Strategic commercial interventions: assurance playbook

Stand-Up Process

What is it?

The Scottish Government (SG) provides a stand-up function to support and sometimes lead on the due diligence regarding making a financial intervention into a distressed business. This stand-up function is usually in response to when an approach has been made to SG for financial support. Both SG policy areas and Enterprise Agencies (EA) are able to request support to manage these cases.

Our role is to provide rounded, evidence-based advice that brings in all the relevant parties at the right time and ensure there is a consistent methodology behind it and to minimise policy bias to support decision making for Accountable Officers.

What is its purpose?

The purpose of the stand-up process is to:

• Support SG policy teams in situations where a business is in financial distress and requires support to continue to deliver towards policy goals.
• Support EAs if a case is likely to be above their budget limit and they require SG finance to agree funding.
• Support wider SG policy teams where the skill set of the Strategic Commercial Assets Division (SCAD) would help improve the policy outcomes where a request for government intervention or financial support is received.

The stand-up function will ensure that Ministers receive the best advice possible to make difficult decisions on supporting businesses.

When should it be used?

A case for SG intervention would only be considered where all other business options have been considered, or in a situation where there is EA support for the business and that the scale of required investment is outwith the limits of our EAs.

The team have also been able to support other policy areas in SG when they have had requests to support a business or third sector organisation by using the commercial and financial business knowledge that they have learnt in recent years.

The type of company referral for stand-up that SCAD are likely to be involved in will likely arise from the following:

a) An element of business failure that may be due to distress or disinvestment due to economic challenges.

b) Strategic downsizing/rightsizing, consolidation of operations or restructuring/closure.

c) Repurposing of a site/business location that is of a significant strategic economic importance to Scotland.

The stand-up process brings the appropriate skillsets together to benefit the policy area and the business requiring support through the provision of high-quality advice to Ministers and Accountable Officers. This includes bringing in (as appropriate):

• Teams across SCAD
• Policy teams
• Finance
• Legal Subsidy Control
• Enterprise Agencies
• Skills Development Scotland
• Other interested parties as required