Chamber and committees

Do you want to comment, Lynette?

Last month, it was announced that the UK went into recession in 2023. Can the cabinet secretary tell us whether the new deal for business, which is designed to support economic growth, has had an impact on the Scottish economy, helping it to continue to grow, or did we follow the UK into recession?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect. I would have voted no.

I welcome the paper on Scotland’s place in the world, which sets out where we see Scotland’s future in relation to defence, international co-operation and the global economy.

Before I focus on the global economy, I want to highlight an example from my Edinburgh Pentlands constituency that shows that there is little certainty in UK defence policy and no status quo position for people to build on. Redford barracks was once the largest Army base in Scotland. In 2011, it was earmarked for closure, but that decision was reversed in 2013. In 2016, it was then announced that Redford barracks would go in 2022, as part of a package of cuts involving 56 bases across the UK, eight of which were in Scotland. The closure date was then put back to 2025, but now it has been announced that closure will be in 2029.

Lack of long-term planning by the Ministry of Defence has created uncertainty, which has had an impact on the local community and its future. Just six days ago, the MOD sought parliamentary authority for the maximum number of personnel in the armed forces. During the next financial year, the number of Army regulars is to be cut by a further 4,500 and the number of Royal Air Force regulars is to be cut by 700 at a time when our armed forces are stretched. You could not make it up.

Independence will mean that we will become the 194th member of the United Nations. It will also provide us with the opportunity to rejoin the European family of nations, which will give us access to a marketplace of almost 450 million consumers, compared with the UK’s 67 million. By rejoining the EU, we will reinstate our right to live and work in any of the 27 member states across Europe. It will also allow EU nationals to come to Scotland to help to grow our economy.

Scotland is the only UK nation that has had a consistent international trade surplus in goods since records began. In 2021, we exported £28 billion in manufactured goods and a further £51 billion in services and other items. Many of the people who purchase Scottish goods are part of a large global diaspora of about 40 million people, covering every continent, who claim to have Scottish ancestry.

Our international trade is supported by our GlobalScot network, which has 1,200 members across 64 countries. The network assists companies to understand local markets and customs to help to win trade, which, in turn, supports employment in Scotland.

In addition, the Scottish Government’s network of offices from Beijing, across Europe, to Washington supports businesses to trade internationally, improve Scotland’s international profile and attract inward investment. The result is that Scotland continues its record of attracting foreign direct investment, outpacing both the UK and Europe in terms of the number of projects and maintaining its position as the top-performing area of the UK outside London for the eighth year.

That record on inward investment is at risk. Since we officially left the EU in 2021, many companies no longer consider the UK to be the gateway to Europe. To combat that risk, we need independence, which would, for the first time, enable Scotland to have a dedicated diplomatic network that was devoted to promoting and protecting Scottish interests. Soft power is important in diplomatic circles, and our international brand is strong, but we need to protect our reputation, as it is one of our most important assets.

Former Obama White House aide Jennifer Erickson said of the Scottish brand:

“There is huge currency Scotland has around the world, and a tremendous amount of goodwill can be claimed in a good way.”

The nation brands index confirmed that. It asked 60,000 people from 20 countries what they thought about the 60 countries that make up the index, and Scotland ranked 16th out of 60 countries—ahead of Austria, Belgium and Ireland—which shows that Scotland continues to have a strong reputation abroad. We were seen as “hard working”, “honest” and “skilful”. When questioned about investing in Scotland, participants said that we were “forward thinking”, “modern”, “developing” and “ambitious”.

Given the views of people from across the world and the good will that exists towards Scotland, we need to break away from the UK, which is now considered to be an unreliable partner. Given that a UK minister indicated during Brexit negotiations that he was prepared to break international law, how can the UK Government reassure future international partners that the UK can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of any agreement?

The nation brands index also indicated that people rank Scotland 10th out of 60 countries for fostering international peace and security. Recent events have justified that ranking, as the First Minister has consistently called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Last autumn, the Parliament voted for an immediate ceasefire, but once again our voice was ignored by Westminster.

With independence, we can promote human rights, build partnerships with other countries and be good global citizens who work towards peace and security in the interests of the people of Scotland. It is time that Scotland took its place as an independent country and as an equal among the global community of progressive countries.

David, I am keen to understand what improvements can be made. In your evidence, you highlighted that £1.8 billion—25 per cent—of the sector’s income, comes from contracts. The figure has doubled since 2007 and between 2018 and 2021 it again by £0.5 billion. What changes would you like to happen to increase that share?

What is your members’ experience of using the Public Contracts Scotland website? How easy is it to use? How transparent is it? Are any improvements required?

Right. I will leave it at that, convener.

Good morning, panel. When the public contracts Scotland procurement website was launched back in 2008, it allowed public contracts to be offered to a wider range of suppliers. What is your or your members’ current experience of it? Is it still accessible and how transparent is it?

On that point about the system being difficult to navigate and daunting, the website carries out a customer satisfaction survey, which has found that 60 per cent of the people who took part were either micro or small employers, and that 80 per cent found the website moderately to extremely easy. You say that it is daunting and difficult to manage, but the evidence from 1,600 customers who used the website was the opposite.

I am asking in particular about the Public Contracts Scotland website. My colleagues will ask about other issues.