16:20 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Iain Stewart)

The goal is for the UK to cement its already strong position and thrive as a world-leading maritime nation at the cutting edge of technology, innovation and maritime services, underpinned by effective, responsive and best-in-class regulation. Our policies on levelling up, building back better and our transition to net zero are crucial to gain the economic benefits for our ports and increase the prosperity of our country. Those policies provide successful examples of the engagement between the Government and the private sector. It is encouraging to see how successful Scottish businesses, ports and academic institutions have been in the recent clean maritime demonstration competition—a clear signal of Scotland’s drive and ambition to innovate.

One area of UK-wide policy that I have not touched on yet, and which will be of enormous benefit in Scotland, is freeports. We are delighted to see the expansion of the freeport programme across the UK. In Scotland, we have seen the landmark agreement between the two Governments on the establishment of two green freeports, with up to £52 million of funding from the UK Government. I cannot go into any specifics at the moment, as there is a competitive process under way, but I am confident that the expansion of the UK freeport scheme in Scotland will bring great benefits, including regeneration of communities, the creation of high-quality jobs and support in the transition to a net zero economy.

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