Extract from DBEIS
questions: Leaving the EU: Support for Businesses based in
Scotland
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
North) (SNP): What recent discussions he has had with
the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal support for businesses
based in Scotland to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a
deal. [909152]
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark): The Chancellor and I
work closely together to support businesses right across the
United Kingdom, but as I said before, the best option for
Scotland in facing Brexit is to provide certainty to business by
supporting a deal that has been proposed with the European Union.
: I am not entirely
convinced by that answer. With the risk of red meat facing
tariffs of around 40%, the president of the National Farmers
Union of Scotland, Andrew McCornick, described a no-deal Brexit
as “catastrophic” for Scotland’s farmers and crofters. In the
event that the Prime Minister is unable to get her deal through
the Commons and opts for no deal instead of extending article 50,
and given what the Secretary of State has said about no deal,
will he resign?
: The solution is in the
hon. Gentleman’s own hands. The NFU has been clear about this in
Scotland and every part of the United Kingdom—it said that we
should back the deal that has been negotiated. He has the
opportunity to do that...
Extracts from Public
Bill committee consideration of the Immigration and Social
Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
(Chatham and Aylesford)
(Con): We have just heard from Professor Manning about
seasonal workers, for example. The NFU has sent out a briefing
for a debate this afternoon, which makes it clear that the food
and farming business is worth £113 billion to our economy. As we
have just heard from Professor Manning, seasonal workers mainly
from EU countries make up a significant percentage of that. Can I
ask the question again: once we have left the EU, can you see any
preference within that system for EU citizens?...
The Minister for Immigration (Caroline
Nokes):...We have taken on board FLEX’s position that
there should not be a seasonal agricultural worker scheme. You
will have heard about the pressures from organisations such as
the National Farmers Union, and the comment
this morning from Alan Manning, who I think pointed to parts of
the agricultural sector being 100% reliant on labour that has
come in from overseas. How can we best make a SAWS scheme that
works to protect the rights of those individuals who are coming
in through the scheme, and perhaps protects them from the burden
of costs? You have been clear about the costs that might be
imposed on workers, but the message I got from the NFU last
Friday was that they are concerned about the burden of costs
being shifted very heavily, not on to the labour providers but on
to the farms themselves. Those farms might be in the position of
paying up-front costs of £1,000 per worker, just to make sure
that they come in and are part of the scheme...
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