Recommendation 6

HM Government · verbatim extract Deferred

The UK Government’s Department for International Trade has launched a UK Trade Hub, based in Edinburgh’s Queen Elizabeth House, to support Scottish businesses. This new Trade Hub will be dedicated to helping businesses in Scotland thrive and grow internationally, providing much-needed support for thousands of companies in these economically challenging times, and helping businesses in Scotland recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses will be able to utilise the UK Government’s global networks, expertise, and influence, as well as the GREAT campaign and the world-leading credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), to grow their overseas trade and build back from the impact of coronavirus. One of the UK Government’s key priorities is to champion all parts of the UK and demonstrate how beneficial a strong Union is for all. This Trade Hub in Scotland will provide businesses with the support and guidance needed to boost their profits and harness their full potential. Trade is crucial to the UK’s recovery from coronavirus and will be the foundation of our relationships across the globe after the transition period ends this year. The UK will be an outward looking advocate for free trade across the globe, capable of developing and agreeing trade deals with the world’s biggest markets, tailored to benefit business in the UK. We have already agreed the UK-Japan Free Trade Agreement which has secured a way for more iconic UK goods to be protected – increasing geographical indications (GIs) from just seven under the terms of the EU-Japan deal to around 70 under our new agreement. This will not only mean products like Scotch Whisky will enjoy continued protection under the agreement, but also additional products, such as Arbroath Smokies and Stornoway Black Pudding could be protected in Japan from next year. This would allow producers in Scotland to have their products’ unique heritage protected and could lead to improved recognition of key Scottish brands in the Japanese market. The UK Government is also making strong progress with our negotiations with the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. We are committed to working closely with the DAs to deliver an independent trade policy that works for the whole of the United Kingdom. We must also not forget that, for Scotland, our biggest market by far remains the rest of the UK and the Internal Market Bill ensures there will be no new barriers to doing trade inside the UK. 10. We recommend that when the UK Government plans for future pandemics it considers all three areas —immigration, supply chain and exports—as part of the whole picture. Where responsibility is devolved to Scotland, the UK Government and Scottish Government should work closely together to support these three key areas. These plans should be annually reviewed by the UK Government and have the recommendations implemented as soon as practicable, at least by the end of 2021. ( Paragraph 64) The UK Government has long recognised the threat to the UK and other countries posed by global pandemics and has involved the DAs closely in preparing for them The UK Influenza Preparedness Strategy 2011 is a UK-wide document on influenza pandemics, produced jointly by the then Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The DAs participated in Exercise Cygnus in 2016 (discussed above) and were an integral part of the consequential pandemic preparedness work. That work prepared the foundations for: the Coronavirus Act 2020, passed by the UK Government with the legislative consent of all the devolved legislatures in respect of the devolved provisions, and the Coronavirus Action Plan of March 2020, published by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Department of Health. The Committee recommends that the UK Government and the DAs should plan for mitigating the impact of pandemics on migration, supply chains, and exports. Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, section 2, Secretaries of State and others have a duty to plan for the immediate impacts on human life and welfare, the environment, and the security of the UK. In addition, the UK Government does take the consequences for migration, supply chains, and export into account in planning for and responding to emergencies, and works with the DAs, as appropriate, in doing so: The UK Government and the DAs require travellers, including migrant workers, to self- isolate for fourteen days after arrival in the UK, unless they are travelling from a country on the specified list of travel corridors or are engaged in exempt work. The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, made under the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008, are the operative regulations in Scotland. The UK Government has established processes at official and ministerial level to try and sec