Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding enterprise issues that fall within of the responsibilities of the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, how it assesses (a) outcomes, (b) performance and (c) value for money in relation to capital investment.
Robust processes are in place for assessing the outcomes, performance and value for money of capital investment, tailored to the nature of the investment.
For example, projects within the Scottish City and Region Growth Deal Programmes are developed in accordance with HM Treasury’s Green Book guidance which requires appraisal of the social economic and carbon outputs, outcomes and impacts from public sector investment; whole life cycle costing is examined and value for money reviewed. In addition, Benefit Realisation Plans for the Deal Programmes, aggregate project business case performance information, supplemented by qualitative information, to evidence the cumulative impact of public sector investment in the relevant region.
Our enterprise agencies also follow a rigorous appraisal process aligned to the Scottish Public Finance Manual and HM Treasury’s Green Book guidance to assess investment proposals. Evaluation of value for money is also undertaken. In the period from April 2017 to March 22, Scottish Enterprise delivered £85m of capital investment grant support to businesses which is expected to leverage a further £410m of private sector investment. The agency’s evaluation demonstrates that its capital investment grants also support other benefits, including company creation, innovation, increased company sales and exports, and attracting companies to locate to or stay in Scotland.