GREEN PORTS in Scotland will be uncompetitive if they have a mandatory requirement to pay the real living wage, the secretary of state for Scotland has said
Alister Jack, speaking at a panel event at the Conservative party conference, said the Scottish Government’s plans were deliberately intended to be different from the UK Government’s, but would not be as successful.
He also accused the SNP of “irresponsible nationalism”, pointing out that civil servants did not take part in a transport review intended to improve links between all parts of the UK.
There has been a continued friction between Westminster and Holyrood about freeports – designated areas around ports which will have different tax structures than the rest of the country – as well as disagreements over plans to improve transport connectivity between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Mr Jack said that in England there were now eight freeports, and he wanted to do the same in Scotland.
He said: “We have eight freeports announced for England. I want to announce a freeport for Scotland after a sensible bidding process.
“Yet, the Scottish Government want to call them green ports and introduce other uncompetitive restrictions like making it a legal requirement to have the real living wage, which is not set by government. As you know, that's the real minimum wage.”
Mr Jack spoke about a review conducted by Sir Peter Hendy into connectivity between different parts of the UK, and was heavily critical of the Scottish Government’s lack of involvement in it.
He explained: “These things are a challenge for us, and it's, it's being different for the sake of it.
“We're seeing with Union connectivity, Sir Peter Hendy’s report. The Scottish Government were offered £20m to do feasibility studies to upgrade rail [and] road links in Scotland, and they rejected that money.
“So as I say it's irresponsible nationalism, and not working with us, I think, just for the sake of being different.”
Mr Jack said that “60 per cent of Scotland’s trade is with the rest of the United Kingdom” and millions of jobs relied on it, and questioned why the Scottish Government did not take part in the review.
Sir Peter Hendy’s review was due to be published this summer, however has been delayed with the final recommendations due to be released “soon”, according to No.10.
They were set to include the feasibility of a fixed link connecting Scotland and Northern Ireland, dubbed the ‘Boris Bridge’, however last month it was announced the plan had been scrapped entirely.
It had been an ambition of the Prime Minister to build either a bridge or tunnel between the two countries, despite continued scepticism from engineers and experts that it would be almost impossible.
Last month it was reported that Chancellor Rishi Sunak had put the brakes on the plans altogether, due to exorbitant costs.
A spokesman for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Secretary Michael Matheson: “We’ll take no lectures on cooperation from a UK Government which recently ignored 19 separate requests for a ministerial meeting with the Scottish Government on a single issue.
“We will engage with the UK Government in Scotland’s best interests but we will not be complicit in Tory attempts at a power grab on the Scottish Parliament, or their bid to encourage a race to the bottom on workers’ rights and environmental standards.”
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