Business News Round Up (18/04/2024)
Scottish Government to set out climate change plans
The Scottish Government is to set out its next steps on tackling climate change, after a report warned it is now “beyond credible” that Scotland’s target to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030 will be met. It comes amid reports that the Scottish Government could be planning to ditch the 2030 goal but remain committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2045. The move would be seen as a major climbdown for the administration at Holyrood – where Green Party politicians are now in government thanks to a power-sharing agreement with the SNP. But a report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) published in March said that, for Scotland to achieve the goal of cutting harmful emissions by 75% by then, the rate of emission reduction in most sectors would need to increase by a factor of nine in the years up to the end of the decade.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-government-set-out-climate-32613846
Top tech firms call for creation of Northern rival to Silicon Valley
An alliance of Northern tech businesses including BT, Booking.com and Auto Trader are calling on the Mayor of Greater Manchester to create a body to boost skills, innovation, and investment across the region. The new Manifesto for the Northern Tech Economy, created by industry body Manchester Digital and supported by tech leaders across the region, calls for the formation of a new Northern Tech Nexus of key city-regions – led by Greater Manchester – which would coordinate efforts between political, academic, and business leaders to create a powerful pan-regional tech ecosystem. The Manifesto calls for the establishment of an annual international Northern Tech Summit and the creation of a Regional Digital Investment Fund, which would supercharge global capital support for startups and scaleups. The firms also call for targeted support for industrial placements – including through the proposed Mbacc initiative – to inject a wave of new engineering talent into the northern tech economy.
Offshore wind industry unveils Industrial Growth Plan to create jobs, triple supply chain manufacturing and boost UK economy by £25 billion
RenewableUK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland have published a detailed Industrial Growth Plan, setting out how to triple offshore wind manufacturing capacity over the next ten years, firmly establishing the UK as a leader in a surging global market. The UK offshore wind industry already employs 32,000 people and each new large offshore wind farm adds £2-3bn to the economy. Employment is set to rise to over 100,000 by 2030 and investment in new offshore wind projects will create an economic opportunity worth up to £92bn for the UK by 2040. The measures set out in the Industrial Growth Plan (IGP) would create an additional 10,000 jobs a year and boost the UK’s economy by a further £25 billion between now and 2035, if we accelerate offshore wind deployment in line with our net zero targets to 5-6 gigawatts a year.
Summit to tackle Scotland’s low R&D relief claims
Innovation in Scotland is being severely curtailed by very low levels of R&D tax relief and Patent Box claims, a tax relief expert has warned ahead of a summit that aims to tackle the issue. The Innovation Investment summit, which is being hosted in Edinburgh by Azets on 23 April, will explore how businesses can boost R&D and Patent Box tax relief claims and trigger substantial extra investment into innovative businesses. The summit, which will be addressed by Richard Lochhead, Minister for Small Business, Trade, and Innovation, will announce plans for a team of innovation specialists focused on helping businesses boost their innovation funding. In 2023 there were 90,000 claims for R&D Tax Relief across the UK worth around £8 billion submitted by 1.6% of all private businesses. In Scotland there were just 4,200 claims, or around 1% of all private businesses, a significant gap relatively and in absolute terms.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2024/04/summit-to-tackle-scotlands-low-rd-relief-claims/