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Good afternoon and welcome to the 10th meeting in 2001 of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee. The meeting is dedicated to the problems arising from the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that are faced by the Scottish tourism sector.
The official on my right is David Wilson, who is head of the enterprise and tourism division of the Scottish Executive. I echo what the convener said about the seriousness of the issue, which is reflected in the turnout of MSPs from all parties.
I believe that you have between an hour and an hour and a half with us, minister. Is that right?
I am in your hands, convener.
In that case, we might be here until 9 o'clock tonight.
I am delighted that you said "allegedly". A great myth has developed that the employees of the BTA were coming up with stories such as the one about people being fined in the Highlands and Islands. A great deal of froth has developed about the BTA.
Are you in a position to quantify the impact of the crisis on the tourism sector? This morning, a report said that the sector would lose £100 million in the next six months.
As members will appreciate, it takes a while to get a firm grasp on the situation and analyse it properly. Anecdotally, we know that the crisis is having a drastic effect on Scottish tourism. If I recall correctly, visitscotland anticipated losses of between £100 million and £300 million for this season, but I stress that that is only an estimate by one organisation.
Given the gravity of the situation, do you agree that it is necessary to distinguish between Dumfries and Galloway and the rest of Scotland? Farmers and other members of the commercial community in Dumfries and Galloway have an absolutely appalling commercial problem.
Annabel Goldie makes a good point in relation to two distinctive approaches to recovery in the Scottish tourism industry. As we all appreciate, Dumfries and Galloway is the epicentre of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, and I hope, for the sake of the rest of Scotland, that foot-and-mouth disease continues to be contained in that part of the south-west.
My plea to you, minister, would be for you to liaise with your colleagues in the Scottish Executive—not only the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning—and colleagues down south to try to ensure that clarity is given immediately to the beleaguered operators in Dumfries and Galloway. At the moment, they might not know how they will pay for tomorrow's food bill, let alone for anything else.
Miss Goldie makes another valid point. Our first priority in the short term is to reduce those people's liabilities. I know that the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise will move sensibly and in a coherent, co-ordinated fashion.
I welcome the appointment of Peter Lederer as chairman, but can you tell us a date by which a chief executive will be appointed to visitscotland? If not, why not, given the crisis that we currently face and the fact that we are apparently using high-grade recruitment consultants at great expense? In short, when are we getting a chief executive?
A chief executive should be appointed in the next two weeks.
Okay. Thank you.
The guidance that was published two weeks ago was quite clear as far as I am concerned. It has been revised, and that revision was published last week by my colleague, Ross Finnie. The bottom line is that the same rule applies to anybody anywhere in the United Kingdom: you must not go anywhere near livestock. It is as simple as that.
I know that, but my question is whether you will use the mass media of the 21st century—television and local radio—rather than simply putting an advertisement in a paper. Can we expect the same sort of effort to be given to this crisis and to trying to save the Easter season as was given to lagging pipes during the recent winter freeze, and to getting granny inoculated when there was an outbreak of influenza? Will there be a television and radio advertising campaign?
We will use any and every means at our disposal to get the message across. It is vital that we reinforce that message—perhaps what Mr MacAskill suggests is an appropriate course of action.
Surely, if the situation is ever changing, that is all the more reason for using television to address it speedily and to keep people up to date? Will there be a television campaign?
The television campaign is always running, with ministers and experts from the state veterinary service giving advice. We can give due consideration to Mr MacAskill's suggestion. I am not ruling it in, but neither am I ruling it out.
I will ask a final question. Who is in charge? Is it you, or is it the over-worked Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning?
I do not understand your question, Mr MacAskill.
Who is in charge of the current crisis in tourism? Is it you, or is it Wendy Alexander?
The First Minister is in charge, and Wendy Alexander is the minister who has responsibility for tourism and for the enterprise department. I do not really understand the question—I thought that Mr MacAskill would have understood clearly who was in charge.
Are you saying that the First Minister is taking personal charge of the crisis in the tourism industry?
I am saying that the First Minister is in charge of the Scottish Executive. As you would expect, the First Minister takes a daily—in fact, hourly, if required—interest in tourism. Ms Alexander heads up the enterprise and lifelong learning department, of which tourism is a part.
On the specific matter of tourism, who is calling the shots—you or Wendy Alexander?
Wendy Alexander is my boss, and she is the boss of the department.
Why is she not here, then? Why have you come along?
