Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 25 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the business forum, which was established to discuss priorities in advance of Scottish budgets and programmes for government as part of its New Deal for Business, has met, broken down by (a) who attended and (b) what was discussed.
The Scottish Government can confirm that the first meeting of the Strategic Business Forum on 28 August, which I chaired. Attendees included leads from a range of sectors as well as Business Representative Organisations and the discussion focussed on priority areas for the economy in the next Scottish Budget, the Scottish Spending Review and Public Sector Reform.
Representatives attended from Scottish Chambers of Commerce, FSB Scotland, IoD Scotland, CBI Scotland, Prosper, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance as well as industry leaders representing the Construction, Energy, Life Sciences, Aerospace & Defence, Retail, Space, Forestry & Wood and Chemical Sciences sectors.