Chamber and committees

Good morning. Turning our attention back to economic growth, which we—with, perhaps, one political party exception—think is very important, I believe that, in your most recent budget speech and in your answers to some of the questions in the last parliamentary session, you said that business wants certainty and predictability in order to plan ahead and wants to know exactly where it is going. First of all, what plans does the Scottish Government have to work with the UK Government on access to cash and banking services?

Some of the schemes such as the levelling up agenda, which you have just mentioned, are extremely important and can be Government led, but many businesses in Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, are facing a cash flow problem. This is not a political question, but what discussions are happening between the two Government on improving access to cash and banking services? After all, that will be absolutely critical to the survival of many businesses in the future.

On the infrastructure angle, to which you have previously referred, good quality infrastructure is critical to economic growth and to ensuring that business has some certainty and can plan. First, could you comment on the reports that, because of the new deal between the SNP and the Greens, some of the infrastructure planning to which the SNP was previously committed might be in jeopardy? Secondly, there was a report at the weekend that some money that the Scottish Government had been offered for road improvement infrastructure had not been used. Is that correct?

I understand that, cabinet secretary. I am just interested in whether, if the Greens said that one price of the deal was that one aspect of the infrastructure development might not go ahead, that could jeopardise any of those projects. That would be a big concern to many people, particularly in more rural areas of Scotland.

I have no relevant interests to declare.