LETTERS *

IAIN FERGUSON POLICY EXECUTIVE - CBI SCOTLAND

LOCAL AUTHORITIES SHOULD DESIGN AND PUT IN PLACE PLANNING PROCEDURES TO ‘FAST-TRACK’ ENERGY PROJECTS, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO PRE-APPROVAL DISCUSSIONS WITH DEVELOPERS.

Dear New Start,

In an economic downturn, there is always a temptation for businesses - large and small - to cut spending on staff training. When times are tough, it looks a simple way to cut costs.

But it’s a false economy. Research confirms that firms that don’t train are 2.5 times more likely to fail than those who do! Now is precisely the time to keep investing in the skills and talents of our people. It is the people we employ who will get us through. When markets are shrinking and order books falling, it is their commitment, productivity and ability to add value that will keep us competitive. We must not pay the price of failing to invest in the talent on which our future will be built.

Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Chairman, BT Group plc

Mervyn Davies CBE, Chairman, Standard Chartered plc Brendan Barber, General Secretary, Trades Union Congress Richard Lambert, Director General, Confederation of British Industry

Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman, Business in the Community, Chairman, Marks and Spencer plc

Dear New Start, The idea of a Scottish Homecoming, encouraging those of Scots descent worldwide to reconnect with their history, resonates well with our common need to return to traditional Scottish values of pragmatic sanity - in the face of catastrophic economic collapse. Our economy has lost its way playing the money game, forgetting that we are here to create wealth - real wealth - for our peoples and our planet.

CLAIRE CARPENTER FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE MELTING POT

GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? e-mail carrie@newstartscotland.com

LETTER OF THE MONTH Dear New Start,

RE: Scottish Government’s announcement to support and exploit Scotland’s green energy potential.

This announcement is welcome. The Scottish Government is right to pursue the opportunities that green energy presents at a time of economic uncertainty.

It is important that a clear signal is sent that Scotland is ‘open for business’ in terms of energy generation and distribution infrastructure developments. The inclusion of national developments within NPF2 is a good start, but a speedier decision making process ought to be in place for projects, including green energy ones, that are not in NPF2. Local authorities should design and put in place planning procedures to ‘fast- track’ energy projects, particularly in relation to pre-approval discussions with developers. This can be done and is a principle that is already established in the sphere of tourism in some parts of Scotland where agencies work together to facilitate significant tourism-related investments. This should equally apply, if not more so, to energy related projects.