Last week, the First Minister agreed with me that strategic intervention in the aerospace sector would be required to save Rolls-Royce jobs at Inchinnan. Today, plans have been announced to axe 700 jobs, which would be devastating for the workers and the west of Scotland economy. It would also be a blow to manufacturing, and the end of Rolls-Royce maintenance, repair and overhaul operations in Scotland. We cannot let that happen.

Will the Scottish Government work with the trade unions to put pressure on Rolls-Royce to think again? Is the Scottish Government prepared to make significant financial support available to the sector now? Will the First Minister agree to establish a cross-party aerospace and aviation task force to ensure a co-ordinated collective approach to support those sectors and save those jobs?

I agree in general terms with everything that Neil Bibby said. The news that workers at Rolls-Royce in Inchinnan will have got this morning is absolutely devastating, and my thoughts are very much with all of them and their families today.

The Scottish Government will continue to do everything that we possibly can to get a more positive outcome. Those jobs are important, the Rolls-Royce facility is important and advanced manufacturing is very important for the Scottish economy now, as it will be in the future.

I will respond quickly to the various parts of Neil Bibby’s question. As we always do in these situations, we will work very closely with trade unions. I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture to look at pulling together a cross-party approach so that we can all work together to try to protect and safeguard those jobs.

On financial interventions, we will consider all options, as we have done previously. I note for the record that we have to operate within state aid constraints and, of course, we are accountable to taxpayers for the use of taxpayer money. However, we always look for ways in which we can protect jobs and important manufacturing facilities such as this. I will ask the economy secretary to correspond further with Neil Bibby, and with others across the chamber who have an interest, so that we can try to bring together, as far as we can, a team Scotland approach to safeguarding those jobs, if it is at all possible to do so.