(Highlands and Islands)
(Con):...Let me remind the
cabinet secretary what the sector said of that deal. The Scotch
Whisky Association, which talks on behalf an industry with an
export value to Scotland of £4.7 billion, said:
“On balance, the draft Withdrawal Agreement
and accompanying Political Declaration ... stand up well against
the Scotch Whisky industry’s Brexit priorities.”
NFU Scotland said that the
deal,
“while not perfect, will ensure that there are
no hard barriers on the day we leave the European Union, and will
allow trade in agricultural goods and UK food & drink to
continue throughout the transition period largely as before. This
opportunity needs to be taken.”
Perhaps the cabinet secretary thinks
that they are wrong...
...NFU Scotland’s director of policy said recently of the
Scottish Government’s agriculture approach:
“There is no vision ... We have not got a clue
at the moment.”
That is a pretty damning
indictment...
(North East Scotland)
(LD): ...Scotland’s food exports are sold
across the European Union, and the removal of the common EU
framework could have a serious impact on our trade. On top of that,
as the cabinet secretary mentioned, non-tariff barriers with the EU
could cause administrative delays that would be particularly
detrimental to our trade in fresh produce. In addition, we are now
seeing how important non-UK nationals are for agriculture and our
wider food and drink industry. It annoys me intensely that the UK
Government is just ignoring that. Although the UK Government has
allowed 2,500 visas for migrant workers, the NFUS has reported
that, this year, a staggering 10,000 vacancies will be left open
across the UK as a whole. What will happen to our fruit growers if
those jobs cannot be filled? The answer is simple: thousands of
tons of food will rot in the fields because of the lack of workers.
That is a deliberate policy of the Conservative UK
Government...
(North East Scotland)
(Con): ...I want to leave with
the only deal on the table, as do NFU Scotland, the Scotch Whisky
Association and virtually the whole business community, but
uncertainty abounds. Most of us agree that we do not want a no-deal
Brexit. Let me be clear that the only sure way to avoid a no-deal
Brexit is to vote for the deal that is on the table...
(Cowdenbeath)
(SNP):...he situation is untenable and it
is unacceptable. No-deal Brexit must be taken off the table. That
is called for in an open letter from the chief executives of
organisations including Scotland Food & Drink, NFU Scotland,
Quality Meat Scotland, the SSPO and others. The letter
states:
“There is no tolerance for No Deal as an
option. It must be rejected now.”
At the same time, the UK Government
must alter its anti-EU immigration policy plans. If adopted, the
plans would be extremely detrimental not just to the Scottish
salmon industry, which relies on EU nationals, but to the entire
Scottish food and drink sector. Why does the UK Government not
listen to the NFUS? It has stated:
“NFU Scotland is very concerned about the
obstructive position of the UK Government”
with regard to the future immigration
system after Brexit. Why does it not listen to the director
general of the Confederation of British Industry Scotland, who
said just this week that the UK’s “immigration plans don’t work”
for Scotland, and called for “flexibility”?
(Mid Scotland and Fife)
(Green):...We have heard from lots of others
who want to let more people into Scotland. The National Farmers Union, for example, has pointed
out that we have let only 2,500 people into the UK as seasonal
workers, although we needed to let 10,000 people in. spoke about that issue as
well...
(Ayr)
(Con):...In today’s debate, the people who
really matter are the farmers, processors, retailers and the tens
of thousands of people who have to live in the real world and whose
jobs are at stake, who have all backed the UK Government’s
negotiated deal. NFU Scotland, the Scotch Whisky Association and
the Scottish Chambers of Commerce have backed the deal, as have
individual companies such as Diageo. Scottish fishermen back the
deal. Scottish salmon producers do not want a no-deal Brexit, which
is apparently almost advocated today by the SNP. History will
remember and judge this SNP Government’s unwillingness to
compromise and work with the UK Government to find solutions or
offer meaningful ways of improving and sustaining the UK
Government’s negotiating position within Europe...
(Highlands and Islands)
(Con): ...As the cabinet
secretary knows, promises are easily made, but they are more
difficult to deliver. Where is the good food nation bill that was
promised back in May 2017? Where is the Scottish agriculture bill
that was talked about more than two months ago? They are nowhere to
be seen; they are not even in the SNP’s programme for government.
It is no wonder that farming and food experts are beginning to lose
confidence in the Government. I do not need to remind the cabinet
secretary that, only last week, Jonnie Hall, the NFUS’s director of
policy, stated:
“In many senses there is no vision in Scottish
Government in terms of where it wants to be”.
I could not agree more. I agree with
Jonnie Hall, and I agree with the farmers in the
countryside...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
