The cost-of-living crisis is a national emergency. People are worried about how they will pay the astronomical prices that the energy companies are expected to charge along with day-to-day living costs.

My office has been busy helping households as they struggle to make ends meet.

For the last few months of 2022 I have visited, listened to and worked with local business to get a better understanding of the pressures many local businesses face.

As a former business owner myself in the hospitality and events sector, some of the issues are not new but the scale of the challenges are unprecedented.

Towards the end of last year, I was happy to host a ‘Business Summit’, getting business owners face-to-face with representatives from a range of organisations and elected representatives to start to connect businesses to the right support.

I have taken all the feedback on board and have started putting an action plan in place both with my colleagues at a UK level and at a local level.

This Cost of Doing Business Booklet is the beginning of that action plan, focusing on how we improve the local business environment in Edinburgh South but also across the UK.

Ian Murray MP