Firms urged to make more of the UK's four markets

DEVOLUTION has benefited small businesses across the UK by providing more diverse markets for their goods and services, according to a leading industry figure.

Professor Russel Griggs, chairman of the Confederation of British Industry’s small and mediumsized enterprise (SME) council, has called on business to exploit the opportunities presented by devolution.

Speaking to The Scotsman ahead of today’s council meeting in the Scottish Parliament, Griggs said members of the council would discuss the effects of devolved powers on small businesses.

Griggs, who is chairman of the Scottish Government’s regulatory review group and a former executive director of Scottish Enterprise, said: "Devolution isn’t a particular Scottish issue, it’s to do with Wales, Northern Ireland and England too.

"It’s about the differences that having four devolved administrations within the UK gives in terms of challenges and opportunities to business.

"Because we’ve got four administrations, and because therefore we’ve got four different kinds of public procurement, we’ve got four different customers."

He said the SME council needed to discuss devolution to raise awareness about the differing administrations.

Griggs added: "People in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland understand a lot about devolution and people in England don’t. That’s because we live with it on a daytoday basis.

"In England, you wouldn’t know about it unless you had a business in Scotland. The reason for this discussion is to make people more aware."

Griggs reiterated the CBI’s opposition to the SNP’s proposed local income tax and said the CBI would respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the matter.

On a UK level, Griggs said discussions were underway with the Treasury to find ways to help small businesses hit by changes to capital gains tax (CGT).

Griggs said: "Since 1997, I think government and business have had a reasonably trusting relationship. The changes in CGT changed that equation a bit and I’m not sure business is as trusting as it was of government.

"But that can be got back: we’ve had good meetings with the government that show a keenness by them to move forward although I’m still not clear on how we will do that."

Griggs said he wanted to see businesses and regulators involved in the writing of legislation in Scotland.

He said: "The UK, unlike some of its European counterparts, jumps into legislation rather than look at other options.

"There are many ways of looking at European directives – asking ’are we doing it already or can we tweak something that’s out there?’ rather than introducing a new bill; talking to industry itself to ask what the most appropriate way is to do it. Sometimes it might be selfregulation."