THE Confederation of British Industry is pouring resources into Scotland to mount an effective lobby for business in the Scottish Parliament.

CBI Scotland is to set up a policy board, a policy unit with a staff of three including a permanent director, and a new higher-powered communications department.

On a visit to Scotland last week, CBI director-general Adair Turner agreed funding for the Scottish expansion. CBI Scotland director Iain McMillan said: ''Adair has been hugely supportive of the need to see that CBI Scotland is properly resourced to address the needs of membership in the

Scotland of the future.''

A new, grander, headquarters is likely to be set up within the next 18 months. But the CBI will not move its power base to Edinburgh.

McMillan said: ''CBI Scotland is headquartered in Glasgow and for us to move the entire operation there would have to be a very good reason. We are not persuaded at this stage that a compelling reason exists - the Labour Party and the STUC are staying here, and

Glasgow is still the media capital and that is important to us.''

CBI Scotland, which says it represents the broad interests of 26,500 companies across

Scotland, is part of a UK-wide organisation which spends around #16m a year. Many of its biggest members, such as BP and Safeway, pay subscriptions through the CBI's London region, but will have a keen interest in the

lobbying of Holyrood.

CBI Scotland has traditionally had three committees, monitoring the Scottish Office's devolved powers over transport, the

environment and education, but soon there will be six.

Earlier this year following the referendum an economics and taxation committee was set up, which last week published a document called ''Business and Parliament - Partners for Prosperity''. Also new is the CBI Scotland Trade Association Group, which consults industry bodies such as Scottish Engineering (in Glasgow) or the Chemicals Industries Association (in London) on policy issues.

Next will come a CBI Scottish policy board, on which Turner's full-time deputy Peter Agar will sit.

McMillan said: ''It will be there to assist CBI Scotland in developing its priorities. We will also be giving a steer to the deputy director-general as to the areas of UK and European policy which CBI Scotland thinks are important.''

Two months ago the CBI empowered its Scottish council to set its own policy on matters devolved to Holyrood. On the uniform business rate, for example, the CBI had declared itself happy with the Government's proposals to retain the rate in England and Wales. However, McMillan said: ''We are not in a position to adopt that same degree of welcome.

''We also have to take account of the fact that the SNP thus far have stated they want to retain the UBR and not pass rating powers back to local authorities.''

The posts of policy unit and communications directors will be augmented by two assistant heads of policy seconded from CBI member companies. Current CBI Scotland research is said to be at a lower level and on ad hoc issues.