Chamber and committees

Are you quite positive about the potential for the bill to be amended?

You mentioned stakeholders. Are you keeping them informed of your discussions, or are you relying on them having their own discussions with the UK Government about potential amendments?

Good morning to the panel. I have a number of questions for different witnesses. However, I will start with Charles Hammond on the points that he made.

In the past few years, a number of Scotland’s ports and harbours have specialised in certain areas such as freight, tourism, fishing or renewables. Is the plan for Scotland’s port and harbour infrastructure co-ordinated enough? Is the approach that each port prioritises a sector?

In relation to your opinion of your market here in the UK and more globally, it was suggested that the volume of freight coming through UK ports was down by 10 per cent in the first two quarters of this year compared with 2019. Has there been a reduction in global freight capacity? Are there fewer ships operating or fewer containers available, and is that part of the increasing pressure on availability and prices?

I know that colleagues will ask more about that issue. I turn to Ewan MacDonald-Russell to ask him some questions in relation to the SRC. Charles Hammond talked about a shift from just in time to just in case. Will that become an issue for your members? Traditional storage space above a shop or in a depository might be needed. Will further stockpiling become an issue?

Thank you for that. I had better let other committee members come in.

I am sorry to jump in at the end, but I have a question for Martin Reid. He talked about the shortage of available HGV drivers, which is a problem across Europe. I am looking at some of the figures that we have in our papers. The salary for an HGV driver has reduced in comparison with salaries for those in comparable jobs, such as supermarket cashiers.

As I said, there is a large issue with a shortage of drivers across Europe. If the job of HGV driver was added to the shortage occupation list, why would the UK, and Scotland in particular, be an attractive destination for people to come and work in? There are additional costs for travelling to and living in Scotland. What sort of numbers would you expect, in the event that the job was added to the list?

We talk about supply lines as if they happen just in the United Kingdom. Given, for example, the huge amount of press coverage about the availability of toys at Christmas, are there issues with, say, the increased cost of manufacturing abroad, transport of products to the UK and so on? Are some of your members recognising that the price of a certain product means that it is just not suitable for the UK market? How is all of that impacting on what might or might not be available?

I have one more question, which is for Andrew Richards. I will be very brief, as I know that Fiona Hyslop or some other committee member is going to ask about the same issue.

Given the current unpredictability of the residential and commercial property market, where do you see the construction sector going in the next few years? Where will you find the opportunities to build, and how will demand, or lack of demand in some cases, be met, addressed or otherwise dealt with?

I can hear you fine.