Quango boards to remain after U-turn by SNP

SNP ministers yesterday backtracked on plans to ditch the boards of Scotland’s enterprise agencies.

The Scottish Government had proposed the creation of a new management body to oversee all of Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies.

But it yesterday performed a U-turn in the wake of massive opposition and confirmed that the boards of Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise would stay.

It comes after the Government was defeated twice in parliamentary debates on the issue in recent weeks.

In a statement to parliament yesterday, Economy Secretary Keith Brown said: ‘I have listened to this parliament and so I confirm that the boards of HIE, the SFC and the other agencies will remain but there’s an absolute expectation that the agencies will work to align their delivery to maximise their positive impact on the economy.

‘I do not intend to bring forward legislation to change the name, the functions or structures of the agency boards.’

Scottish Tory economy spokesman Dean Lockhart said: ‘This is an embarrassing U-turn from the SNP Government and shows that they have finally caved in after the sustained criticism these plans received from all sectors.’