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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 10 January 2025
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Displaying 1374 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee

Business Investment Outlook

Meeting date: 11 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

What about the question about data, the current status, and how you know whether that is true?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Business Investment Outlook

Meeting date: 11 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

I sense that Jonny Clark wants to come in on that, given that he was nodding.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Business Investment Outlook

Meeting date: 11 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

Do Jon O’Sullivan and James Reid have anything to add? I appreciate that it is a vast topic.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Chief Entrepreneurial Adviser to the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 11 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

Good morning. Over the course of this discussion, you have teased us a few times about the Ana Stewart review and, like you, I do not want to steal her thunder, because I know that something is coming out soon. Thinking about your role, I am heartened to hear how closely you are working with her, because, while looking at the key areas in preparation for today’s session, I picked up on the fact that there does not seem to be anything specific about actively encouraging female entrepreneurs, which, in my opinion—probably unsurprisingly—is a huge gap. Can you confirm that you see that squarely as part of your role?

Secondly, can you give us a flavour of the themes that you hope to see in relation to female entrepreneurs? What does an ideal Scotland for female entrepreneurs look like?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Chief Entrepreneurial Adviser to the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 11 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

[Inaudible.]

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Chief Entrepreneurial Adviser to the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 11 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

I very much look forward to reading the review. I have one more question, which takes us back to where we started. The first thing that you mentioned was culture. Thus far, you have not reflected much on attitudes to risk and our cultural perception of failure. Will you give us your reflections on that? I know that you said at the beginning that culture can be changed easily, but it seems to me that our appetite for and attitude to risk is deeply ingrained, as is how we perceive failure, which, of course, in business terms, is simply learning. I would like some finishing reflections on that.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

If I asked you whether this is a gender-friendly Parliament in all its facets, I assume that you would say that it is. I would then challenge you to say how you know that that is the case.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

I want to almost turn the matter on its head. You are describing some collection and some output, which, if you chose to, you could pull into one report on one facet. I suppose that I am asking when you last produced—or whether you have ever produced—a similar report entirely from the point of view of the female population in every single facet. Have you ever considered doing something like that?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

I have every sympathy with the situation in which the Deputy First Minister finds himself while he is operating as the finance secretary. However, I am asking for clarity from a business investment point of view. Businesses will be determining at what point they will seek to make investments and therefore will need to know what the Scottish Government’s appetite is for that, given the constraints that you have outlined. Do you plan to make further announcements to give much-needed certainty to various business sectors, of which construction is one?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Michelle Thomson

I want to pick up on the point about behaviour change and I want to make two more points. Attempts to model behaviour change must be increasingly complex, given the complexity of the existing fiscal framework and the wider economic environment. Are the models that you use evolving? Are they fit for purpose? That was a slightly technical question.