Two set-piece moments in the Scottish Parliament calendar matter most to business: the Scottish Budget and the First Minister’s Programme for Government, the latter of which was unveiled last week.

Business often approaches both with trepidation. Geo-political turbulence, weak domestic growth, and spiralling costs mean appetite for further burdens is non-existent.

There was therefore relief when First Minister John Swinney made several welcome announcements including measures to boost housebuilding, speed up consent for major investments, and continued funding for Police Scotland’s Retail Crime Taskforce. Two things in particular stood out: public sector reform and the pledge to “make Scotland the best place to do business”.

On reform, Mr Swinney is absolutely right to address the scale and cost of government. The vast number of health boards and public bodies are to be culled, and even Scotland’s thirty-two councils could be slimmed down.

Swinney guarantees no NHS redundancies but says public sector job losses inevitable

As the Scottish Retail Consortium has argued, rationalising public bodies, premises and civil service headcount should put devolved finances on a firmer footing and lessen........

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