SCOTTISH Enterprise will continue giving public money to firms providing Israel with weapons, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has confirmed.
A review into these grants to arms firms has concluded, with the Greens calling the outcome "shameful".
In February and under pressure from Amnesty International, within the SNP, and the Greens, Forbes told MSPs that a review would be launched of public funding given to weapons companies that supply Israel.
The government agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) has given £8 million to 13 companies involved in weapons manufacturing since 2019 – although the SNP Government maintains that the funding doesn’t go directly to the production of munitions and that “due diligence” checks are thorough.
However, that has been called into question given that, of the 199 human rights checks between 2021 and 2023, no firm ever failed. Pressure has also built around arms firms' links to Israel, which is accused of conducting a genocide in Gaza.
Forbes said in February that the Scottish Government did “not believe that public funding should be spent on the manufacture of weapons or munitions” and that it would “review and ensure" the most robust processes are in place for funding given to weapons companies.
The review has now concluded that despite funding the manufacturer of parts for F-35s and other military technology, Scottish Enterprise have never funded munitions.
In response to a written question lodged by SNP MSP Clare Adamson, Forbes said: "Following the parliamentary debate on February 26, and in line with Scottish Labour’s motion, Scottish Enterprise began a review of its human rights due diligence checks.
"Scottish Enterprise wrote to update me on its review on June 19.
"That letter advised that the review included a thorough appraisal of Scottish Enterprise’s existing policy, and a retrospective assessment of checks and associated grant payments. As a result, it identified a number of opportunities for improvements to ensure Scottish Enterprise’s human rights due diligence procedures continue to align with good practice and respond consistently to the current dynamic risk environment."
Procedures to be rolled out include an update to enhance "existing checks it undertakes on companies who might be in receipt of Scottish Enterprise funds or other assistance" as well as "an internal Senior Review Group to provide greater strategic input and support risk-based decision-making".
Reacting to the review, Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater MSP said: “I am honestly shocked at this outcome, the SNP have been right to call out Westminster’s disgraceful complicity in Israel’s war crimes but when it came to taking action here in Scotland the SNP have shamefully chosen the future of war profiteers over the lives of innocent Palestinians.
“Not a single penny of public money should be spent on funding arms companies that are profiting from war crimes and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank."
She added: “This decision shows that the SNP not only know about their funding of Israel’s arms dealers, but they are happy to green light future deals!
“The SNP have been happy to talk the talk when it comes to rightly condemning Labour’s bloody hands in this conflict, but when it really counted they've done nothing but try to sweep their continued funding of these arms dealers under the rug.
“We cannot sit back and continue to allow Scottish tax payers money to be spent on funding war profiteers. Scottish Greens will continue our fight to end Scotland's complicity in Israel's genocide.”
