Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank the minister for advance sight of his statement.

In this parliamentary session and in the previous one, I have questioned ministers about transparency regarding the Scottish Government’s exposure in the form of guarantees and support to the GFG Alliance. We have seen the extended attempts by the Financial Times newspaper to access figures, which it should have been relatively straightforward for the Government to provide, on the taxpayer’s exposure relating to the Lochaber operations, which we discovered amounted to a sum of some £586 million.

From today’s statement, the Scottish Government appears to have been unaware of its commercial exposure to the operations in Lanarkshire. It has been advised that its arrangements, which were rushed through ahead of the elections in May 2016, with the Parliament unable to scrutinise the deal but ministers able to make political capital out of it, may be unlawful.

When was the Scottish Government first advised that its agreement might not comply with state aid rules? How much of the potential liabilities is the Scottish Government exposed to in the deal, and how long will those exposures remain?

For the chamber to have any confidence in the transparency or even clarity of the Scottish Government’s agreements, will the minister agree to full transparency in relation to the Scottish Government’s relationship with GFG Alliance and commit to making available to MSPs any information relating to those agreements?

Will the cabinet secretary confirm that the number of premises that will be reached by 2026 under the lot 1 contract has fallen by more than a third? Will she further confirm, as her Government appears to be giving both dates, whether the target for delivery of lot 1 has been delayed from the end of this year to the end of the 2026 calendar year or to the end of the 2026-27 financial year?

The cabinet secretary has spoken about the need to invest to rebuild our economy but, as she will know, infrastructure issues across Scotland, and particularly in the Highlands and Islands, remain a barrier to growth. Given that the cabinet secretary did not answer the question from my colleague Liz Smith, can she confirm that the funding that is outlined in the draft budget will ensure that the dualling programmes for the A9 and the A96 will be back on track by the end of the budget period and that the Scottish Government will deliver both dualling schemes in full as promised?

The cabinet secretary will want to ensure that new offshore wind developments do not interrupt established fishing operations. Earlier this week, the Shetland Fishermen’s Association highlighted a number of concerns around data use, noting a lack of reflection on movements of non-Scottish vessels and a lack of consideration of issues caused to fishing activity outwith bottom trawling. Will the cabinet secretary look into those concerns and, if required, take action to support the industry when developments are being considered?

We all agree that active travel and saving rural bus services are vital, but our high streets need people to access them, particularly in our more remote and rural communities. Does the member agree that people who rely on a car, because they are older, are isolated or live in remote communities, need parking on high streets to be able to access them?

I think that the minister has forgotten geography, so I will ask him the question that I asked Ariane Burgess. How can we ensure that those who rely on cars because of their rurality can also access our town centres?

Obviously, there have been successful examples of that across Scotland, although others are less successful. How many new jobs does the minister hope might be created through some of the work that the Scottish Government and local councils are doing to regenerate high streets?

The Presiding Officer was throwing free minutes around earlier—there is a far more rigid approach now.

Never has the support and promotion of local businesses across Scotland been more essential. The pandemic and the associated restrictions that have been brought in on public health grounds have created untold worry and uncertainty for businesses of all sizes. Even those whose doors remained open throughout were impacted, as vital links in supply chains were pulled to breaking point and customer numbers reduced under the weight of travel restrictions. Staff were affected by illness and self-isolation, which pushed operations across sectors to the brink.

It is positive that many businesses have weathered the storm so far, but we must not forget those that have not. That applies to almost 20,000 businesses in Scotland alone, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. Nor should we overlook the huge cost that has been incurred in making interventions in our economy. The business support payments and programmes to save jobs, such as the UK Government’s hugely successful furlough scheme, meant that some of the worst potential outcomes were avoided, with billions of pounds of support in Scotland alone.

Most businesses are more fragile than they were previously. The drawing down of reserves and borrowing, as well as the human cost to individuals, has made our enterprises less resilient. What lies ahead remains to be seen, but there is certainly hope for the future and there are green shoots of recovery.

Tomorrow, the Scottish Government will outline its proposals for next year’s budget. This is a crucial time. A positive response from the Scottish Government—one that creates the conditions for our economy to thrive and prosper—will I am sure be met with support from across the chamber. The Scottish Conservatives believe that support needs to continue, which is why we have called for changes to business rates to give a freeze on poundage and 75 per cent relief across a number of key sectors. More than ever, we need a budget that backs Scottish businesses.

