24.07.2016
Economists and business leaders from financial services, food and drink and higher education will this week come to Holyrood to outline the impact of the Brexit vote on Scotland.
Universities Scotland, Virgin Money, the Scotch Whisky Association, the STUC and Fraser of Allander Institute are among those who will give evidence to the Scottish Parliament's European and External Relations Committee.
The committee, which recently returned from Brussels, is taking the unusual step of meeting during the parliamentary recess because of the implications of the referendum outcome, which saw Scotland vote 62% to remain.
The formal evidence session on Thursday 28 July follows on from fact finding meetings undertaken by committee members in Brussels on Tuesday (19 July).
Witnesses also include Edinburgh Airport, the Federation of Small Business, and representatives from farming and fishing.
Committee Convener, Joan McAlpine MSP, said:
“We want to know what leaving the EU means to people in Scotland, particularly people in business. We will hear from representatives of key sectors in the Scottish economy about the impact that the Brexit vote has already had on them and what they consider to be the major implications for Scotland in the future.
She continued: "We know already from speaking to the British Chamber of Commerce in Brussels that access to the single market is of paramount importance to most companies.
“We experienced a lot of goodwill and understanding of Scotland’s situation when we visited Brussels. No country has left the EU before and the process for leaving is far from straightforward, so it’s important that our committee provides a forum for people in Scotland to get involved in this difficult process.”
Witnesses due to appear before the committee on Thursday, are as follows:
Panel 1 (economy)
Graeme Roy, Director (Designate), Fraser of Allander Institute;
Colin Borland, Senior Head of External Affairs, Federation of Small Business Scotland;
Kenny Richmond, Senior Director, Economics, Scottish Enterprise;
Stephen Boyd, Assistant Secretary, STUC
Panel 2 (business and sectoral interests)
Clare Slipper, Parliamentary Officer, National Farmers Union Scotland;
Bertie Armstrong, Chief Executive, Scottish Fishermen's Federation;
David Frost, Chief Executive, Scotch Whisky Association;
Alastair Sim, Director, Universities Scotland;
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Airport Ltd
Hugh Chater, Director of Banking, Virgin Money
Representative of Scotland Food and Drink (tbc);
Background
The meeting will take place at 9:30am at the Scottish Parliament.
Papers for the meeting will be published on the Committee's webpage on Monday 25 July.
Media access arrangements
• Media Access: 10 seats will be available for accredited political corrs available on first come basis. Proceedings will be screened on internal TV feed in the media tower as usual; also live webcasting as usual on Parliament TV
• Photographers’ access: In house photographer Andrew Cowan will cover for stills and issue to all picture desks. Any additional requests for press photography should be sent to andrew.cowan@parliament.scot
• TV coverage: Proceedings will be broadcast as usual by Parliament’s Broadcasting Office.