The convener kindly invited me, and I was only too happy to come along.
Why are you going to the United States, rather than Wendy Alexander?
Mr MacAskill is absolutely wrong. Had he listened carefully to my opening remarks—I might have rushed them, although I do not think that I did—he would know that Ms Alexander is going to Dumfries and Galloway on Monday and that her next official engagement thereafter is a tourism engagement in the United States.
I am quite anxious for members from the Dumfries and Galloway area—even if they are not members of the committee—to be given a fair hearing, given that the epicentre of the problem is in that area. I call Elaine Murray.
Thank you, convener. I am grateful to you for allowing members of other committees to take part in the meeting.
I am delighted that we have resumed a mature discussion on this important issue. Elaine Murray was quite right to ask whether we will move swiftly. We will move swiftly. Everyone wants clarity on this issue. As far as distinguishing what is applicable to England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland is concerned, Michael Meacher's statement mentioned taxation, which is obviously applicable on a UK basis. When he spoke about the rating system, what he said was, of course, applicable only to England. There might have been confusion immediately after that statement. Tomorrow, the Scottish Executive will announce the Scottish rates system and I boast proudly that we will make our system as responsive as possible. It should also be less cumbersome than the system that is being discussed actively in England just now.
I also wanted to know about visitor attractions and about European assistance.
The European funding issue is something that officials are working on, and we shall come back to members with further information on that. I do not have any specific details that I can give the committee on European funding at the moment but, once we are fully across that area, we shall see where we can go.
Will the short-term survival of visitor attractions also be addressed tomorrow?
The package that will be announced by ministers tomorrow should outline a number of areas, and I do not want to be drawn on the specifics.
A point of clarification is vital before I ask my question. The minister is here today because the committee asked him to come. We agreed as a committee to ask Alasdair Morrison here because he is the minister who has responsibility for tourism. That is why he is here. We were all agreed on that. Alasdair has come here at very short notice to discuss a very serious issue. We wanted to ask him questions and determine progress, and that is why he is here today.
I made it clear at the beginning of the meeting that we invited him at short notice, and we appreciate the fact that he is here.
Thank you. I just thought that that was well worth saying.
Tomorrow's statement will deal with the short-term emergency measures that are being put in place. It will also take cognisance of the fact that UK measures have been put in place. The enterprise network has already responded and it is worth pointing out that, in any redundancy situation, we expect the enterprise network to show responsiveness and flexibility. Given the unique nature of the crisis, that is exactly what Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise will do. We know that that is also the top priority of other enterprise networks at the moment. Tourism is their biggest and most important customer issue.
I am sure that the minister understands that no one bears him any personal ill will and that we are always delighted to see him. The point of the line of questioning that I would like to continue briefly is to discover—merely for the sake of clarity—whom in the Government we are meant to hold to account. The minister was asked about the appointment of a chief executive for visitscotland. We are concerned about that because we sometimes feel that the tourism industry is rudderless at this crucial time. Just as that applies to visitscotland, so it applies to the Government. I understand that Alasdair Morrison is the minister who has responsibility for tourism and that another minister has responsibility for enterprise. I also know that the First Minister is in overall charge but, for the avoidance of doubt, whom does Parliament hold to account for the political management of the tourism crisis?
I assume—I have no doubt about it—that Wendy Alexander and, ultimately, the First Minister are accountable. I cannot believe, convener, that members of the SNP are wasting the committee's time asking questions—
With the greatest respect, minister, it is not up to you to decide whether we are wasting your time or not. You are here to answer questions. The reason for asking that question is that it was raised with me at two meetings in your constituency at the weekend, because people were concerned that there was no real direction. That is why the questions were put, but there still seems to be a degree of confusion.
There is no confusion in my mind—and I suspect that there is no confusion in anyone else's mind—over who is ultimately responsible. The First Minister is ultimately responsible for the actions of the Executive. Wendy Alexander is in charge of, and runs, the enterprise and lifelong learning department. I am her depute minister—not right across the portfolio, but according to specific demarcation. I am delighted that Mr Hamilton visited my constituency, but I must say that I have not yet met any constituents who have demonstrated any kind of confusion.
What about the BTA question? Is the story true?
The story is not true.
You investigated and you discovered that the story was completely untrue?
I discussed it with BTA officials. It is simply not true.
