You have touched on the criteria for ensuring that disabled individuals are supported. Many individuals who have a disability want to work, but there are still difficulties in accessing work. There are still far too many barriers to disabled people’s opportunities to get some kind of employment.

Emma Jackson, earlier, you touched on the difficulties for people in rural communities. We know, for example, that it is much harder for a disabled person in the Highlands, Moray or Orkney to be given employment opportunities, and we see quite considerable gaps in those areas. I can understand why more people are trying to apply for benefits, but what are we trying to do to change the cycle and ensure that people who want to work get the opportunity of employment, which would help them to progress through other areas of life and take away some of the stigma that you talked about? It would be good to get a view from the witnesses on how we tackle that, because, if we managed to achieve some of that, we would see benefits in other areas, and it would help individuals to progress.

Thank you.

No, I am quite content.

The Scottish Government says that it is committed to improving the lives of disabled people, but, for many people living with disabilities, there are still far too many barriers to getting into employment. In particular, people in rural areas have a huge issue, which we have seen in Moray, Orkney and the Highlands, where disabled employment gaps are much larger than those across the United Kingdom. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that those gaps are closed, particularly in rural areas?

I hope that the minister agrees that the defence industry represents a vital potential opportunity for the Dalzell plant, which is encouraging. However, more clarity is needed before we can have confidence in that hope. What is the credible plan for restarting operations at Dalzell in the coming weeks, given that the plant has previously been unable to operate due to high costs? How can we be assured that the plan will meet the requirements of the new plate contract? Surely, workers’ morale will benefit more from clear transparency than from continued uncertainty.

We have said many times before that Brexit had some difficulties to start with, but exporting opportunities were achieved and continue to be achieved through our support for the wonderful businesses that we have across the country. Those businesses adapted, and they continue to adapt to ensure that they get those opportunities. That is very much the case.

As I said, the Deputy First Minister is demanding that the UK rejoin the EU. However, the First Minister went to the United States this week to lobby for a reduction on whisky tariffs—something that is possible only because the UK is no longer a part of the EU.

The demands to rejoin the EU are therefore quite ironic. In fact, it is the whisky industry that demonstrates the potential that now exists for Scottish exports. Earlier this year, the UK signed a free trade deal with India that will see the current tariffs on Scotch whisky slashed, and they will be slashed again within 10 years. That will deliver countless opportunities for the industry and will create jobs right across the country. The deal is expected to boost whisky exports by as much as £1 billion over the next five years, and the Scotch Whisky Association has called the deal “transformational”. The Scottish Government has barely commented on it.

The opportunities for increased exports are not limited to India. We have opportunities the length and breadth of the country and the world. I hoped that I might hear some balanced views today and that the Government might acknowledge the fantastic opportunities that are already opening up for some of Scotland’s export industries. We have heard today from Murdo Fraser, Stephen Kerr and others about the winning of the defence contracts, including the £1 billion contract for frigates for Norway, the manufacturing of which will sustain thousands of skilled jobs and grow Scotland’s economy and wider manufacturing base.

We on the Conservative benches are fully supportive of Scottish exports, and we stand ready to support any measures that can help in that regard, including speaking out about the removal of regulatory burdens and working constructively with industries to support innovation and private investment.

Business wants stability; it does not want to rerun 10-year-old constitutional debates, which would only create further uncertainty and instability in the marketplace. Nor does it want to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of Scottish exports.

In conclusion, there are many possible solutions to boost Scottish exports and to empower Scottish industries in the global marketplace. However, once again, judging from this debate, it appears that the SNP Scottish Government is simply not interested in finding those solutions.

We export defence, we export whisky, we export salmon and we export financial services. All of those sectors are important to our economy, our stability and our prosperity.

We cannot hear you.

The debate is a welcome opportunity to acknowledge the high standard of Scottish exports, which span many different sectors from food and drink, including whisky and salmon, to the tech sector, arts and culture, and financial services. The debate could have been an opportunity to debate some of the challenges that those sectors face in a challenging global context. However, instead of having a meaningful debate, we have heard what we would expect from the Scottish Government and the SNP in that they have chosen to grandstand about constitutional issues.

Last week, the First Minister tried to rerun old debates about Scottish independence. This week, the Deputy First Minister has rerun old debates about Brexit, and, in today’s motion, the SNP demands that the United Kingdom rejoin the EU.

Nikki, as you indicated and as we know, Clackmannanshire is the smallest council in Scotland. As the mainland’s smallest council, what difficulties, opportunities or possibilities do you have in managing your debt?

My second question moves on to a topic that we touched on earlier in some of the responses, which is workforce costs. Local government workforce costs account for about 70 per cent of the total revenue expenditure for local authorities. If savings are required in the years to come, how much flexibility do councils have in reducing the costs of the workforce, and what options are open to councils should a reduction in employment costs be required? I will go to Malcolm Burr first, because he is in the room.