An online consultation to inform the UK Global Tariff

The UK Government has launched a public consultation on the UK Global Tariff policy. The Government encourages everyone with an interest to take part and provide their views by 5 March 2020.


The consultation offers you the opportunity to provide:

• Views on a potential series of amendments to the Common External Tariff to create a bespoke UK tariff- specifically: simplifying and tailoring the UK Global Tariff policy, removing tariffs on goods imported by UK businesses to manufacture other goods, and where the UK has zero or limited domestic production.

• Specific feedback on specific products or commodity codes of importance to you, including on the corresponding tariff rate.

• Information on your interactions with Most Favoured Nation tariffs and the importance of tariffs to sectors that are important to you.

Respond online here

Read the full consultation description.

Scotland Excel Conference 2020 – Inclusive Growth

Inclusive growth has been a feature of the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy for the past five years, with governments across the globe agreeing that it can help address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

But what does it mean at a practical level?         

We have chosen inclusive growth as the theme of our 2020 conference to look at growth priorities and what local organisations can do to support this agenda.  In particular, the conference will consider how public procurement can act as key driver of local economic growth.

Delegates will have the opportunity to hear from expert speakers and participate in practice focused workshops.  The conference will aim to bring together local economic development and procurement professionals to unpack strategies and plans, examine best practice and foster collaborative working. 

The conference will take place on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow.  Further details of our packed agenda can be viewed on the conference website at
https://scot-excelconference.holyrood.com/

How to Book

There are two price points for the conference - £99 + VAT for the two days for delegates from Scotland Excel member and associate member organisations and £129 + VAT for the two days for delegates other public sector organisations.  Bookings can be made online on the conference website.

Parking at the Venue

Discounted parking is available across the road from the hotel at NCP Oswald Street, G1 4PA. To enjoy a rate of £15 for 24 hours, take your ticket from the Oswald Street car park and have it validated at the hotel reception desk before returning.

Accommodation

The Radisson Blu is centrally located close to Glasgow Central Station. If you need accommodation, the hotel features on all the major accommodation booking websites as do alternative budget options.       

Scotland Excel Supplier Excellence Awards

These awards recognise suppliers who go the extra mile to support the delivery of key public services.  The awards ceremony takes place on the first evening of the conference, and delegates can purchase tickets for this prestigious event at an additional cost of £99.  For further information and to book tickets, please visit https://supplierexcellenceawards.holyrood.com/.

Scotland Excel is the Centre of Procurement Expertise of local government.  You can find more about our organisation at http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk/ or email communications@scotland-excel.org.uk.

Audit Scotland's Report on Scotland's City Region and Growth Deals

Audit Scotland have published their report on Scotland's City Regions and Growth Deals.

City Region and Growth Deals have enabled economic development projects across Scotland that may not otherwise have gone ahead and sparked increased collaboration between councils and their partners. Eight deals worth £5.2 billion, mostly around infrastructure improvements, have been signed or agreed in principle, with more in the pipeline. 

But the Scottish Government has not set out how it will measure the programme's value for money. It is also not clear why some deal projects were approved for funding over others, while local communities have had very little involvement in deals. These two factors have limited transparency around the process. 

How accountability would work around individual deals if something went wrong also remains untested. And there is a risk that councils and their partners could struggle to deliver deal projects alongside the other challenges facing Scotland's public sector.

Graham Sharp, Chair of the Accounts Commission said: 
"City deals have had a positive effect across Scotland, strengthening relationships between councils, government, business, our universities and other partners. 

"It's early days, but it's important lines of accountability for deals are now made clearer and that the right staff are in place to develop and deliver deals at a time of considerable financial pressure for councils and the wider public sector."

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: 
"A significant amount of public money has been committed to city deals, but the programme's lack of aims and objectives means opportunities may already have been missed to ensure deals contribute to national outcomes.

"The Scottish Government needs to show how it will measure deals' long-term success and work with councils to improve transparency around the approval process for individual projects."



The report is available here.

Notice of updated Privacy Policy: January 2020

We have recently conducted a routine review of our privacy policy and data storage practices, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016. This has involved some incremental updates to how we manage and store personal information.