Right. If anything positive has come out of the current crisis, it concerns how we can sell Scotland abroad more effectively. Given that the thrust of Scottish tourism marketing has been specifically about the niche market and the brand of Scotland, why are we are better off selling Scotland through the BTA?
I know that Duncan Hamilton knows and appreciates the American situation. We have great difficulty with north American perceptions, which we have to combat at UK level. As I said in my opening statement, the Prime Minister has instructed all UK diplomatic outposts throughout the world to engage aggressively with the local media. The BTA is doing a good job for Britain and, of course, it is doing a good job for Scotland.
You would accept, however, that—even if all that is true—it is not working.
We have to accept—anyone with a full appreciation of the situation would accept—that the way we deal with and market tourism has to be revisited and rethought. There is no doubt about that. Naturally, everything that we do in relation to agriculture is up for debate and restructuring. The situation is similar with tourism. That is demonstrated clearly by the fact that we will announce a number of measures tomorrow to deal with short-term impacts. We will also outline our long-term aims.
Well—
I am sorry to interrupt, Duncan. This discussion is specifically about tourism problems that are related to foot-and-mouth disease. We will have the opportunity to question the minister later in the year on the wider tourism strategy.
I understand that, convener.
I am anxious—especially because some members here are from badly affected constituencies—to concentrate on problems that are related to foot-and-mouth. I will allow you one more question.
Fortunately, I have only one more question, which concerns the thorny issue of consequential compensation. Will the minister tell the committee what he understands that term to mean?
That will be outlined clearly in tomorrow's statement. We will introduce a number of measures—both short term and long term—and it will be perfectly clear to Mr Hamilton and to the rest of the country what consequential compensation means.
For the record, I want to remind members that the need for a meeting to question the minister with responsibility for tourism was first suggested by me at a meeting of the small group of representatives from each political party. The SNP representative, Mr MacAskill, was so interested in the state of the tourism industry that he did not even bother to turn up for that meeting. He was doing a television interview. That puts things into context.
I do not want this to develop into a row. We are here to question the minister and to elicit information.
It is a matter of record, I am afraid, and I think—
I am asking all members, on all sides, to stick to the subject in hand. The issue is very serious and I am sure that the people who are watching the proceedings want information.
On Friday, I learned that people from Islay do not understand exactly what they are supposed to say to customers who phone to ask whether they can still come on holiday. I have heard the same thing from people from Mull. Tourism and agriculture in the Highlands and Islands are utterly interlinked and interdependent. The operator and the farmer are often one and the same. It is difficult for them to know whether to tell people they can come and walk in the countryside. They need clear guidance on what to tell their customers, especially those customers who are looking a little further down the line, towards the summer months. What information will you issue and by what mechanism?
George Lyon raises the valid point that we cannot divorce agriculture and tourism in rural Scotland. The same is true throughout the country. It applies to the crofting counties and the farming ones. Many people in agriculture offer self-catering accommodation and caravans and are involved in tourism.
There is fear about where people are coming from. For clarification, what is the scientific risk? Is it a risk for people to drive through Dumfries and Galloway on their way to Islay, Mull or Kintyre? Do they need to have come into contact with animals? No one is sure. Anyone who sees strangers coming into an area such as the Highlands and Islands, which is, fortunately, free of the disease, is desperately concerned about the origins of those strangers: where they have travelled from and whether they have travelled through specific areas. That is the kind of basic, scientific information that must be disseminated throughout tourism businesses so that they can advise their customers.
I agree that the scientific advice should be clear. All politicians have a responsibility to ensure that the advice is conveyed clearly.
As a stranger to the committee, I thank you for welcoming me. As far as political banter is concerned, the committee is much livelier than the one I normally sit on. That has been an eye-opener.
This is a quiet day.
The issue is serious. One thing that has emerged is that tourism and farming are inextricably entwined, as the minister and George Lyon have said. That is important. No area reflects that more than Dumfries and Galloway. As in all parts of Scotland, the tourist season in that area starts at Easter. Unfortunately, for Dumfries and Galloway, the Easter season will begin in 2002 rather than 2001.
Alex Fergusson has made a number of valid points. The reality is that, for almost everyone in Dumfries and Galloway, the Easter season will indeed begin in 2002.
I thank the committee for having us.
I thank Fergus Ewing for his extended question, as it gave me time to eat one of the Lockets that Annabel Goldie gave me. That has done wonders for my throat.
