Chamber and committees

That is fantastic.

Good morning. In your answers to the opening question, you have all talked about the challenges and about how business has had to adapt. Business has adapted—we have visited some sectors, individually and as a committee. However, we have found that, for some businesses, the step has been too far for them to continue trading with the EU, so they have chosen to rely on the UK market and tried to find new business within that context to fill the gap. I think that you are saying something similar. Some businesses have just stopped trading with the EU, because it has become far too complicated, bureaucratic and costly. I think that that is the flavour that we are getting from most of you about the difficulties.

It is interesting that Catherine McWilliam mentioned the media, and the realities of what is happening in business sectors versus the world that the media portray. That media perception has had an impact on all business confidence, as well as on the trading.

When it comes to skills and finding the people within the business sectors that you all represent, you have identified that there are difficulties in ensuring that you get the right people and that they are able to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. Each of you has indicated that the extra costs and the extra burden that come into all of that have had a real impact on the bottom line for your organisations.

Some organisations have adapted and survived, and some have gone to the wall because they have not managed to adapt and change. Would it be the case for all of you that your organisations and the individuals whom you look after and represent have changed their style and format to ensure that they can be competitive and survive? Without that, there is little hope of the whole situation changing and going forward.

Therefore, I have a question for all of you. You have given the convener a flavour of what your wishes and wants are to try to change the situation. Is there anything from that wish-and-want list that you believe would be the pinnacle for your organisations and companies to take on board, so that they could change and adapt to ensure that they can and will have a prosperous future? Is it the case that they have had to change and can no longer go back to the markets and the structure that they had, because that is no longer feasible, viable or economically supportive?

I do not know who wants to answer first.

That is probably easier. I invite Mr Bain from the British Chambers of Commerce to respond first.

Good morning. You have talked about access, which is vitally important. We have already heard about the barriers and the bureaucracy, which are creating some friction. It would be good to talk about the networks that you are using to try to break down some of those barriers. We have heard in the past about the technology that might support you in doing that. We have also talked about business mobility and what might be required to tackle some of the mobility issues and where technology, databases and infrastructure can come in to support that.

It would be good to get a flavour of whether you see that as a way forward or whether, once again, it is a barrier or a problem for your organisations, because that all comes at a cost. We have heard today about costs and marketing, and managing costs is vitally important in ensuring that your businesses can survive and thrive in the difficult economic situation in which you find yourselves.

Good morning. You have all talked about the challenges and opportunities that are appearing because of the framework. Having the Executive back in function will certainly help the process, but when we have had discussions with individuals from different sectors, we have been told about added costs because of wages, staffing, bureaucracy and employing new people.

Stuart Anderson talked about the impact on small companies—the majority of companies are small—and the level of growth, which means that there is a reduced number of opportunities in some ways. We have heard that some businesses have not managed to survive because of the additional burdens. Is that still the case now that the Executive is up and running and doing things, or are there opportunities to negotiate and discuss what can be achieved now that the Executive is trying to support Northern Ireland in this process?

Stephen Kelly, we have heard that extra burdens are being placed on the manufacturing sector. Trying to manage that will be, and already is, a big challenge. You have no doubt seen some companies that have not survived the process and others that have found new opportunities. It would be good if you could give us a flavour of how it all works.

Nichola Mallon, can you give a flavour of what you see? As I said, we need to consider the logistics of putting things together. You have already touched on the potential issue relating to ferries. Do other sectors face the same potential problems coming down the road with visas, staffing and the logistics of moving people and commodities around?

Good morning, Mr Layden. I have a number of questions to go through with you. Two organisations that responded to the committee’s consultation—Missing People and the Law Society of Scotland—have said that the bill could have done more to address the needs of families when people go missing. In what ways did you consider that group during the development of the policy proposals, and can you highlight any parts of the bill that you think will improve the situation for such families?

Yes, thank you.

The Charity Law Association has said:

“the Bill pays little regard to the role of judicial factors in the charity sector”.

How would you respond to those concerns, and can you highlight the parts of the bill that you think show that the charitable sector has not been overlooked in that regard?

There is an exception to the requirement to comply with the information-gathering powers under sections 12 and 39 that would enable United Kingdom Government ministers, their departments and bodies that are exercising reserved functions, such as HM Revenue and Customs, to choose whether to comply. It may be for the Scottish Government to answer, but can you explain the rationale for that exception? What policy impact would that have in practice?