For more information about these practices, you can view our privacy policy here, and you also have the right to request a copy of our data audit should you wish to view this.

State of the Cities Conference | 5th November, Aberdeen

State of the Cities Conference

Tuesday 5 November 2019

Registration – 9:30 | Conference 10:00 – 13:30

Conference Suite 3, P&J Live

Aberdeen Economic Policy Panel Review

Aberdeen City Council is hosting the State of the Cities Conference, for a second year, on Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 9:30-13:30.

Following the success of the inaugural State of the Cities Conference in November 2018, Aberdeen City Council will host the event to coincide with the launch of the second independent report by the Economic Policy Panel on the city and regional economy.

The independent panel is comprised of Professor Graeme Roy, Director, Fraser of Allander Institute, Dougie Peddle, Chief Economic Adviser to the States of Jersey, and Hanan Morsy, Lead Economist, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  Their work supports the Council’s annual credit rating by Moody’s, following our £370m bond issue to contribute towards the financing of the Council’s capital programme.

Aberdeen City Council is the first authority in Scotland to issue a bond and to commission an annual report on how the city economy is performing while and highlighting potential growth in the years ahead.

Full programme can be viewed here.

Book you place to attend here.

Please click here  to view the Aberdeen Economic Policy Panel Review Summary 2018.

The Employee Ownership Podcast

As the growth of employee ownership continues to accelerate, Co-operative Development Scotland has launched the first ever podcast series dedicated to the model.  Featuring the experiences of business owners who have already sold their companies to their staff, as well as expert insight from specialist employee ownership advisers and members of the legal and accounting profession, the series aims to raise awareness of the wide-ranging benefits that employee ownership can offer among those considering a move to the model.

The series has kicked off with an introductory episode featuring Dennis Overton, founder of employee-owned Aquascot and Chair of Scotland for Employee Ownership, with a further seven episodes set to be released on a weekly basis each Tuesday.

You can see the full schedule, listen to the first episode, and subscribe to the series so that you don’t miss any future episodes here http://bit.ly/32pB5dZ.

You can also look out for updates on our social media channels or follow Co-operative Development Scotland on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Episode schedule:

Release Date	Episode
10 September	Introduction to Employee Ownership and Scotland for Employee Ownership - Dennis Overton, Aquascot
17 September	Jerba Campervans: an Employee Ownership Case Study - Simon Poole, Jerba Campervans
24 September	The Role of the Employee Ownership Adviser - Andrew Harrison, Co-ownership Solutions
1 October	Page/Park Architects: an Employee Ownership Case Study - Karen Pickering, Page/Park
8 October	The Priory Hotel: an Employee Ownership Case Study - Stuart and Kenny Hutton, The Priory Hotel
15 October	The Role of the Solicitor in an Employee Ownership Transaction - Campbell Clark, Blackadders LLP
22 October	Aquascot: an Employee Ownership Case Study - Niall MacDonald, Aquascot
29 October	STAR-Dundee: an Employee Ownership Case Study - Stuart Mills, STAR-Dundee

Regional approaches to inclusive economic growth

The experiences of Scotland’s local authorities in relation to regional economic working have been set out in a new report.

The report, Regional Approaches to Maximising Inclusive Economic Growth: Local Authorities’ Perspective, highlights councils’ long history of engaging in cross-boundary working and emphasises the key role that local authorities play in supporting Scotland’s economy. The feedback from councils confirmed that, whilst there was no appetite for structural change, there was a desire to explore how the positive impact of regional working could be maximised, including in relation to securing sustainable inclusive growth benefits.

The report concludes that councils now have an opportunity to lead and influence the next stages of regional economy working.

All 32 councils actively engaged in the work, which included one-to-one interviews with senior officers and politicians, a series of workshops held around the country, sessions with SOLACE members and COSLA’s Environment and Economy Board, and interviews with external stakeholders.

The work was undertaken by Ekos consultants and overseen by a Steering Group comprising the Improvement Service, COSLA, SOLACE and SLAED. The Steering Group will now consider further work to take forward the various actions set out in the report.

Download the final report: Regional Approaches to Maximising Inclusive Economic Growth: Local Authorities’ Perspective

Download the brief for the work.