I thank the committee for inviting me to contribute to your inquiry. The United Kingdom Government is committed to engaging widely and hearing a range of views and perspectives as we prepare for the negotiations with the EU, and the evidence that is gathered by this committee will be an important contribution to that.
I welcome the opportunity to talk to the committee about the work that the UK Government has taken forward in the four months since the EU referendum. As the Prime Minister made clear immediately after the referendum, the UK Government is committed to getting the best deal for Scotland and the whole of the UK, and that is exactly what we are focused on.
I am pleased that there has been a series of useful meetings between UK and Scottish ministers and officials. For example, last Friday the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and I had a very productive discussion with the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, on Monday the Prime Minister chaired a substantive discussion on EU exit with the First Minister and the leaders of the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive and the joint ministerial plenary committee, and yesterday David Davis and Michael Russell spoke again. Although we may have different views, it is vital that the UK Government and the Scottish Government work constructively together to secure Scotland’s interests.
That is why the Prime Minister has established a new forum on EU negotiations, which is chaired by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. The forum will give the Scottish Government and other devolved Administrations a direct line to David Davis, to allow them to put forward their proposals and help to shape the UK’s exit strategy. The first meeting is in early November, when market access will be discussed.
As the agreement on the new forum demonstrates, we will give the Scottish Government every opportunity to have its say as we prepare for negotiations with the EU. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has signalled that it will publish details of its priorities and proposals in the coming weeks. I also hope that the UK Government and Scottish Government will take forward some joint engagement on sectors of particular importance to Scotland; I have proposed that directly to Mike Russell as something that we can take forward in early course.
My priority is to ensure that Scottish voices and interests are at the centre of the negotiations to come. The UK Government is committed to engaging widely across Scotland. My colleague Lord Dunlop and I have already held more than 50 meetings with groups and sectors from all parts of Scotland, to hear directly from them about their priorities. Those organisations include NFU Scotland, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, the Scottish Retail Consortium, the Scotch Whisky Association, the Church of Scotland and the Law Society of Scotland, as well as young people’s representatives and a range of organisations from energy and tourism sectors. David Davis and I also had an extremely useful meeting with representatives from business, law and culture during his visit to Scotland last week.
The overriding message that we have heard is a desire for this dialogue to continue. That will be an on-going priority as we prepare for negotiations.
In the conversations that I have had so far, I have been struck by the appetite that there is in Scotland for taking advantage of the opportunities that will be provided by our leaving the EU. In particular, it will provide many opportunities for the UK to create new trading links and partnerships. As we develop partnerships, it is vital that the people of Scotland and Scotland’s wide range of businesses are given every opportunity to contribute to the process.
I am grateful to the committee for its work, and I look forward with interest to your conclusions and to the continued engagement with the Scottish Parliament to which the UK Government is committed as we work to leave the EU.