NICOLA Sturgeon’s announcement that she intends to step down was certainly a notable moment last week and it has brought with it a number of unanswered questions about the future direction of the Government.

This is all on top of the many challenges being faced by businesses as a result of the seemingly endless conveyor belt of regulations such as workplace parking and transient visitor levies, Deposit Return Scheme and of course the highly controversial "Restricting Alcohol Advertising and Promotion".

It is the latter point that has been dominating the news headlines in recent weeks with the business community in a unanimous position of being against the proposed changes.

In a joint letter signed by more than 100 brewers and drinks manufacturers in Scotland, the industry set out their opposition to the plans and detail the huge impact it would have on our economy.

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The sector has suffered throughout the pandemic. Couple that with today’s cost of living crisis that is placing a palpable strain on its customers and the Scottish drinks industry is facing significant challenge yet again.

Scotland’s brewers and distillers together provide employment to 88,700 people and contribute £6.1 billion (GVA) to Scotland’s economy annually. They are critical for hospitality, events and tourism; most notably whisky tourism, which is one of Scotland's most globally recognised attractions and brings thousands of visitors to these shores each year.

Within Glasgow alone, it’s hard to imagine the city with reduced employment of ultra-premium spirit producer Edrington or without the tourism experience of the Tennent’s Visitor Centre or the hospitality of the many whisky and beer brands that SMEs produce here and is used in nearly all our restaurants, bars and nightlife establishments.

Perhaps the most difficult part for many within the industry to understand is that they are in favour and share the Scottish Government’s aim of reducing harmful consumption. However, it is deemed unlikely that these extensive policy interventions will achieve this and don’t address the root cause of why we do have multi-generational issues around alcohol harm. It is such a complex issue and broad-brush policy interventions are unlikely to be effective.

The implications of the proposed policy also stretch far beyond the immediate job losses that would inevitably happen within the food and drink sector.

Its contribution to local community organisations plays such an important role. Sport, arts and cultures sectors alike would lose critical sources of funding putting many at risk of not existing in the future.

Then of course there will be the implications for large-scale events such as music festivals or through Scottish Rugby. According to Scotland’s biggest live music promoter, DF Concerts and Events CEO Geoff Ellis, proposals to ban alcohol sponsorship of live events will be “disastrous” for the industry. It would also hit the smallest events proportionately as hard, where additional funding sources are less likely to be available.

This law will of course only apply to Scotland, meaning the rest of the UK will be able to continue to promote their drinks sector as they do currently.

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An international tourist arriving into England would be able to see the full range of breweries and distilleries that are on offer. Arriving into Scotland, there’s potential they would see nothing of our incredible industry if the consultation parameters are all realised.

Can you imagine the Irish Government discouraging the famous Guinness Tour in Dublin or the Danish Government putting up barriers to prevent tourists fitting the Carlsberg Brewery Tour into their visit to Copenhagen? I don’t think so. However, we welcome the offer from the Deputy First Minister to now collaborate with our members on this consultation.

The Scottish Government’s vision to double the turnover of the food and drink sector by 2030 is something we very much support but policies like this put that target under threat and the unintended consequences for our wider economy must be considered.

Alison McRae, Senior Director at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, and board member, STA.