Tag: Institute of Directors

Edinburgh appoints visitor levy forum leader

Julie Ashworth will lead the new forum to advise the Council on all matters related to establishing Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy and its ongoing performance.

A recruitment panel, comprising senior representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Visit Scotland and Edinburgh Association of Community Councils, identified the experienced executive as the ideal candidate to establish and lead the Visitor Levy Forum.

Councillors formally agreed to the appointment at the full Council meeting on Thursday 8 May.

Julie brings to the role considerable experience in complex stakeholder management and financial planning, and is a skilled networker with a strong track record of building relationships across multiple industry sectors, local and national governments.

She is founder and CEO of BroadReach Leadership Consultancy, whose clients span retail, technology, travel, education and the arts.

An Edinburgh resident, she currently serves as a Public Interest Board Trustee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, is Chair of the Board for the University of Aberdeen and has been a longstanding member of the Institute of Directors, where she is Chair of the Scotland Board.

She also contributes on a cross-party working group at the Scottish Parliament and is a member of the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Business Group.

She has previously held executive and advisory positions with leading organisations operating in the retail sector including Marks and Spencer, Liberty of London, IBM, the Spirit Group and Clear Returns.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “I’m delighted that Julie has been appointed as Chair of the Visitor Levy Forum. This independent role will be important in helping to deliver the scheme in a way that benefits everyone living, working in and visiting Edinburgh, making sure big decisions are taken in a way that supports the whole city.

“Julie’s proven ability to analyse important information and make sound decisions in high profile organisations will be a great asset to this new position. We believe her clear, determined and approachable style mean she is the right person to establish and lead a well-balanced forum where all views are given fair representation.

“The levy is a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in the future of our city, and with Julie onboard as forum chair, we are well placed to deliver a scheme that will enhance and sustain the things that make Edinburgh such a great place to live in and visit.”

Commenting on her appointment, Julie Ashworth said: “I am excited to get to work with establishing the forum and encouraging a broad range of views from businesses and communities across the city.

“We are entering a busy period as we build up to the implementation of the levy, and getting underway with the forum is a big opportunity for all of us.

“As a long-time resident of the city, I am passionate about Edinburgh’s heritage and future success. I strongly believe the forum can play a very important role in helping the levy to be delivered in a way that is fair, just and brings benefits to everyone in the years to come.”

Julie’s first task will be to establish the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Forum in line with the duties set out in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act, with the first meeting taking place before 24 July 2025.

The forum’s purpose is to discuss and advise the Council on matters to do with the levy, including advising the Council on any recommended modifications to the scheme at the formal three-year review point.

The forum will also be consulted on how the income from the levy will be invested and invited to review and comment on the performance of the scheme and investments once in place. Decisions on amendments to the scheme and how the proceeds from the levy are invested will ultimately be taken by councillors.

It will comprise an equal number of representatives from the community and businesses operating in the city’s visitor economy, and aim for at least 40 per cent of the representatives to be women.

Council officers responsible for the investment streams and officers from the Council’s Programme Management Office will attend forum meetings and may make recommendations to the forum, but will not be members of the forum itself.

Chancellor vows to work in partnership with business ‘to fix the foundations’

The Chancellor ‘ushered in a new era of business partnership’ yesterday (29 August) as she met business groups together for the first time as Chancellor.

Rachel Reeves told senior business leaders that just as they had worked together in opposition to write their plans for government, they will work together now to deliver them.

In her first meeting with the BCC, CBI, FSB, Make UK and IoD as Chancellor, she said that businesses will be at the heart of delivering the government’s growth mission, as it takes action to fix the foundations of the economy to rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.

Ahead of October’s Budget, Reeves promised to ‘co-design’ policy with business on shared priorities to boost growth, pointing to the same approach being taken for designing the National Wealth Fund. 

She pledged to establish a new British Infrastructure Council to advise government on how to support more investment into UK infrastructure projects, and work closely with business to bring down barriers to growth and investment.

Reeves told senior business representatives the Treasury’s door was always open to valuable business insights on the opportunities and challenges they face. 

She added that the Business Secretary is committed to the new Industrial Strategy Council having a strong business voice and is also consulting with business on the details on Plan to Make Work Pay.

Business representatives also gave their views on what a successful partnership with government could look like and areas to prioritise to help their members grow and invest. 

Speaking after the meeting, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Under this new government’s leadership, I will lead the most pro-growth, pro-business Treasury in our history – with a laser focus on making working people better off. 

“That can only happen by working in partnership with businesses: big, medium and small. I want to continue the strong partnership we built with business in opposition now we are in government to deliver on our shared goal of fixing the foundations of our economy, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”

Stephen Phipson CBE, CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation said: “The Chancellor promised that she would engage properly with business and today was more evidence that the promise is being honoured.

“It was very welcome to have the Chancellor highlight further progress in delivering an Industrial Strategy with assurances that the governing Council would have a strong business voice.  

“In order to build confidence for businesses to increase investment, it is critical we keep this momentum going and see more detail on the delivery as well as vision. UK Manufacturers are fully behind the government’s growth agenda and look forward to working in partnership with government to achieve it.”

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “Today’s meeting was a valuable opportunity to reaffirm our commitment, on behalf of the businesses across our Chamber network, to work in partnership with Government. 

“We outlined our priorities for the Autumn Budget, recognising the public finance challenge. Boosting economic growth and investment is crucial, while maintaining a fiscal environment that protects the UK’s business competitiveness. 

“We welcome the Chancellor’s pledge to work with us on plans for an industrial strategy and to boost infrastructure investment. 

“We look forward to more discussions with the Chancellor and the Treasury team ahead of her statement on October 30th”

Tina McKenzie MBE, Federation of Small Businesses Policy Chair, said: “Today’s meeting was a crucial partnership moment, and I was pleased to raise issues and growth ideas from FSB members up and down the country, in every local community.

“You don’t get growth, jobs or wealth creation without UK small businesses; this was a core feature of our discussions in Opposition.  

“Now as the Chancellor and her team turn to the Budget, the diversity of UK businesses – 99% of which are the small, micro or self-employed that we represent – needs reflecting in Government policy-making just as much.”

CBI CEO Rain Newton-Smith said: “Businesses are the engine of growth and will be central to achieving the government’s mission to boost the UK economy. It’s why the CBI welcomes the Chancellor’s promise to co-design policy with the business community.

“Together, we can find shared solutions to shared problems – to increase productivity and business investment – in turn, improving living standards.

“The CBI is proud to work in close partnership with the Treasury, providing a cross-economy voice to help remove the roadblocks holding back investment and sustainable growth.”

Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said: “For the government to successfully deliver its growth mission, it will be crucial that it works in partnership with business.

“Therefore, we look forward to building on the productive relationship that we have developed with the Chancellor, to ensure that the priorities and challenges of businesses and entrepreneurs are understood and acted upon.

“Specifically, as we approach her first Budget in the autumn, we are calling on the Chancellor to take time to get policy design right for the long-term, to deliver the stable tax and policy framework needed to support business confidence and investment.”