By UK Government minister Lord Duncan

Since I took up my post last June I have made it my job priority to listen to you and your members – business experts across all sectors – to help you be as successful as you can be.

And a great way to do this by holding a series of roundtables. Getting people from different industries across Scotland, with different priorities, round a table and to talk to me.

To tell me what they want raised in the corridors of Whitehall as the UK approaches its historic exit from the European Union.

That’s why in March, I invited a delegation of you – members of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce – to come to Dover House in Whitehall to sit round my table and talk about international trade and Scottish exports. I wanted to explore opportunities internationally, but also think about the UK Government’s City Region Deal initiative, and how the joint investment from Scotland’s two governments can impact and help drive regional economic growth.

Scotland has huge potential as a global exporter. It offers a world-class services industry from the financial and legal sectors to marine engineering, high value manufacturing and an impressive life sciences sector. It also boasts the UK’s single most valuable export product – Scotch.

But too many businesses in Scotland – particularly smaller ones – aren’t yet taking advantage of the chance to access international markets, where they have potential to achieve phenomenal success.

We want to help businesses across the UK achieve that success, and the UK Government offers an array of support to help you make the leap to become exporters and deepen international relationships.

The UK Government’s Department for International Trade offers one of the largest international trade networks, with a presence in more than 100 markets worldwide. Its focus is on opening markets and improving trading environments, building a global appetite for UK Goods overseas.

It’s clear that the SCC places just as much emphasis on exporting as we do, and wants to help members overcome perceived obstacles to accessing new and valuable markets.

The UK Government needs to work with the SCC to help Scottish businesses feel more confident in exporting, getting them away from the mentality of “exporting is what other businesses do”. In order to achieve that, I’ve asked the Department for International Trade to look at ways of working more closely with the SCC to share resources, and provide clarity on exactly what support is available and who from.

But it’s not just internationally that the UK Government can support businesses – there are significant opportunities right here in Scotland. The UK Government’s City Region Deal initiative is investing millions of pounds into Scotland’s cities and regions – funding research in innovation, data, connectivity and technologies of the future that will transform the country and place Scotland at the forefront of modern business.

I was pleased to hear that members were happy with projects in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and could see the potential for real transformation. But I also welcomed the challenge that there needed to be more clarity on how businesses can get involved in these opportunities and that’s certainly something my team and I will look at, working closely with the Scottish Government and partners as we do on all elements of City Region Deals.

But my challenge back is that we need your help – these deals give us the opportunity to tackle inequality, to solve some of the big challenges and to create jobs of the future. But for them to land and achieve these lofty goals, then we need the support of businesses organisations such as the SCC, to help us maximise the impact and get the word about how our enterprising Scottish businesses can get involved.

It’s conversations and discussions like this that are the reason I have been so committed to roundtables. Government policy shouldn’t be about dictating from high what should happen and then imposing it, it’s about getting together and debating the ins and outs and formulating plans that work for the benefit of everyone.

I know that members of the SCC have ambitious plans for the future of Scottish business, and want to help them realise those plans, so I look forward to continuing the conversation and transforming that talk into positive action.