An Edinburgh business leader has joined forces with her Glasgow counterpart to warn the Prime Minister that Scotland faces a £7bn annual shortfall without equal funding powers to English cities.
Liz McAreavey, chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, and Stuart Patrick CBE of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce have written to Number 10 demanding a meaningful devolution settlement.
The joint letter requests that the capital and Scotland’s largest city receive the same multi-annual funding mechanisms currently offered to English combined authorities.
The two city regions collectively account for 3.5 million residents and produce around £100bn in economic output.
Liz McAreavey said: “Edinburgh and South East Scotland has the ambition, partnerships and proven capability to take on greater responsibility.
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce CEO Liz McAreavey.
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce CEO Stuart Patrick.
“Its strong record of delivery through the City Region Deal provides a firm foundation, but growing pressures on housing, transport and skills demand a more coordinated, long-term response.
“Because income tax is partly devolved, growth in the Central Belt raises revenue for both the Scottish and the UK budgets. This is one of the few areas where both governments gain from the same decision, which is why it should be taken together.
“Business is not asking government to carry this alone. Both Chambers are bringing business and investor interests together around investable projects, so that what our regions put to government is a value proposition and not a list of demands.”
Stuart Patrick CBE added: “Centre for Cities puts Glasgow City Region’s underperformance at around £7bn a year. That is more than £19m of output lost every day, about £3,700 for every resident.
“It is the largest economic gap in Scotland, and closing it would make Scotland’s economy around 4.6% larger.
“This is not a failure of ambition or of delivery. Glasgow City Region manages a growth portfolio worth more than £2bn, larger than most English city regions.
“The Scottish Government has committed to legislation giving regional partnerships legal status and powers over skills, economic development and planning, and we want that legislation to succeed.
“What only the UK Government can provide is the long-term funding certainty that sits alongside it.”
The plea is backed by Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli’s independent report on regional economic development, which highlighted strong business support for long-term funding certainty.
Related