Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 May 2026
Correspondence from Scottish Enterprise relating to 14 May 2025 evidence session on Promoting Wales for Inward investment inquiry
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Summary
Scottish Enterprise director Mark Hallan provides supplementary information to the Welsh Affairs Committee following his 14 May 2025 evidence session on promoting Wales for inward investment. The letter details Scotland's inward investment workforce (75 FTEs costing £6.8M annually), the GlobalScot diaspora network (1,300 members established 2001), and staff retention practices, with a commitment to share GlobalScot evaluation findings upon publication.
Key findings
- Scottish Enterprise deploys 75 FTE staff exclusively on inward investment attraction: 45 UK-based and 30 in overseas network, with annual salary costs of approximately £6.8M
- GlobalScot diaspora network comprises 1,300 members established in 2001 to support Scotland's economic growth through trade and investment activities
- Scottish Enterprise maintains a 5% staff turnover rate, enabling long-term relationship-building with inward investors and account managers who work with companies over many years
- Overseas staff are employed through the FCDO Platform; UK inward investment staff are non-Civil Servants employed by the Non-Departmental Public Body
- GlobalScot evaluation is pending finalisation and publication, with findings to be shared with the Committee when available
Tone
ProceduralTopics
economic-developmentinward-investmentworkforce-planninginternational-trade
Key actors
Ruth Jones MP, Mark Hallan, Scottish Enterprise, Welsh Affairs Committee, FCDO
Notable line
“… our staff turnover rate is only 5%, which means we typically retain our inward investment Specialists for a long time.”
Key Quotes
“There are 75 FTE's who work exclusively on inward investment attraction in Scottish Enterprise. Of these, 45 FTE's are UK based and the remaining 30 are based in our overseas network.”
“GlobalScot is our Diaspora network established in 2001 to specifically contribute to the growth of Scotland's economy.”
“We are fortunate that our staff turnover rate is only 5%, which means we typically retain our inward investment Specialists for a long time.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