Making small firms work

With the Scotland Bill (1997) provision was made for establishing a Scottish Parliament and an associated Scottish Administration. Thus the most significant constitutional change in the UK for nearly three hundred years was enacted. Many economic powers mentioned in that Bill are subject to ‘reservation’, ¹ with the notable exception that the basic rate of income tax for Scottish taxpayers may be increased or reduced by not more than 3 per cent from that determined by the UK Parliament. Despite this apparently limited scope for economic policy, Scotland continues to be subject to a sophisticated and long-standing regional economic policy framework from the standpoint of the stimulation of enterprise. The concern of this paper is with the impact this framework has on small firms.