Fergus Ewing: Mr McMillan has doggedly and continuously advocated tourism on his patch and, more widely, marine tourism, as other members have argued robustly for interests in their areas. Were I to promise a fund for every single MSP, I would be going further even than Father Christmas. Much as I may resemble that character, that would be an imprudent thing for a Government minister to do. Nonetheless, I...
Fergus Ewing: The member knows that the Scottish Government has consistently and rightly advocated the payment of the living wage and fair remuneration and treatment of all employees. That has been a theme and practice of the Scottish Government in this session of Parliament and before, and rightly so. Secondly, obviously we welcome the fact that the furlough is available to assist businesses in meeting...
Fergus Ewing: I have previously written to the UK Government on that matter, expressing strong concerns about any increase in imported beef through the Mercosur free trade agreement. I am aware that the UK Government struck an agreement with Brazil last October to establish a joint agriculture committee to look at sanitary standards. Unfortunately, the UK Government has not engaged with us, despite...
Fergus Ewing: Yes. I have said time and again that we would not tolerate any trade deal that allowed imports of hormone-treated beef. The Trade and Agriculture Commission, who I met on Monday, recommend that any trading partners wishing to import into the United Kingdom shall demonstrate equivalent production standards. That assurance from Tim Smith, the chief executive, was welcome. That should be...
Fergus Ewing: The additional funding that I announced in July 2020 has allowed the Crofting Commission to establish four posts in the Western Isles and increase its development activities. That will allow the commission to continue its work in establishing new grazing committees, ensuring that our common grazings are managed effectively and encouraging diversified activities, such as agri-tourism, peatland...
Fergus Ewing: I am aware that there have been such issues, but the additional funding that we have provided this year has enabled the commission to take steps to make improvements to its information technology infrastructure, which will enable efficiency savings, and to the commission’s website, which will improve the customer experience. The new officers, for which Dr Allan has campaigned for some time,...
Fergus Ewing: I am somewhat reluctant to interrupt that exchange. VisitScotland engages regularly with local authorities and has recently met with Midlothian Council to discuss the Covid response and recovery. It also engages with Scottish Borders Council weekly. We engage through our enterprise agencies, along with VisitScotland, to continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on the sector. The data...
Fergus Ewing: Yes, of course we are considering all those matters very carefully. We are aware of the value of participating in outdoor activity, including exercise, and that consideration is obviously relevant to the decisions that have to be taken by the Cabinet overall. Christine Grahame has made a very good point, as well as delivering a brief gazetteer and almanac of the attractions in her constituency.
Fergus Ewing: We try to treat all businesses with parity of esteem and to be consistent in providing lifeline support. That has been, I think, the correct principle to apply throughout. Colin Smyth has made a very fair point that businesses in the Borders area, and in Dumfries and Galloway, have a particular reliance on the market of visitors who come from England. That is absolutely understood. In fact, I...
Fergus Ewing: We remain focused on immediate business support. We are keen to help as many businesses as possible to reopen viably, once conditions allow. Our focus has therefore been on developing and distributing the £129 million tourism support package. Looking to the future, the £15 million culture, heritage and tourism fund, which has been agreed through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire city region...
Fergus Ewing: Yes. The Scottish Government is a full partner in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire city region deal and we are contributing £45.1 million over 10 years, with additional investment of £5 million over the same period. The key tourism project, which I touched on and which Mr Brown was correct to mention, will be the £15 million culture, tourism and heritage programme, which includes key...
Fergus Ewing: Recovery proposals for a five-year period are being developed by the Scottish tourism emergency response group, in consultation with members of the Scottish tourism recovery task force. Ministers are currently considering eight short-term proposals and hope to make an announcement on those shortly. Short-to-medium-term recovery proposals should be developed by May. We are already delivering...
Fergus Ewing: Clarity has been provided, through STERG and through our constant engagement with representative bodies in the tourism and hospitality sector. This week, so far, I have had five meetings with tourism bodies, including two with the STA and meetings with representatives of the hotel management, Scottish wedding industry and tour operator sectors. Our engagement with the tourism and hospitality...
Fergus Ewing: I had welcome engagement with the First Minister on tourism earlier this week, in an evening discussion with colleagues. The issue is extremely important, and I recognise that Mr Scott has, quite fairly, pursued it on various occasions. I am pleased that Fiona Campbell, from the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, and David Weston, of the Bed and Breakfast Association in Scotland,...
Fergus Ewing: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted no.
Fergus Ewing: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I was not able to vote. I would have voted no.
Fergus Ewing: Provided that restrictions can be lifted safely, we are very hopeful of a strong domestic tourism market in 2021. To support critical tourism projects in our more remote areas we are more than doubling the rural tourism infrastructure fund to £6.2 million in 2021-22, bringing our total investment to more than £15 million. We are also using consequentials and increasing our package of...
Fergus Ewing: We are working closely with local authorities, the national parks, VisitScotland, NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland and Police Scotland, and we have developed a rural visitor management strategy. It has many aspects, including a welcome campaign; high-level messages about responsible enjoyment; and co-ordinated promotion of the access code, including messages on vital topics such as...
Fergus Ewing: I can confirm that the plan is that local authorities should launch the scheme from 15 February, which is next week. I absolutely agree with the member’s points that bed-and-breakfasts are an essential backbone of our accommodation provision. They are small businesses that are run by people who work extremely hard, and we absolutely appreciate the great offer that they provide to their...
Fergus Ewing: The “Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland: 2019–2021” sets out how we will support the needs of the rural economy by addressing skill shortages and increasing access to education and skills provision. We are also providing green skills opportunities through a specific programme of funding for island projects relating to net zero and green recovery, and through a doubling of specific...