"Compensation for consequential losses" has a well-defined and clear legal meaning. It means compensation for loss of income. Deferment of taxes, rates and national insurance payments does not in any way amount to compensation for consequential losses.
The First Minister was absolutely right when he said that the Executive, along with colleagues in the UK Government, will work to help and assist the tourism industry. That will be made very clear tomorrow when the package is announced. We have discussed the package with the industry and we have taken wide-ranging soundings. I have been to Perthshire and to Dumfries and Galloway and, today, we met representatives from right across Scottish tourism. Senior ministers are working on the matter and the package will be announced tomorrow.
Have the officials whom you have just referred to been asked to provide specific information about compensation for consequential losses, by which I mean loss of income? If they have, ministers would be able to develop proposals, which the First Minister said were being developed, to address the need that exists for consequential compensation.
Wendy Alexander will make it very clear tomorrow that we recognise the needs of the industry in the short and the long terms.
I thank the convener—
I suggest that Jamie Stone moves forward, so that he is sitting closer to a microphone. For the minister's benefit, I point out that Jamie Stone is sitting to his extreme left.
Possibly not politically.
The first of Jamie Stone's questions is legitimate and one with which I can empathise. Similar measures have been taken at airports, by Caledonian MacBrayne and by the local authority in my Western Isles constituency. I am thankful that it is not up to politicians to determine what disinfection schemes and other precautionary schemes are put in place. We are, rightly, required to rely on the expertise of the state veterinary service, which advises us on what should and should not be done.
Will the minister clarify who is giving the guidance for making the risk assessments that are needed to open up some walks and trails? Is the guidance being given by local vets or are vets from the Scottish Executive rural affairs department involved in the process?
That should be straightforward. For example, if someone on Islay owns a tourist walk round the shoreline, all that they have to do is invite the divisional or local vet to come and apply the risk-assessment criteria. The divisional vet can then say whether the walk can open for business.
Once such a decision has been taken, how will it be publicised nationally so that everyone knows which areas and walks are open and which are still closed?
The system works in reverse. The local ATB informs visitscotland, whose website is updated. The beauty of websites is that they can be updated hourly.
Is that being done?
Yes.
SERAD issued guidance on risk assessments, as it calls them, that public and private landowners should take into account when deciding whether to open a particular property or area. The decision is made by the individual landowners on the basis of the guidance. They get local advice from the vet, as the minister said.
A related issue about some private landowners was brought to my attention this afternoon at the summit that we held with representatives from the tourism industry. There is concern in the industry and the wider community that some—I emphasise that word—private landowners have put up "Keep Out" signs and are not showing any willingness to take them down although there is no recognisable risk.
Do you intend to follow up those cases?
I most certainly do.
David Davidson has been waiting a while to get in.
I welcome the minister's making himself available this afternoon to those of us who are concerned about the impact of foot-and-mouth disease on tourism.
As your colleague Alex Fergusson said, this is a cross-sectoral issue, and tomorrow we will recognise the need for a cross-sectoral approach to it. Our enterprise network is equipped to respond on that basis. Further clarification of what will happen will be given tomorrow.
Let us turn to the issue of foreign impressions. Yesterday evening, I took part in a BBC programme on which the chief executive officer of a New York travel organisation gave an interview. He made it clear that the last thing that he and his colleagues needed was horrendous pictures of funeral pyres in the media, rather than the beauties that are available for visitors to this country. What contact have the minister, the Executive and the UK Government had with our media and the foreign media based in the UK to draw them onside so that they help to clarify the situation?
The damage that is being done by the foreign media is awesome, as much misinformation is being peddled. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is using its networks of embassies and consulates to engage with the media of whatever country they are in. They have been instructed by the Prime Minister to engage positively with the media and to conduct a robust campaign to counter adverse publicity. The influence and reaching power of a station such as CNN is phenomenal. We must ensure that we counter that adverse publicity.
Has the Executive contacted the Treasury about accessing UK contingency funds—as this is a UK problem—for longer-term and short-term relief? If you have done so, are you trying to ensure that the area tourist boards will be funded directly? Councils cannot afford to fund the extra activities that are being taken on board.
There is no doubt that we are having to review the way in which we approach the funding of tourism. Treasury contact continues on a daily basis and an important statement will be made by Wendy Alexander tomorrow. As Mr Davidson rightly suggests, we are responding at both UK and Scottish Executive levels.
