To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. (S6O-03554)

We have a clear ambition to support entrepreneurs and become a leading start-up economy. That is evident through the progress in the delivery of the national strategy for economic transformation; the “Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review” report; and the “Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship” report.

Key successes include the £42 million Techscaler programme; two competitive funding rounds through the ecosystem fund and the pathways pre-start fund; and “The Entrepreneurial Campus” blueprint. Those initiatives are designed to foster entrepreneurial activity and support start-up businesses.

Despite promises that leaving the European Union would remove red tape, the most immediate impact of Brexit on entrepreneurs was the change in VAT regulations. With United Kingdom businesses now treated as those in a third country, VAT now applies to imports from and exports to most EU countries. Retail Economics and Tradebyte are reporting an 18 per cent drop in non-food exports from the UK to countries in the single market.

Will the cabinet secretary say more about the impact that the Scottish Government expects that those checks will have on small Scottish businesses?

The impact of Brexit has certainly been painfully felt by both exporters and importers, who have seen trade with the EU become overcomplicated and saddled with additional costs. That is thanks to the fact that there are now new barriers to trade; supply chains have been disrupted; and food prices have been driven up. In fact, a recent National Audit Office report estimated that UK traders will face additional costs of £469 million a year. We are gravely concerned about those burdens, and we urge the UK Government to pragmatically align standards with the EU in order to abolish some of those burdens.