4 April 2018

With less than one year to go until Scotland, and the rest of the UK, face leaving the EU, the Scottish Government published a report last week setting out what people across Scotland – from the Highlands to the Borders – want to see protected in the Brexit negotiations.

Giving a voice to ordinary Scots, ‘Protecting What Matters, what’s at stake for individuals’ sets out the key issues raised by members of the public and why the Scottish Government believes keeping Scotland in the Single Market and Customs Union is the best approach to take if Brexit is to happen.

Last Wednesday, Communities Secretary Angela Constance and Michael Russell, Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, met members of the public at Vittoria’s restaurant in Edinburgh, to discuss issues affecting them such as citizens rights and future employment.

The event allowed everyone who attended a chance to talk about how Brexit is already affecting their lives. It also enabled both EU and Scottish nationals to come together, so they could reflect on their experiences and the impact the Brexit process has had on them.

Following the meeting, Mr Russell said:

It is clear that, even at this late stage, there is a a great deal of confusion and concern about what lies ahead. People and business have spent nearly two years without information on crucial issues that affects their future.

In the report we set out the questions people have and – crucially – how they can be answered.

There are legitimate concerns and questions about the impact on jobs, rights and protections, family life, public services that the UK Government needs to answer.”

The meeting was a further step forward in the Scottish Government’s programme of public engagement with the people who are going to be affected most by Brexit. The participants openly discussed how Brexit has already changed the lives of both themselves and their families.