New Deal for Business Group – progress report and recommendations: letter from First Minister

To: Co-Chairs of the New Deal for Business Group, Dr Poonam Malik and Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Neil Gray MSP

From: First Minister Humza Yousaf

7 July 2023

New Deal for Business Group - progress and recommendations report 

Thank you for the report that you shared with me on Thursday 29 June. A considerable amount of work has been undertaken over the past six weeks to produce this report and the recommendations. I am grateful for that and I am happy to accept the report and the recommendations in full. 

In my Policy Prospectus I committed to creating a fair, green, and growing economy, using all the powers we have available to support economic growth for a purpose and to help business and trade to thrive. I believe that the implementation of the recommendations in this report will go a long way to achieving that commitment. It will also provide a strong foundation for a continuing partnership between business and government. 

I would like to thank you both as co-chairs and all the members of the New Deal for Business Group for the work undertaken so far. The hard work on implementation begins now. In this next phase of work, it will be important to prioritise among the recommendations and to ensure that the initial focus is on those that are the most important and urgent.

I look forward to seeing the final implementation plan and to being updated on the delivery of that plan.