HIE Board welcomes positive endorsement of its role

28th February 2017

The Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has welcomed Professor Lorne Crerar's report on proposed governance arrangements to support the outcomes of the Scottish Government's Enterprise and Skills Review.

These recommendations would ensure that a HIE Board effectively remains in place. HIE's budget would continue to be set by Scottish Government Ministers, with the agency exercising the same level of autonomy it has at present, including implementing its own Operating Plan to reflect the unique opportunities and challenges of the Highlands and Islands.

As well as retaining its present decision making powers at local and regional levels, under Professor Crerar’s model, HIE would also have a key role on the new national ‘Strategic Board’, enabling the region’s voice to be heard at the highest level, and contributing to better economic outcomes for Scotland as well as the Highlands and Islands.

In this model, the Strategic Board’s key purpose is to support the optimum collaboration of all Government enterprise and skills agencies to achieve improved economic outcomes for Scotland.

At the same time, the model would enable HIE to preserve its local decision-making powers, and to influence and collaborate with others in the public, private and third sectors to improve economic performance of the region.

The HIE Board confirmed that HIE will continue to be actively engaged with the Scottish Government throughout the Review process.

The full report can be found here