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?