The Scottish Cabinet yesterday welcomed five of the country's key business leaders to Bute House in Edinburgh as part of the efforts to ensure the Scottish Government is doing all it can to put Scotland firmly on the road to economic recovery.

Representatives from five key business organisations delivered a pre-Cabinet presentation to Government Ministers: David Watt, Director, Institute of Directors; Lesley Sawers, Chief Executive of Scottish Council Development Industry; Owen Kelly, Chief Executive, Scottish Financial Enterprise; Liz Cameron, Director, Scottish Chambers of Commerce; and Andy Willox, Policy Convener, Federation of Small Businesses.

The meeting was the second in a series of Cabinet discussions with social partners. Business organisations, the STUC, Local Government, the Third Sector, Scotland's Faith Groups, and the Lifelong Learning sector along with the Secretary of State for Scotland have been invited to share their views directly in the form of a presentation over the coming few weeks.


The move follows the success of last year's drive to allow Cabinet to hear the views and concerns of wider Scottish society, which saw Cabinet travel to different parts of the country for a series of National Conversation forums - a process being repeating during this year's Parliamentary Recess.

The Scottish Government has already taken action to support businesses - with the economic recovery plan setting out more than 60 actions to help Scotland's economy.

These include £150m earmarked as the first step to establishing a Scottish Investment Bank, supporting the establishment of BusinessClub Scotland - an initiative to help Scotland's businesses capitalise on the 'massive economic opportunities' offered by major events held in Scotland and saving small businesses up to £165m through the reduction and removal of business rates for tens of thousands of small businesses.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "I am delighted to welcome these key business leaders to Bute House to present their ideas to the Scottish Ministerial team. Only through working together can we identify opportunities to maximise Scottish employment and ensure strong economic recovery at this critical time."

David Watt, Director, Institute of Directors, added: "On behalf of all the business organisations, we are delighted to be meeting with the Cabinet and working together to drive the economy forward, particularly in this very difficult time.

"We look forward to a constructive meeting and a real sharing of ideas. This initiative - with the Cabinet hosting a series of such meetings - is most welcome."

(GK/JM)