A former Minister has accused the Scottish Government of creating the “illusion of progress” to grab headlines with its green energy strategy.
Ivan McKee, writing Exclusively in The Herald, took aim at the plethora of quangos and boards which have been set up to deliver the Government’s industrial strategy, following further such recommendations in the Roadmap for Scotland's Green Industrial Strategy.
Mr McKee said it is “not clear” how a proposed new body - dubbed the First Minister-led Scottish Industrial Strategy Council - will work with other existing groups.
The MSP, a former Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, said: “It's not clear how this will interface with the First Minister-led Scottish Energy Advisory Board, which is intended to bring government, business and others together to set strategy for the industry.
READ MORE: Time to put in serious hard work on our Green Industrial Strategy
“Nor the First Minister-led Scottish Economic Leadership Group, formed only last year to oversee the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET), and which itself replaced the First Minister's Council of Economic Advisors.
“This is separate from the NSET Delivery Board (which replaced the previous Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board) and from the New Deal Business Group announced last month to great fanfare.”
Ivan McKee
He added: “You get the picture, reorganisation to create the illusion of progress, and to grab a headline.
“If the existing, or previous, "high-powered" First Minster-led groups couldn't fix this, what's different about this one?”
READ MORE: Time to put in serious hard work on our Green Industrial Strategy
Mr McKee writes that the Scottish Government still has many questions to answer on its green industry strategy, which remains hugely competitive internationally.
He states: “He need to make sure that investments made are in the right places, where Scotland has a genuine competitive advantage we can maximise. Hard choices on where to focus, and being clear and explicit about where we won't.”
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