Given that the situation is fluid and a lot of local authorities, Government departments, tourist boards and the like have put information on their websites, would it be worth while to set up a website dealing just with foot-and-mouth disease, which could have links to all those other organisations' websites, so that people could access all the information that they needed in one place? Many people tell me that the situation has changed, and we know that things change and will change week by week and day by day. However, people do not understand why that is. Therefore, it might be useful to indicate on a website which parts of the countryside are now open, with an explanation of why they are open, including any new scientific evidence that has been received. That would be a good resource for tourist information offices as well as for individuals seeking that information.
That is a good point. It is important to transmit to the world information about which parts of Scotland are open. The best support that industry can get is from people coming through hotel and restaurant doors who have booked from across the world by e-mail or telephone. That support is what the tourism industry desperately seeks. I am neither qualified nor inclined to give advice on website construction. Perhaps my colleague, David Wilson, has that inclination.
We had to decide whether to use the websites of visitscotland, the enterprise network and the National Trust for Scotland. There are already many places where people expect to get information about tourism, and visitscotland was keen to use its website to disseminate advice about foot-and-mouth disease to visitors. Likewise, much of the dissemination of advice to landowners is being done through the standard websites. There is an option, which has not been ruled out, to draw together all that information in a new website. That is being kept under review, but we wanted to use what is already there, because many people expect to go to the websites of the National Trust for Scotland, visitscotland or local ATBs as their first port of call.
I thank the convener for allowing non-committee members to participate.
David Mundell raises a number of valid points. My visit to Castle Douglas last week was not pleasant, in the sense that, as Mr Mundell described, I met real people who were feeling real pain. One of them was a gentleman who runs an animal centre—I cannot recall his name—and who was visibly upset, because the animal centre has a revenue problem. That is distressing to that gentleman, and we do not want a situation in which animals are suffering in any way.
And how do Mr Finnie's activities dovetail in?
My apologies. Mr Finnie chairs the ministerial group that deals with foot and mouth. People from the rural affairs, local government and finance as well as enterprise and lifelong learning portfolios sit on that group. Mr Finnie and his colleagues feed reports on foot-and-mouth disease to the Cabinet, which is—as one would expect—briefed on a weekly basis. The First Minister is briefed daily and, if need be, a number of times a day. As Mr Mundell appreciates, the situation is ever changing so it is important that those in charge are kept up to date and in the loop.
Which ministers are represented on the Whitehall working party?
Mr Finnie is the Executive's representative on Michael Meacher's task group, which I attended last week. The group includes Department of Trade and Industry officials and a Treasury minister. David Wilson will assist me.
Also represented on the task group are a minister from the Department of Trade and Industry; a minister from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Elliot Morley; a Department for Culture, Media and Sport minister, Janet Anderson, who has responsibility for tourism; the employment minister; and representatives of the Wales Office and the National Assembly for Wales. I think that that is all.
Before I let the three members who have already asked a question come back in with a quickie, do those members who have so far not asked a question want to ask the minister about anything?
As I arrived late I am sorry if this issue has already been touched on. Given the severe difficulties that many businesses face, what discussions has the minister had with the banks? Businesses' relationships with their banks and the extent to which banks treat business loans and other matters sympathetically can have a considerable impact. The banks can make a big difference to whether an organisation can stay in business.
Last Wednesday evening, I met the four Scottish banks, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, which operates internationally and not only in a Scottish or UK context. The Scottish banks appreciate the cyclical nature of crofting and farming and all the other rural industries. David Wilson was with me at that meeting. The banks clearly established at the outset, when they made their pitch, that they will be genuinely sympathetic. Like all of us, they will revisit their thinking on how they deal with their customers. The banks wanted to get the message across to customers everywhere that customers should immediately contact their local bank manager, who is best equipped to deal with their inquiries. The banks' head offices have given a directive that bank managers should respond sympathetically and listen to people to see what can be done to help them through exceptionally difficult times.
Will you clarify what you said about the leadership of visitscotland? You acknowledged that the Easter season was vital to the industry and said that it was your intention that a new chief executive be appointed within a fortnight. Will the chief executive be in situ and in charge in a fortnight or will he still need to give notice to his current employers?
We are fortunate to have a capable interim chief executive, who has done a good job for the Scottish Tourist Board.
When will the new chief executive be in charge?
My understanding is that the new chief executive will be—
May I answer? The important point is that the chief executive is appointed by visitscotland rather than by the minister.
It is a board appointment. The new chief executive should be in place in the next two weeks.
