THIS past week, we heard the Prime Minister’s intention to embrace a hard Brexit. While we have gained some insight into the future, too much remains obscure. However, there can be no doubt that a hard Brexit would mean serious economic issues for Scotland.

The Scottish Government is the only body to hold a detailed plan that outlines how the specific risks of Brexit could be addressed, but a hard Brexit would result in Scotland’s removal from the single market, leading to a de-regulated economy that would be disastrous for our country. The vast majority of Scots want to remain in the EU, but a hard Brexit would inflict significant damage on our economy.

Even while Westminster is fighting for Brexit, Scotland has reached a record low in youth unemployment, coming in as second lowest in the EU. This is excellent news and a testament to Scotland’s youth unemployment strategy, which includes a commitment to provide 30,000 modern apprenticeship positions by 2020.

But while youth unemployment rates are falling, estimates say that a hard Brexit could cost Scotland £11 billion a year, threatening our job stability and economic recovery. We will do what we can as a Government to prevent this from happening, but regardless of what happens, we know that Brexit is going to have an impact. It’s clear the Scottish Government’s strategy is working for young people, but it’s entirely possible that all of this hard work will be undermined by a hard Brexit.

Last week I took the opportunity to attend the public consultation for Goshen Farm. As you are aware, this was a controversial affair and I was interested to see what the new proposal would be.

It seems clear to me that in order to gain support from the community, the builders would need to drastically alter their plans. I will be interested to see what sort of reaction they get now that some changes have been made.