Chamber and committees

I have no doubt that the cabinet secretary hears about it.

Moving on from poor broadband, we have heard this week about poor rural healthcare provision, we have heard previously about the shortfall in the spending of the rural housing fund, and we have issues with rural public transport. I know that the cabinet secretary is well aware of all those issues from her constituency.

In the papers today, we see that one of the largest sums that the Scottish National Investment Bank has invested is the £50 million that has been invested in a forestry fund, which is nearly 10 times the bank’s next largest investment. I note my entry regarding forestry in the register of interests. Financing fund managers that are speculating on carbon prices, thereby driving up rural land prices and in some cases creating a modern version of the clearances, seems counterproductive to supporting rural economies. When we see measures such as those, which are counterproductive, where is the understanding of the rural economy and where are the joined-up solutions?

You answered the first part of my question, which was about numbers. I am grateful for that, but what about the review process for the roll-out? Most importantly, given that R100 is within the Scottish Government’s remit, where do we direct constituents with their queries and errors?

I am delighted to hear that. One of the specific recommendations was on improving relationships, so it is good to hear something positive on that.

You mentioned again issues of supply and procurement. Earlier, you spoke specifically about radiators. What other opportunities have you identified for the production of products closer to home, and what can we do to deliver those opportunities?

Thank you—I certainly agree on that.

I have a final question—

Thank you, convener—I very much agree with the comments from Andrew Richards. If there was additionality and environmental costs were priced effectively, we would not be looking at some of the lowest-cost imports.

My final question is for Charles Hammond. You mentioned the importance of developing economic zones around trade ports. How disappointed were you to hear that the Scottish Government rejects joint working on UK free ports? How will that affect sales?

I have a couple of questions for Andrew Richards and one for Charles Hammond. I note my entry in the register of members’ interests in relation to construction.

It is now more than two years since our predecessor committee in the previous parliamentary session, which I was not on, completed a lengthy and thorough inquiry into construction, which culminated in a 92-page report with about 30 recommendations. Given that many of the recommendations address exactly the same problems that are being raised today, would it be fair to say that the Scottish Government has made little progress on them? If sufficient progress had been made, that would certainly have alleviated some of the issues that we face today. Can Andrew Richards comment on that?

I thank Malcolm Roughead for his recent spotlight on Aberdeenshire. I hope that, when he has had a chance to collate the figures, we can hear how that work went on, particularly if the tour of Britain is set to benefit the north-east for the next decade.

My questions are on Scottish Enterprise’s recent annual report. I am looking at a table produced by the Scottish Parliament information centre on your primary outcome measures. Although planned R and D investment and planned capital expenditure pretty much held their own despite the circumstances, growth funding and planned international export sales have halved.

The first question is for Douglas Colquhoun. Will you comment on the figures, what the projections are and what we can expect in the coming year?

The next questions are for Adrian Gillespie. What will you do to improve export sales? What kind of interaction goes on with the Department for International Trade? On the UK’s new investment offices and the new export support service that is starting up, in particular, how do you and the department interact? What would you ask of MSPs in finding businesses in our constituencies or regions that have export potential? We have had recent problems with connectivity. What are the major impediments to improving our exports?

I have one follow-up question on that. What metric do you have for the return in international export sales on the money that you spend?

My next question is for Adrian Gillespie. How are we going to improve the export situation?

What advice and direction should we give to companies in our constituencies or regions? Should we send them to you?