MANY column inches have been devoted to how the relationship between business and the Scottish Government has turned sour in recent years.

Now there are hopes that things are about to change for the better.

The New Deal for Business Group, set up by First Minister Humza Yousaf to improve links between the Scottish Government and private sector, held its second meeting today and it seems to have got off to an encouraging start.

The first meeting had established a series of subgroups, with members drawn from across the worlds of business, politics, and the economy, to make recommendations on how matters can be improved on five “critical” areas, from the impact of regulation to non-domestic rates. Those will feed into a report to be submitted to Mr Yousaf by the time the Scottish Parliament moves into recess at the end of June.

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There is a lot to fit into a short window, but time is of the essence when economic conditions remain so tough.

Dr Poonam Malik, who co-chairs the group with Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray and is head of investments at the University of Strathclyde, told The Herald that there are “positive expectations and hope” for the new body after relations deteriorated amid the pressures of the pandemic.

“With this formation, there is a platform, and groups can expect to actually discuss [areas of importance],” she said. “Today, the discussion from the leaders have again been positive.”

Business leaders will be especially keen to see if the group can improve the way legislation is formulated and ultimately affects firms on the ground, especially after the controversies surrounding the deposit return scheme, and plans to severely restrict alcohol advertising. They will be encouraged to hear Dr Malik say it will be a key area of focus.

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“From the business point of view, the expectation is they know beforehand and they are a party to when things are happening, so they can discuss what impact it will have on them,” she said. Adding that firms want to ensure new policies do not “land cold”, she said engagement at the “pre-policy stage” was key.

This message will be emphasised loud and clear by Colin Borland, director of devolved nations at the Federation of Small Businesses, who has been appointed to and will represent business on the regulatory review subgroup.

“It’s fair to say the group has got off to a strong, brisk start and there’s a real determination round the table to do things differently," Mr Borland said.

"The task, of course, is turning that determination into tangible actions that can be rolled out across government.

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“The sub-group will give us a chance to dive into some knotty problems, such as how we measure the cumulative impact of regulations on businesses – and small businesses in particular.

“How do we think about business impact earlier in the development process? How do we map everything currently in-train across government that could affect business – especially in the departments further from the business and economy corridors?

“It will also be useful to look at how other jurisdictions – here in the UK and further afield – have tackled the issue and what works and what doesn’t. For example, British Columbia is often held up as an example to follow – what are they doing right that we could adopt?”

The New Deal for Business Group is clearly very much in its infancy, but it is certainly encouraging to know there is a will to make things better.