Chamber and committees

I agree with the important points that the member makes. The latest budget contains £21.7 billion for health and social care. We recognise that we must help people to go back into work and ensure that they get the treatment that allows them to do that, which helps to support the economy, too. There are many wider factors that impact on the health of people who are in work, such as economic uncertainty, the overall state of the economy and what is happening globally. The member raises important issues, and they are being addressed by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s latest forecasts recognise the challenging economic and financial environment that Scotland continues to face as a result of global uncertainty and higher inflation, while business conditions and public services have also been impacted by the United Kingdom Government’s decision to increase employer national insurance contributions. Our programme for government recognises the link between the health of the population and the economy, and it sets out measures to renew the national health service and measures to grow the economy by investing in our workforce, supporting people into employment, attracting investment and backing business.

On the topic of Scotland being an attractive nation for others to invest in or to move to, I, too, speak to many companies in Scotland, particularly in our high-growth sectors—such as the space sector, fintech and life sciences—and our universities. They tell me that their biggest concerns at the moment relate to issues such as the message that the UK is sending out about people not being welcome to come to the UK and attacks on foreign students who want to study in our universities. Does Murdo Fraser accept that those are some of the biggest concerns that the business community faces at the moment?

Will the member give way?

I have a lot of respect for Jackie Baillie, and that is not the line of argument that I would have expected her to pursue on this very important issue. In the world at this time, the Scottish Government values the role of our defence forces. However, on the use of public money in Scotland by our enterprise agencies, and when it comes to working with the defence sector or companies that are partially or wholly involved in defence activities, we put the emphasis on diversification and skills development. That is why, as I explained, £45 million-worth of support has been allocated to defence companies through our enterprise agencies since we came to office.

I am pleased that the member mentioned the review of Scottish Enterprise that was agreed to by the Scottish Parliament. Indeed, the Parliament voted for the amendment to the motion from the Labour Party that said that we should review the due diligence that Scottish Enterprise carries out of money that is awarded to companies that are involved in defence and arms activities.

Due diligence is a serious issue that all parties—perhaps not the Conservatives, but certainly other parties—have shown a very careful and intense interest in.

We have a long-standing principle that any public money that our enterprise agencies use to support companies that are wholly or partially involved in defence activities focuses on skills development and diversification. It is complete nonsense for the member to say that the Scottish Government is not supporting skills development in the defence sector in Scotland.

The member raises the importance of all Governments throughout the world, including the Scottish Government in the context of Scottish devolution, taking into account ethical considerations when it comes to the funding of companies that are partially or wholly involved in defence activities. We urge the UK Government to take a similar approach.

Of course an independent Scotland would have conventional defence forces. Defence and defence spending are reserved to the UK Government. The member should be aware of that.

In the context of our principles, we believe that any public money that is used to support companies in the private sector that are involved wholly or partially in defence activities should focus on diversification and skills development; it should not be used to fund munitions.

As I said previously, the Scottish Government has allocated £45 million of public support through enterprise agencies to the defence sector in Scotland since we came to office. That is an illustration of the value that we attach to that very important sector.

The Scottish Government’s long-standing principle that we should not fund the manufacturing of munitions has been in place for a number of years, so Scottish Enterprise and other enterprise companies have to look at each application on its merits. In this case, Scottish Enterprise took the decision that the application does not align with Scottish Government policy, as I have outlined.

It is important to reiterate that the Scottish Government values the role of the defence sector in Scotland, the many jobs that it sustains and the value that it adds to the Scottish economy. For that reason, since we came to office, £45 million-worth of support has been allocated through our enterprise agencies to defence companies or companies that are partially involved in defence activities. We continue to value the important role that the defence sector plays.