Is this economic reality?
By Paul Roberts
www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk
We all face unprecedented cutbacks in the next four years as the axe falls on public spending.
Scotland’s budget alone is expected to shrink by almost £4 billion in the next four years.
Economists have warned that it could take 15 years for the Scottish budget to recover to 2010 levels.
In the light of all this, Holyrood has just announced that it is holding a major conference on September 29.
Called The New Economic Reality: Meeting the Challenge, it is being held at Edinburgh’s plush Sheraton Hotel.
Keynote speakers include:
Crawford Beveridge, who has conducted a major review of public expenditure in Scotland
Robert Black, Auditor General for Scotland and
George Black, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council
The cost of attending this one-day event is a massive £292.98 (with discounted rates for charitable organisations and some others).
In these tough times it seems ironic that the cost of attending an event focusing on ‘economic reality’ is unrealistically high.
Of course, the vast number of those attending will be from local authorities – who are facing huge cuts in their budgets.
Many business people and others who would benefit from attending will not be able to afford to go to the event (organised by Holyrood Magazine).
Why did the conference have to be held at the Sheraton? Why not a less ostentatious venue? Why is the attendance rate so expensive?
If this is how we get ready to meet the challenge of the new economic reality, Holyrood need to ‘get real’ about making it less elitist and more accessible to the ordinary man in the street.
Stirling Enterprise (STEP), meanwhile, are organising two ‘economic downturn’ seminars this month – and both are free to attend.
The first, Early warning indicators and preparing for the upturn, is to be held at Stirling Enterprise Park on August 18 2010.
The second, on How to prepare your company for exporting, takes place at Stirling Enterprise Park on August 25.
Now that’s a step in the right direction.
October 26th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
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