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Nurturing Wealth Creation
"Wealth creation lies at the heart of all successful economies"
Foreword
Dr Chris Masters CBE, FRSE
Chair, Scottish Manufacturing Steering Group
In August last year, following some disappointing economic figures, Iain Gray MSP, the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, decided to reconvene the Scottish Manufacturing Steering Group. The Group had last met in 2000 under the chairmanship of the then Minister, Henry McLeish MSP, and produced a comprehensive report Created in Scotland: The Way Forward for Scottish Manufacturing in the 21st Century.
The reconvened Steering Group was set three specific tasks:
- to audit Created in Scotland's progress;
- to note subsequent policy developments; and
- to identify further actions required to support manufacturing as appropriate, with a particular focus on issues which are within the devolved powers of the Scottish Executive.
The Steering Group was also asked to report as early as possible in 2003.
I was delighted to accept the Minister's invitation to chair the Group, not only because I passionately believe that wealth creation lies at the heart of all successful economies and that in the process of wealth creation, manufacturing, in the broadest sense of the word, has an absolutely vital and critical role to play, but also because both the First Minister and Iain Gray had made personal and public commitments to put economic growth at the top of the political agenda.
At our first meeting the Group decided that, rather than attempt to cover the whole waterfront or engage in a detailed strategic debate, we would focus our efforts on trying to identify a limited number of key areas of concern to manufacturers currently operating in Scotland. We also decided, as far as practical, to seek views and input from those actually operating at the "coal face", rather than simply rely on the experiences and knowledge of Group members.
In the months leading up to Christmas 2002, members of the Group chaired a number of workshops covering a wide range of sub-sectors. In addition, using a simple questionnaire, we sought the views of manufacturing companies operating in Scotland.
In both the questionnaire and the workshops, we asked people to identify key actions which both the Scottish Executive and the UK Government could undertake to help their particular business. We also asked respondents to identify the key issues businesses themselves should address to improve their effectiveness.
Although individual businesses clearly had different areas of concern, overall there was a remarkable degree of agreement as to the major priority areas which both Government and businesses need to address.
None of the areas are in themselves new. However, throughout manufacturing industry in Scotland there appears to be a low level of knowledge and understanding, or indeed interest, in many of the initiatives instigated by Scottish Executive and a general feeling of "initiative overload".
Consequently, looking to the future, we have, as a Group, resisted the temptation to come up with yet another raft of new initiatives focused on individual business sectors, but rather attempted to limit our recommendations to more general areas relevant, hopefully, to the majority of Scottish manufacturing businesses.
We recognise that there are no 'quick fixes' to the problems facing manufacturers in Scotland and would therefore encourage Ministers to concentrate on delivering long-term policies, many of which are already in train, which are specifically aimed at nurturing and promoting an environment in Scotland in which wealth creation in all its many facets is both encouraged and valued for the benefit of both the country and its people.
I am very conscious that we have operated to a tight and demanding timescale which has involved extensive external consultation. I would like to pay special tribute to all my colleagues on the Group, not only for their hard work and commitment, but also for their personal support over the last six months.
Dr Chris Masters CBE, FRSE
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