
We're backing Scotland with billions in investment, says Reeves ahead of visit
She will visit RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and the St Fergus gas plant in Aberdeenshire on Friday, exactly a week after she toured the Rolls-Royce factory near Glasgow Airport.
The Chancellor will meet 200 Boeing staff at the military site where three new E-7 Wedgetail aircraft are being made.
The UK Government said its plans to increase defence spending to 2.6% will raise Britain's GDP by around 0.3%, while adding 26,100 jobs to the Scottish economy.
It also pointed to its £200 million investment for Aberdeenshire's Acorn carbon capture project, which could create 15,000 new jobs while safeguarding 18,000 more. A final investment decision for the project is yet to be made.
Ms Reeves said: 'We're seizing the huge potential and opportunities that Scotland has on offer.
'Whether it's in defence to keep the UK safe, or clean energy to power all corners of the country, this Government is backing Scotland with billions of pounds of investment to grow the economy and create jobs.'
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the Government is investing in defence to 'ensure Britain's security and deter our adversaries and drive economic growth'.
He added: 'This investment is a massive jobs opportunity for Scotland – this 'defence dividend' is good news for Scotland, where it will help create skilled jobs, drive economic growth, and help tackle the critical skills gaps facing the country in sectors such as nuclear, construction, maritime and project management.'
Maria Laine, Boeing's UK president, said: 'Boeing has a long-standing presence in Scotland including at RAF Lossiemouth, the home to the UK's P-8 Poseidon fleet and where the E-7 Wedgetail will be based when it enters service.
'As a key partner of the UK Armed Forces, Boeing welcomes the defence spending increase and has seen first-hand how defence infrastructure investments, such as the £100 million Atlantic Building and new E-7 facilities at RAF Lossiemouth, can deliver for local jobs, suppliers and UK national security.'
Michelle Ferguson, director of CBI Scotland, added: 'Scotland's energy and defence sectors are vital to our economy, driving investment and supporting thousands of skilled jobs.
'The Chancellor's announcement of £200 million for the Acorn energy project is very encouraging, but businesses are eager for final approval to unlock its full potential and secure North Sea jobs.
'Increased defence spending will further boost Scotland's skilled workforce and create growth opportunities across key supply-chain.
'Close collaboration between the Scottish and UK governments will be essential to fully realise these benefits, driving forward national security and Scotland's transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy.'
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce urged the Chancellor to drop the energy profits levy (EPL), the so-called 'windfall tax' on oil and gas companies, which has a headline rate of 78%.
Chief executive Russell Borthwick said: 'If we stick to course on the accelerated decline of the North Sea, then we'll only have a few short years and not prosperous decades of future oil and gas from our own waters.
'Instead, we'll import more, pay more and suffer further consequences of jobs and businesses lost, just at the time we need them to support the energy transition.
'We know the Chancellor needs to find growth from somewhere within the UK economy. With oil and gas, there's no need to start from scratch or build out a nascent industry.
'Simply by removing the confiscatory EPL, letting investment flow into projects and stimulating activity in a sector which has been hammered by policy for too long, we can unlock significant growth in the UK economy.'
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On the ground, however, for small and medium-sized enterprises such as ours, making premium soft drinks in glass bottles and aluminium cans, the impact would be more akin to being hit with a wrecking ball. British soft drinks manufacturers have a proud history. Many of us have been around for decades – some for more than a century – building businesses rooted in our communities, employing local people, and making drinks that people enjoy across the UK and in international markets. This industry is not just made up of big household names – it is full of small and medium-sized firms like ours, often family-run, quietly getting on with things and doing them to the highest standards that are, of course, expected of us. When the Levy came in back in 2018, many of us adjusted. Some reformulated our drinks, at huge cost. Others didn't – not because they didn't care, but because some companies are loath to change the make-up of products which have a loyal customer base. And besides, that's what a properly functioning market should offer: choice. Now, we're being told that we may have to go through the whole rigmarole again. Reformulate – again. Invest – again. Compromise – again. And for what? The tiny calorie saving is justification for potentially wrecking products, losing customers, and pushing small businesses over the edge, because it's us who are most at risk here, with research showing that micro, small, and medium-sized businesses – who make up the backbone of the UK soft drinks industry – face nearly double the impact relative to turnover compared to large companies. For those who may be thinking, 'well you've reformulated once, you can do it again' – unfortunately things are not that black and white. If it were easy, we'd have done it. But it's not. Reformulating a drink – properly – takes time and money. And, right now, every penny counts. 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