Chamber and committees

Good morning, and thank you for coming. I have two questions, which I will go through quickly.

My first question is for Ewan MacDonald-Russell. You have already talked about some of the issues. There are supply chain problems across Europe and the shortage of HGV drivers is a global issue. Those problems are not exclusive to the UK, but they are still problems.

Previous witnesses have talked about global supply chains not necessarily coming back for 18 to 30 months; there are major issues there. In the past few weeks, Asda has chartered a ship to ensure that supplies can come in from abroad. Do you think that we will see more of that? Will some of your members build their own supply chains, instead of relying on the traditional normal supply chains, which are under pressure?

Many of your clients will be under pressure, and will always be looking for the best deal and best price that they can get.

We will probably come back to this, but I want to ask a question about trying to find solutions, or at least where improvements can be made. It is about consistency. During the pandemic, a lot of businesses in the hospitality sector were closed, then open and then closed again, so demand was up and down, which must have caused big issues, particularly for your sector. In Scotland, what can be done, whether by the Scottish Government or local authorities, to ensure that supply does not go up and down like that? It is also about the practical side of being able to deliver to clients. Where are the barriers at the moment, and what is it important for the Scottish Government and local government to do?

I do not know whether either of the other panel members wants to come in on that.

So you think that probably in the medium to longer term we will see a consolidation in that sector and, in the short term, perhaps increased prices, which might be pushed on through to Dr Lee’s sector.

It does, and I may follow that up further with you, as well.

My question is to Bryan Hepburn. I have visited Shetland Transport and have seen some of the great work that is being done there. To an extent, I am aware of some of the issues.

You touched on some of the issues around ferries. We have talked about ferries to the continent and about rail infrastructure. However, for some of your producers, even getting to your depot can require one or two internal ferries in Shetland. You then need reliability in, and capacity on, the ferries down to Aberdeen. I know that Serco and others have done a lot of work with organisations such as yours to make sure of that.

Will you expand, as I think that you were looking to do, on some of those issues of infrastructure in the islands, and on what needs to be done better in order to improve the reliability of ferries, roads and the like?

I might come back to Bryan Hepburn on the point that he made about road transport. I will go to Richard Ballantyne first on his point about transhipment. There has been talk for a number of years of a transhipment hub in Orkney and in other places across Scotland. Do you think that there is potential for more transhipment infrastructure in Scotland—for example, a transhipment hub that would give greater options for freight coming in and going out?

I suppose that what I am trying to get at or find out is how much of the labour supply shortage can be met by those who are currently economically inactive. Of course, they may not be suitable for some of the positions that are out there. My question is really about whether we have the correct balance between supporting those people back into the workplace and using other more forceful ways of encouraging them back in.

Another matter that has come up again and again is automation, which is progressing in various areas. We are also likely to see changes in how we address climate change, for instance. How does trying to get more freight off the road impact on the need for HGV drivers? If we are considering more local sourcing, which could be a positive rather than a negative, how does that impact on demand and need within certain sectors?

How does Skills Development Scotland engage with business on future needs where automation is likely to lead to pressures or relieve them in certain areas? How easy is it to do that? How on the ball are you—that might be a slightly unfair term—in relation to where automation might be able to relieve some of the pressures in the future?

Does anyone else on the panel want to comment on that?