Ms Marie Armstrong:

Making use of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the embassies and the networks, was suggested in the paper that was published yesterday by the Government. We think that is a no-brainer. In my other job I am a tax partner in one of the large accounting firms. The 12.5% tax rate has been the cornerstone, particularly around foreign direct investment, FDI, and I think it should remain as such. The difficulty we have is that the UK is now going to go down to a 17% rate.

I met Mr. Hilary Benn, MP, when he was over here. We discussed the UK's fiscal balance and where it is going to generate additional taxes, and what we think is a likely outcome in terms of negotiations on customs. Their view was that is was likely to resemble the Turkish model more closely than any of the other mixed models, immigration being a key concern for them. It was also very clearly expressed that Scotland may emerge as an issue in the next couple of weeks. Some of the members who were at the meeting were very clear that there is likely to be a push for a vote in Scotland. I do not know how that is going to change the whole mix of negotiations on Brexit but I imagine it will change it. At the moment, as an accounting practitioner, I see that the companies I deal with are not going to wait for an outcome but are just starting to move ahead. They are assuming that there are going to be customs, tariffs and potential VAT cash flow costs going back and forth between ourselves and the UK. They are only now starting to think about that. I do not know what is going to happen in Scotland but that might alter our thinking a little.