New taskforce to help Scotland close economic gap with UK

A new business taskforce is being launched to advise the UK government on how best to help the Scottish economy close the gap on the rest of the UK.

Former UK government minister Lord Dunlop has been commissioned by the Scottish Secretary David Mun- delltochairthegroupmadeup of leading figures with expert knowledge of Scotland’s business and economy.

Mundell said: “We know that Scotland’s economic performance lags behind the rest of UK, and we need to close that gap. As we develop our ambitious industrial strategy and negotiate new trade deals with Europe and around the world, this expert panel will provide insight from a range of Scottish business sectors.”

Mundell announced the taskforce, whose members will be announced shortly, ahead of a trip to Paraguay and Argentina next week.

“As we are prepare to leave the EU, we want to build and strengthen our trade relationships with friends and partners old and new, and I am certain Scottish companies will be at the forefront of this,” he said.

“Scotland’s skills, products and services are highly regarded globally, and we can build on that as we strike ambitious new trade deals around the world.”

Significant Scottish exports to the countries include Scotch whisky which saw more than £26 million of product shipped there last year.

‘Economy performance lags behind’ – David Mundell