Will he be in charge as opposed to just being appointed by then?
Chief executives obviously head up their organisations. I have no doubt that, when he or she is appointed, the new chief executive will be in charge.
Once you have checked with the board, would you give us an answer in writing?
I would be delighted to send you an answer. In fact, I would be delighted to update Mr MacAskill verbally when the new chief executive is appointed.
Good.
It is important not to choose the chief executive on the basis of their being available the next day. What is important is that the organisation functions.
Des McNulty makes valid points. Tomorrow, we will announce emergency measures for the industry, but we are continuing to push ahead with our recovery plans. Wendy Alexander will visit visitscotland's headquarters tomorrow and will discuss short-term, medium-term and long-term issues with Peter Lederer, who will be an excellent chairman. He has a great track record in the tourism industry and, as chairman, he will be in charge.
I have a short question in response to one of the minister's answers, which is relevant to remote and island communities in the Highlands and Islands. The minister correctly said that areas would be opened up on the basis of specific assessments and that the people making those assessments would be the local vets. One of the problems that have been raised with me concerns the availability of vets, particularly in island and remote rural communities. Given that the lack of those vets could be an unnecessary barrier to the opening up of tourist enterprises, can he give us a commitment that the availability of those making the assessments will not be an issue? If it already is an issue, will he tell us what efforts are being made to address it?
I am happy to give the assurance that the availability or non-availability of a vet is not an issue in the Highlands and Islands. We have a divisional veterinary manager in the Highlands and Islands, and there is a first-class network. I assure Mr Hamilton, and I know that he will appreciate this, that opening up islands is my top priority.
I raised that point with the minister because it was raised with me on my much-fabled visit to the Western Isles, where people were experiencing problems in getting access to a vet. Can I leave that specific issue with him, on a ministerial and a constituency basis?
Yes.
I would like to come back to the announcements that have been made at Westminster to say that the authorities will deal sympathetically with delays in payments of tax, national insurance contributions and VAT. How do they determine which businesses will qualify for the help? Tourism businesses are obviously right in the front line of the need, as are farming businesses. Unless farms have had a case of foot-and-mouth disease, they get no compensation, and are therefore in exactly the same position as that of tourism businesses in that they have no cash flow. Those two types of businesses will obviously qualify, but what about the rest? There are auction marts, small businesses that supply the agricultural trade and other businesses that are linked to tourism. What are the qualifying criteria that allow businesses to say to the VAT authorities or the taxman that they need to delay payments because their cash flow has completely dried up?
The Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise have been instructed by Treasury ministers to be sympathetic. I cannot quote chapter and verse on the exact criteria, but businesses will have ready access to local information and there is an Inland Revenue helpline. Businesses will be able to contact their local tax office and their case will go up the line. The Inland Revenue will not treat individuals according to a strict formula for deferral. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, and the individual circumstances of each business will be taken into account. One business and a neighbouring business just 100 yards down the road could be very different, and the case that each neighbour makes could be totally different, even though both are in the same village.
Is your message to all business people who think that their cash flow is being affected by the crisis that they should go to their local office and ask for guidance on how to submit their bid for a holiday or a delay for payments?
Absolutely. That is my message to businesses in Scotland, and that has also been the Inland Revenue's advice.
Obviously, the emphasis has been on assistance for affected businesses. However, there have already been lay-offs in the tourism sector, particularly in Dumfries and Galloway. Will programmes such as partnership action for continuing employment, which is operated by the enterprise network, be activated where there are significant job losses?
Yes. In fact I would expect there to be more than the PACE arrangements. The PACE arrangements can be tailored according to the situation. A year ago, the BARMAC situation brought a significant change to cyclical patterns of work in the oil fabrication industry in the Highlands and Islands. The current situation is a different ball-game altogether. Wendy Alexander has sent the message to the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise that appropriate measures should be put in place. Our response in Dumfries and Galloway will be different from our response in Orkney and Shetland or in the Western Isles, but you are quite right to say that PACE arrangements will be important.
As you said, it is a fast-moving situation. Will you update Parliament, this committee and the Rural Development Committee regularly?
If you so wish, I will do so. I was delighted to take up your committee's invitation to come here today as the deputy minister with responsibility for tourism to update you on the situation. I am grateful for that opportunity.
We are grateful to you. This has been a helpful session, and I thank you and Mr Wilson for answering our questions.
Meeting closed at 16:18.