Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Serco Northlink Ferries charter the MV Helliar and the MV Hildasay from Seatruck and the costs of their charters are commercially confidential.

The following table details the public grants to Serco NorthLink Ferries paid by the Scottish Government for the Northern Isles Ferry Service since 5 July 2012 in each contract year.

The element within the grant attributable to vessel charter is part of contractual agreements with third parties; the Royal Bank of Scotland and Seatruck. The financial arrangements within these agreements are commercially confidential matters for those companies.

The Scottish Government’s starting point is to protect our relationship with, and place in, the European Union. We are considering all possible options and we will work with others across the political divide to try to save the UK as a whole from the fate of a hard Brexit.

In light of the EU Referendum result and the potential impact this will have on free movement, we are strengthening our calls on the UK Government to deliver an immigration system that meets Scotland’s needs.

The Scottish Government will publish proposals over the coming weeks that would allow Scotland to stay in the single market and to preserve aspects of our relationship with the EU, even if the rest of the UK is intending to leave.

EU funding contracts that are agreed before the UK proposes to leave the EU will be paid in full. This guarantee covers the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

The Scottish Government is working to avoid a situation where Scottish projects lose out on support from the WiFi4EU initiative. As the associated funding will be available from 2017, there is likely to be a window of opportunity for Scottish projects to benefit.

The EC initiative mirrors our Public Wireless Programme, which seeks to ensure publicly accessible buildings and spaces provide freely accessible wireless broadband. The Programme aims to ensure any wireless broadband solutions are sustainable and are designed to meet local needs.

The Scottish Government recognises that uncertainty has been created as a result of the EU referendum outcome, including on exports, and farm incomes where EU funding is an important factor. That is why my Ministerial colleagues and I have all pressed the UK Government on various fronts following the EU referendum on the issue of continuity of funding for the vitally important industries that rely on EU funds. We now have guarantees for CAP Pillar 1 until 2020, and for CAP Pillar 2 funding agreements that are entered into in the period between now and the point that the UK proposes to leave the EU. Derek Mackay, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution has confirmed that these guarantees are being passed on in full to Scottish stakeholders on EU funding.

Further to this, the Scottish Government has commissioned the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) to undertake economic modelling on the potential impact of different trade and farm payment scenarios on Scottish agriculture. I expect findings will be available early next year and will add to the existing evidence base that includes a number of published studies on the impact of Brexit on UK farming sectors.

The Scottish Government does not provide immigration advice. Immigration advice is available from immigration advisers regulated by and under the supervision of the immigration advice regulator (OISC). A list of registered immigration advisors registered with the OISC on their website: http://home.oisc.gov.uk/adviser_finder/finder.aspx. Immigration guidance and support is available from Scottish Enterprise (since April 2013) through the TalentScotland project funded by the Scottish Government.

The UK Government has recently revised its position on EU funding guarantees to cover in full the payment of all EU funding contracts for SRDP projects that are entered into before the UK proposes to leave the EU. The guarantee covers all payments for CAP Pillar 2 (SRDP) schemes, where LEADER sits, amongst others. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution has confirmed that these guarantees will be passed on in full to Scottish stakeholders to provide stability and certainty for the rural economy.

The UK Government’s position on EU Funding Guarantees demonstrates in the starkest possible terms that there are absolutely no guarantees or clarity on what will replace current European Union funding streams after the date that the UK proposes to leave the EU.

The Scottish Government is clear that, if we leave the EU without putting successor arrangements in place for the European Arrest Warrant, the advantages of speed and the streamlined process that the European Arrest Warrant provides and which benefit all parties will be lost.

As I outlined in Parliament on 1 November, there is no current clarity on this matter. Arrangements relating to the European Arrest Warrant are reserved so it is a matter for the UK Government to ensure appropriate arrangements continue post-Brexit for Scotland as well as the rest of the UK.

Evidence published by the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee based on analysis by the Fraser of Allander Institute confirms the risks that leaving the EU poses to Scotland’s economy.

The analysis forecasts that GDP could be more than 5% (£8 billion in 2015-16 terms) lower than would otherwise be the case after 10 years. The report also indicates that exports could be more than 11% lower, and that there could be 80,000 fewer jobs, compared to a scenario where the UK remains a member of the EU.