Scotland ‘hurt by anti-business stance’

THE Scottish Government needs to end its opposition to more businesses running public services or risk losing vital investment and jobs, industry leaders will warn ministers tomorrow.

The CBI Scotland will tell ministers at a conference in Glasgow that their anti-private sector rhetoric on the reform of services such as care for the elderly is likely to harm Scotland economically in the long term.

Neil Bentley, the CBI’s London-based director of public services, will urge ministers to stop resisting change and open the doors to more private companies keen to improve a raft of services from managing prisons to helping the homeless.

Bentley will say the Government’s attempt to block further privatisation and to stop private financing of public sector capital projects is sending an “anti-business” message to companies that could inject new money and jobs.

“Instead of leading the way on public service reform, Scotland has acquired an unwelcome reputation as somewhere that resists change,” he will tell MSPs at CBI Scotland’s public services summit tomorrow.

“The more business thinks the Scottish Government is hostile to the privately run ‘public services industry’ the less likely will it be that investment and jobs will come to Scotland.”