Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 01 September 2021
That is absolute nonsense when it is the UK Government that is decimating the food and drink industry in Scotland right now.
There is no doubt that some sectors suffered due to the pandemic, particularly those dependent on a vibrant export market or those affected by outbreaks. However, the effects of Covid have only added to the severe and significant impacts of Brexit. Put simply, the Tories could not have designed a worse Brexit deal and all that we warned of is now coming to pass. I know that some would like us all to pretend that Brexit is done and dusted, but that will not wash. They know, we know and, indeed, our hard-pressed food and drink businesses know that worse is to come. With further custom and border checks still due to be implemented—some starting this autumn and others in January 2022—the full impact of Brexit is still to be realised.
To add insult to injury, the much-lauded trade deals being secured in an attempt to replace the reported £18 billion being lost across the entirety of trade as a result of being ripped out of the single market are nothing but a damp squib. What have we got to show for the UK-Australia future trade agreement? [Interruption.] I will not take an intervention at the moment.
The same as we had before, only now Australia gets to bring more of its food products into our markets, competing tariff free with our own producers of quality red meat in particular. Previous UK Government modelling suggested that the agriculture and semi-processed foods sectors would lose out from an Australia trade deal, so we have every right to be nervous about the impact of that trade deal, which frankly is only the start. We were not involved in the negotiations that resulted in the agreement and we are not involved in the negotiations that are still going on, despite the impact that the deal will have on devolved responsibilities.
Daily, we hear of new and emerging challenges: shortages of heavy goods vehicle drivers and workers in processing and manufacturing, as well as associated skills shortages across the industry. Labour and skills shortages like those lay bare the extraordinary recklessness of this hard Brexit.