1. To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to businesses in Aberdeen. (S6O-03014)

Scottish Enterprise, our national economic development agency, works with businesses in Aberdeen to create high-value jobs, enable innovation, boost productivity and attract investment. It also helps businesses to internationalise and expand their export opportunities. Last week, with the First Minister, I was delighted to visit Verlume, a renewable energy company based in Aberdeen, to learn how it has benefited from such support from Scottish Enterprise and to hear about its future plans.

Further to that, the Scottish Government is investing more than £125 million in the Aberdeen city region deal, and it further supports businesses in the region through initiatives such as the energy transition fund and the just transition fund.

Last week, Aberdeen received the devastating news that Marks and Spencer is to close, just days after we lost Haigs due to difficult trading conditions. Recently, Aberdeen business leaders met the Government to highlight the impact of its decision not to introduce 75 per cent rates relief, as is in place in England. Will the Scottish Government reverse its decision to ignore the demands of businesses, including those in Aberdeen, and the witnesses at the Economy and Fair Work Committee this week, who desperately want the 75 per cent rates relief passed on to ensure that their businesses are competitive with markets south of the border?

Marks and Spencer’s decision to close its Union Street store but invest £15 million in doubling its space at Union Square is a signal of intent and of confidence in the market in Aberdeen. My understanding is that the decision will have no bearing on redundancies. I do not believe that the issue of non-domestic rates had any impact on M&S’s decision to provide substantial investment.

This morning, the Deputy First Minister, Tom Arthur and I had a very productive meeting with the hospitality industry on what is possible in relation to not just non-domestic rates but further work with the sector. That followed on from a very productive session with the Scottish Retail Consortium last week. We will continue to look at what we can do to provide support.

If we had passed on that resource to the hospitality, leisure and retail industry, we would have had no further space to invest in public services. That would have had devastating consequences, as can be seen in England, where the national health service has had a real-terms cut.