The Sustainable Growth Commission will set out a “Come to Scotland”
package as one of its key recommendations for growing the economy,
by incentivising inward investment and driving population growth.
The proposal, which is tailor-made for Scotland’s social and
economic needs, is in contrast to the UK Tory Government’s hostile
approach to migration, which presents significant barriers to
attracting the talent and investment that Scotland’s economy needs
to reach its potential....Request free
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The Sustainable Growth Commission will set out a “Come to Scotland”
package as one of its key recommendations for growing the economy,
by incentivising inward investment and driving population
growth.
The proposal, which is tailor-made for Scotland’s social and
economic needs, is in contrast to the UK Tory Government’s hostile
approach to migration, which presents significant barriers to
attracting the talent and investment that Scotland’s economy needs
to reach its potential.
Demographic trends mean that the need to boost population is more
pressing for Scotland than for the rest of the UK – something that
is made even more urgent by Brexit and the danger it poses when it
comes to attracting skilled workers.
A Come to Scotland package would be specifically geared to increase
the inflow of investors, entrepreneurs, highly-skilled workers and
students. It would add significant value on top of the net fiscal
contribution of £1.3 billion that the 429,000 residents of
Scotland, born outside of the UK, already make to Scotland’s
economy.
Policies to boost the population should also focus on returning
Scots and people from the rest of the UK who wish to bring their
skills and talents to Scotland.
The package is central to the first of “3 Ps” which underpin the
Sustainable Growth Commission’s report – population, participation
and productivity – and its recommendations to raise the potential
and performance of the Scottish economy.
The proposals to be published in full today (Friday 25th May)
include:
- Exploring “transition relief” for highly skilled migrant workers
to offset defined costs associated with moving to Scotland against
income tax, to attract the best and brightest talent.
- Aiming to retain an additional 5,000 international graduates each
year to deliver an economic boost of £1.5 billion per year within a
decade.
- Reducing costs, lowering investment thresholds and increasing
support for entrepreneurs. - A new visa system benchmarked on the
most efficient and easy to use in the world.
Sustainable Growth Commission Chair Andrew Wilson said: “We have a
great opportunity for Scotland to strike a completely different
tone on a vitally important area of economic policy – how we
attract talent to our country.
“For the next 25 years all of Scotland’s projected population
growth is expected to come from migration. Under current UK policy
there is a real danger that the working population in Scotland
could fall – meaning fewer people creating wealth, jobs and
contributing to our NHS.
“Growing our working population and, through it, our economy is
perhaps the greatest national challenge we have – and is made even
more urgent by Brexit and the threat it poses to our working age
population. Scotland needs more migration to drive our economy
forwards and we need to extend a friendly welcome to international
talent.
“It is a fact that those born outside the UK who have made Scotland
home for their businesses, their research or their families are
significant net contributors to our economy and public finances –
we need more of this.
“We also need more people from across the UK to consider the
benefits of living and working here. “Our package is designed to
attract people to Scotland to study and to stay here, to build a
career, a and a fulfilling future for themselves. We need
investors, entrepreneurs and a skilled workforce to achieve our
potential.
“It is in Scotland’s best interests to grow our population
sustainably, but we need the right powers and policies in place to
allow that to happen. There is a real opportunity to build
consensus across the political divide and Scottish society more
widely in support of policies that actively support migration into
Scotland. All parties need to recognise that and to act in the best
interests of Scotland’s economy and our society. The importance of
this cannot be overstated.”
ENDS
‘Scotland: the new case for optimism’, the report by the
Sustainable Growth Commission, will be published online this Friday
morning at the following web address -
sustainablegrowthcommission.scot
About the Sustainable Growth Commission
The Sustainable Growth Commission was established by the First
Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, , in September 2016.
The membership of the commission was at her invitation under the
Chairmanship of Andrew Wilson. It has approached its remit through
commissioned research, the insights and analysis of its members and
through a series of meetings with economically important
organisations across Scotland and from independently offered advice
and analysis.
Its members served pro-bono and its budget was entirely funded by
the Scottish National Party. Remit To assess projections for
Scotland’s economy and public finances, consider the implications
for our economy and finances under different potential governance
scenarios, and make recommendations for policy on:
ï‚· Measures to boost economic growth and improve Scotland's public
finances - both now in the aftermath of the EU referendum and in
the context of independence
ï‚· The potential for and best use of savings from UK programmes in
the event of independence, such as Trident
ï‚· The range of transitional cost and benefits associated with
independence and arrangements for dealing with future revenue
windfalls, including future North Sea revenues.
In addition, the Commission was asked to take account of the
recommendations of the 2013 Fiscal Commission reports, and the
outcome of the EU referendum, and consider the most appropriate
monetary policy arrangements to underpin a programme for
sustainable growth in an independent Scotland.
