13 April 2026
Michelle Ferguson, CBI Scotland Director, said:
“With persistent labour and skills shortages stalling growth, Scottish Labour’s plans to create thousands of new apprenticeships would help Scotland compete globally and build sustainable long-term growth. Businesses will also welcome the party's commitment to ringfence Apprenticeship Levy funding in Scotland and give employers greater flexibility over how their contributions can support high-quality training.
“Businesses are waiting far too long to receive the planning consent they need to push ahead with investment. Fixing the bottlenecks in Scotland's planning system, particularly for clean energy and other large infrastructure projects, would unlock significant private investment, boosting growth and prosperity across the country.
“Labour’s pragmatic approach to nuclear energy could potentially attract billions of pounds in investment to build Small Modular Reactors, bringing high-value jobs, supply chain opportunities, and long-term energy security to Scotland. The commitment to a single industrial strategy – backed by a Scottish Board of Trade – would give business a consistent channel into government, as well as providing a welcome signal about the importance of partnership between business and government. As ever, the devil will be in the detail, as firms will want to see a group that genuinely drives action and results.
“With business costs continuing to soar, firms will welcome Labour's commitment not to raise income taxes in the next parliament. But if elected, the party must go further and close Scotland's income tax gap with the rest of the UK. That gap is making it harder for Scottish firms to compete for highly skilled talent and risks pushing more people south of the Border, with consequences for both employers and employees.
“Prioritising reform of a broken business rates system will also be welcomed by firms’, and a comprehensive review will be needed to avoid further damage to investment, profitability, job creation and growth.”