With the local debate, there will be some cause for local reflection. As highlighted earlier, my region of the Highlands and Islands is not only large in geography but diverse in spirit. It is difficult to do its economy justice in just a few minutes, but I will say that one of the privileges of being a member of Parliament is the ability to see local businesses in action and to speak with the people who are building, creating and driving action in our local areas. In the Highlands and Islands, we have a disproportionate number of smaller businesses, and they are often more than just part of our economy; they are vital to the communities that they serve.

In our remote and rural communities, we see more directly the contribution that businesses make to employment, access to services and community life as a whole. They are what ties our communities together. However, there have certainly been challenges. In the Highlands and Islands, one of the major limitations is found in infrastructure. At a time when remote working and online retail have become so important, news that the R100—reaching 100 per cent—project, which involves the roll-out of broadband in my region, has been delayed from the end of this year to the end of 2026 is concerning. So, too, is the apparent lack of certainty in the Scottish Government about the future of the dualling schemes for the A9 and A96, and the slow pace at which upgrades to those two choke points have taken place. In our island communities, we saw at first this year, and too often in previous years, how the disruption of vital lifeline ferry links harm local businesses and communities.

On a more positive note, the Scotland Loves Local awards, which today’s motion mentions, played a positive part in highlighting great things that are happening in our local areas. One of the winners was Nairn, which scooped the climate town accolade. That is a well-deserved recognition of the work that has been undertaken by community groups across the town to show how more sustainable approaches to living can work in practice. It is fitting that the award comes to the Highlands and Islands region, which has been leading the charge in Scotland and in the UK as a whole in combating climate change.

Businesses, working with Government, academia and other sectors, have made great strides on renewable energy in the north of Scotland, particularly in my home of Orkney. There are great local projects in which materials are better utilised and recycled, building on our local heritage of reuse, working with the resources that are available and respecting the land and seas that surround us. That will increasingly be a part of doing business, and I am pleased that the Highlands and Islands region is leading the way.

However, the region faces the same challenges that are faced elsewhere. Many of those challenges have been touched on in the debate. More retail businesses have, for understandable reasons, moved online, and it will be essential to ensure that smaller local suppliers are not squeezed out. Our high streets and town centres will need to change—it will be a matter of more than just a lick of paint and more car parking. Consumer behaviour has shifted, and that shift has been accelerated by the pandemic. We value those hubs of community life, and it must be the priority of any Government to ensure that they have a future.

Sadly, support for small local businesses is not always universal. As has been mentioned, earlier this week, there were reports of one Scottish producer being targeted by people, out of a misplaced ideology, when promoting their goods in England. Such behaviour has sadly been all too common in Scotland in recent times. That should serve as a reminder that entrepreneurs put their heart and soul, as well as their livelihoods, into their enterprises, so I hope that all members will recognise the positive work of businesses and condemn the negative and hate-fuelled online bigotry that can sometimes blight them. I think that I heard the minister do exactly that, and Jim Fairlie certainly did, which is very welcome.

There have been many excellent contributions today. My colleague Douglas Lumsden spoke about the impact of the past two years on business and the sensible support that can be offered, particularly to retail businesses. Few of us can have missed the empty units in our commercial areas, which he touched on. He also reflected on the role of local authorities. Sadly, the Government has curtailed not only their powers but the resources for councils to build positive economic conditions at a time when they are needed most.

Maurice Golden focused in more detail on the food and drink sector. He cited the issues that a number of businesses in his region face. There is a need for a comprehensive review of food policy, which is long overdue and has enormous potential benefits for Scottish producers. He also spoke about the importance of encouraging trade within the UK, so that we make the local truly national with the support of Scottish trade hubs.

Finlay Carson highlighted how local businesses increase services, often providing lifeline links to people who are unable to access shops. That happens across the country. I am sure that we all have plenty of examples in our own areas—I can certainly think of many in Orkney.

Local economies will not prosper simply through warm words. Tomorrow, we will see how far the Scottish Government’s commitment to local business goes, and whether it is listening to and able to understand the concerns of those who are driving forward our economy. I hope that Scotland’s businesses are not left disappointed.

What assurances can the First Minister give to Scotland’s small businesses that her Government’s upcoming budget will help insulate them from any loss of business caused by the omicron variant?

Given the number of patient transfers that have had to be conducted, sometimes at short notice, to either Raigmore or Aberdeen, what impact does the cabinet secretary think the on-going problems have had on the already overstretched Scottish Ambulance Service in the Highlands and Islands?