Business News Round Up (26/09/2025)
Shock as Scotland lags UK in innovation rankings
Scotland is lagging behind other parts of the UK on business innovation, according to the SNP government’s own ‘scorecard’. Tory leader Russell Findlay drew on the findings of the scorecard to accuse the government of failing to support growing businesses. Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, he said: “The scorecard shows performance is declining over more than half of the government’s own key measures. I’d like to ask the First Minister, is that really good enough?” Mr Swinney replied that economic growth is central to the government’s policy agenda and highlighted the growing games industry as one “sparkling” example of how it was taking forward the innovation agenda. Mr Findlay, who is due to reveal a paper on the economy on Friday, said that, with regard to the number of companies innovating, Scotland was ranked behind every region of England.
Northern Powerhouse Rail delayed, prolonging decade of uncertainty
The highly anticipated and long-stalled transport link, which would feature a £17bn Manchester-Liverpool rail line via Warrington, will not be pitched as expected by the Prime Minister at the Labour Party conference. Chancellor Rachel Reeves had pledged to unveil the government’s vision for Northern Powerhouse Rail over “the coming weeks” as part of the June 2025 Spending Review, but a vision has yet to materialise. Reeves did, however, commit £15bn for Northern transport infrastructure. Plans for the railway aim to replicate the success of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc by increasing mobility and efficiency and connecting high-growth industries across the North West. Metro mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram claimed at MIPIM in March 2025 that the project could add £7bn GVA a year to the UK economy. NPR has been in the works since it was first touted by then-chancellor George Osborne in 2014.
Scotland faces major loss to economy if international student levy plans go ahead
Scotland would lose nearly £200 million in just a year if Labour’s proposed levy on international students goes ahead, new analysis has found. A report by policy consultancy Public First said that of all parts of the UK, only London would be hit harder, with a loss of £480m. The 10 parliamentary constituencies most affected by the proposed levy would lose an average of £40m in gross value added (GVA), modelling suggests. Holborn and St Pancras – which is Keir Starmer’s constituency – is estimated to face the biggest loss at £72m , followed by the cities of London and Westminster (£57m), and then Coventry South (£44m). Of the 50 most impacted constituencies, 37 are held by Labour, researchers said.
UK marine energy sector growth under discussion by industry stakeholders
Industry stakeholders will gather in Aberdeen next month to explore the UK’s multi-billion-pound wave and tidal energy potential. The Marine Energy 2025 event, organized by Global Underwater Hub (GUH) in partnership with the UK Marine Energy Council (MEC), will take place at GUH’s office in Westhill. The one-day meeting follows the launch of the UK government’s Marine Energy Taskforce (MET) earlier this year and will combine technology updates with stakeholder engagement sessions, GUH said. According to a recent policy paper from the Supergen ORE Hub and the Policy and Innovation Group at the University of Edinburgh, the UK could generate up to £50 billion ($67.2 billion) for its economy and create more than 90,000 jobs by taking a leading role in the global marine energy market.