Presidents Update - October 2017

Making sure that public policy supports the needs and ambitions of Chamber members is a critically important role for us. We undertake an extensive programme of meetings with politicians and government agencies to make sure that their voice is heard where and when it matters.

Activity levels were very high over the summer and many members got the opportunity to meet senior political and economic decision makers directly at:

• a forum with local MPs and MSPs
• the first meeting of our Bank of England Panel
• a roundtable with senior HM Treasury officials
• a meeting with the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland
• a discussion with the Editor of the Scottish Business Insider magazine

The Chamber’s Chief Executive and I stressed the importance of growing Fife’s economy and supporting its indigenous businesses at a very positive and productive meeting with the Co-Leaders of Fife Council. We identified many goals we share and openly discussed how we can work together to achieve them.

We are is represented on all of the key cross-agency groups that play a central role in growing and developing the local economy. A number of these groups met during the summer, with the Chamber Chief Executive in attendance:

• Developing Young Workforce Fife
• Edinburgh Airport Consultative Committee
• Fife Trade Partnership
• Fife Brexit Advisory Group
• Career Ready Local Area Board
• Fife Economy Partnership Executive Group

Chamber staff also had productive meetings with Jenny Gilruth MSP, UK Export Finance and VisitScotland.

We took our members’ messages outside Fife when we joined the Scottish Chambers of Commerce team at a Business Reception at the Scottish Parliament and invited the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Leader of the Conservative Party to come to Fife.

We also met Willie Rennie MSP, leader of the Liberal Democrats Scotland, and invited him and his Party’s UK leader – Sir Vince Cable – to meet with members.

If you would like to know more about the Chamber's public policy work or if there are any specific policy issues that are important to your business, please contact us at [email protected]