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Who ya gonna call? Sir Angus

Brian Taylor | 17:35 UK time, Wednesday, 10 September 2008

Something troubling you? Bit of a disturbance in the political firmament? Who ya gonna call? The answer, it would seem, is Sir Angus Grossart.

Finance Secretary John Swinney is confident Sir Angus is the man to , as the chair of the new organisation.

The trust will be tasked with finding and implementing alternative methods of funding capital projects like schools and hospitals.

Certainly, Sir Angus brings a few credentials to the table. He is an eminent Scottish business leader, perhaps offering reassurance to the private sector.

He is a prime mover in business circles. Put another way, he is a quintessential fixer, one who gets things done.

In addition, he has long evinced a public service ethos, working in particular with charities and arts organisations.

While working globally, he is proudly Scottish and was a notable business supporter of devolution.

He is a big name - with a big record. He likes a challenge and has been quoted as saying he would prefer to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.

So, from the perspective of ministers, a very good call indeed. And, at Holyrood, the oposition parties agreed this was a substantial appointment.

But what, precisely, is Sir Angus going to chair? his is no merchant bank, like the one he co-founded. his is not one of the conglomerates or firms he has served.

It's an intriguing, although by no means unprecedented, blend: a registered company, wholly owned by Scottish ministers; an entity serving the public interest which will operate at arms length from government.

Questions aplenty. What, says Labour, will the new trust do that is not already being done by civil servants in government tasked with co-ordinating investment effort across Scotland?

It will have no assets of its own, no direct borrowing powers. It is, says Labour, a costly quango.

What, say the Tories, will be the operating model? When can we expect evidential proof of the claimed gains? How, say the Liberal Democrats, will the trust fill the "black hole" which they claim has been dug in council finances?

Unison thought it a touch ironic that, in order to turn round costly PFI projects, one apparently required . . . a merchant banker.

Cosla's response was notably chilly. Representing councils, they said they had a "duty to consider" options that might benefit Scotland.

But they found the package "light on detail".

Patience, says Mr Swinney. And, indeed, Sir Angus who declared that, although he was keen to "get cracking", it wasn't a race.

The minister reckons the trust will provide "value for money" guidance on infrastructure projects; will roll out the non-profit distributing model (NPD) which caps profits; will develop plans for municipal bond issues (the Government has no borrowing powers of its own); and will act as a central catalyst to speed up projects and cut their cost.

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