the reports from the 13 Pathfinder Groups (in alphabetical order)