Plans to introduce a Scottish Business Development Bank, first announced in 2013 but abandoned by the Scottish Government in May this year, have resurfaced in the Sturgeon administration's new programme for government.
A new pledge to "develop options for a Scottish Business Development Bank - a dedicated Scottish-headquartered structure working directly with small and medium enterprises and the financial markets, including banks, to build and grow the required level of high growth businesses that Scotland needs" - represents the latest twist in the chequered 18-month history of the bank, which has so far only existed as a strategic abstraction.
The proposed institution was first announced in May 2013, then re-announced in September 2013 and quietly dropped in May 2014, before receiving its current new lease of life last week.
The stop-start progress of the venture was ridiculed by Conservative enterprise spokesman Gavin Brown MSP as "resembling a Carry On film."
The latest version - the subject of a brief paragraph in the Scottish Government's One Scotland programme for government - said that the bank will "build on the success of the existing Scottish Investment Bank, working alongside our enterprise agencies, and will have innovation and international competitiveness that are key to the growth of Scotland's company base at its core".
Although originally intended to operate "regardless of Scotland's constitutional future", the bank plan has raised eyebrows among Scottish Government critics, as it was withdrawn earlier this year on the grounds that it could only be effective with the full powers of independence.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre in May, a spokesman said: "While the Scottish Government would wish to extend and widen the activities of the Scottish Investment Bank, to do so currently in a productive manner is not feasible as the necessary powers are not available, including the ability to borrow from the financial markets.
"With independence, the powers would be readily available to create and deliver a truly effective Scottish Business Development Bank." However, the spokesman did add - without reference to the outcome of the referendum result - that the plan had "not been abandoned" by the Scottish Government and "there may well be the opportunity to revisit the proposal in future".
Brown said: "The Scottish Government is in danger of really losing credibility on this issue - their performance resembles a Carry On film. This policy has been announced, re-announced, then scrapped, then re-announced and scrapped again and now re-announced again.
"There is a need for a Scottish Business Development Bank and if set up properly it could have role to play.
"It is time for action and the Scottish Government needs to get a grip on this quickly."
Other business measures in the programme for government include an extra £30 million for the Help to Buy scheme, targeted at smaller developers, and a pledge to help firms with support with training and exports if they agree to pay the living wage, as part of a Scottish Business Pledge.
Colin Borland of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland earlier said that the plans were "worth pursuing" but warned against "another bid to support pet projects of the enterprise establishment, rather than get funds where they are most needed - the business base."
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