 The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 1479, in the name of George Adam, on, believe it or not, Paisley, voted Britain's top town. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Will those members wish to speak in debate please press the request to speak buttons now, and I called on George Adam to open the debate. Mr Adam, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I can tell by your tone that you are completely surprised that the debate is basically Paisley is awesome, please discuss. That is the case, because I am glad to be taking this debate because, to the Scottish Parliament, as it shows the progress of our great town has made in recent years, rather than complaining about the many challenges that we face, we have gone out and led the way in the town centre's regeneration. Today's Paisley Daily Express has a headline that says that MSP George set to talk up town in Parliament debate. That possibly could have been a headline for just about every single debate that I have been a part of during my time here, but it shows you that the whole town is actually behind this idea of this positive Paisley message. I have known what you are all thinking. It is George Adam talking about his hometown. There is a novel idea, but the award that we are celebrating is quite interesting. The Academy for Urbanism Award was given to Paisley in November last year. One of the interesting things about that is that, since 2006, when it actually began, no other Scottish town has ever won this award. It is much like my own football team of St Murna competition that is no longer with us, the Anglo-Scotland Cup, where we are the only Scottish team to win that as well. We beat off competition from Barnsley and Yorkshire, Chelmsford and Essex for the title of Great Town 2018. One of the things that is on the back of is the fantastic and regeneration aspect to the UK city of culture bid 2021. Although we never got that, the positivity and the belief that we can actually do something in the town has remained. Since I was first elected as Paisley's MSP in 2011, I have always said that I would take a team Paisley approach to everything that I did. Perhaps I have to mention this before, but it has always been about a positive Paisley agenda. Paisley has a great past and has been involved in just about everything to do with our nation's past, but it also has a fantastic future. There is now a feeling in the town of what can we do together how we can deal with the challenges that we face. That positive Paisley agenda is what makes the difference. Our future is indeed looking good as we look to how we can improve our lot in the world. Last Christmas—there is not a line for a song—Paisley Business Improvement District Paisley 1st had a winter festival that has not seen the like outwith our major cities. Myself and my family went along to it, and I even donned some ice skates after not having skated since I was eight-year-old. That was not yesterday. I managed to look at Bambi on Ice while I was doing that, but it showed you the fun. My own daughter said as we left, she said. Jessica said to me, she says, Dad, I can't believe we've spent all day in Paisley town centre and we've had a fantastic day here. That's what it's about. It's about creating an environment where you can make memories for your family and you can actually say that making them even prouder of where they come from. The Coast Memorial Church was closed as a religious building last year, but do we complain in Paisley? No, we set up a trust led by local businessman Ian Henderson to find a new use for it and start a crowd funder into changing it into an entertainment venue. That shows you the difference in confidence in Paisley, ever since the 2021 bid. Paisley has shown the way forward for other towns and how we shape our future. I am grateful to my friend and colleague George Adam for giving when I declare an interest to someone born in Paisley. If Mr Adam agrees with me that the example of Paisley settings is positive, not just for the people of Paisley, but for many of the surrounding communities such as Barhead, Johnston, Llynwood and Laquannock in my constituency of Renfrewshire South, we are tapping into that positivity and energy. As the capital town of Renfrewshire Paisley, if Paisley does well, then the rest of the county does well as well. It is important that we see Paisley as the heart of our county, because it always was the way in the past, as a boy from Barhead, I have often heard the big day out for Unisat. He was going into the centre of the universe and shopping in our town centre. When you look at what we have done, we are talking about the art of shaping our own future, taking on the challenges that I have mentioned about the Coates Memorial. We have an ambitious project called Baker Street, which is run by Paisley community trusts. We want to bring a cinema theatre back into the heart of our town. As well as all that, during the last campaign, the BBC luxury camper van came to the town centre and we were in it next to the Abbey. The GMS presenter asked me, what has the Scottish Government done for the town centre? I said, just look around you, it is all around us here at the moment. It was the Scottish Government investment that helped to create the actual investment that was there for bringing people back to live in the town centre. I think that has made a big difference in Paisley in the centre. We have projects happening in Love Street, where Murm used to have their ground football ground. There is now a radical project to regenerate the west end of Paisley as well. It shows you that there are problems and difficulties, but we are constantly trying to find ways to move things on. Renfrewshire Council has not been held back either. It has been involved in that as well as it has just shut Paisley town hall and the museum in the high street. That is not for the negative way that we normally talk about in this place. It is mainly because they are going to go in for a radical overhaul and both buildings will be made fit for the 21st centuries. The judges of the great town award noted that although we did not win the UK city of culture bid, the bid won over the people of Paisley and in turn changed the narrative of the place and the direction of travel. We used our heritage and culture to change that narrative in the town. We are in the next stage for our old historic town. The 21st century will be when we take this further forward. I am biased because it is my town, my people and my place in the world, but no matter what anyone says, you will never get anyone in Paisley to talk negatively about the journey that we are on. We have always been proud of our town. We are just glad that the rest of the world is catching up with us. Jamie Greene, to be followed by Neil Bibby. George Adam, for bringing this debate to the chamber this evening so early in the new year, is a huge surprise to hear Mr Adam talk about Paisley. It is something that he does not do very often in the chamber. I am sure that the official report will reflect that. In all seriousness, it is a great award to be given. As he said, Paisley was up against some fierce competition from other UK cities in the Academy of Urbanism awards. It was about two years ago when George Adam brought another debate to the Parliament on Paisley's bid for a city of culture, and I participated, like many other members from other parties, in that debate. There was a huge amount of excitement in the chamber to get behind that. The whole process, although it was disappointing that Paisley was not successful, shone a light on Paisley in the region, as Tom Arthur pointed out, the whole of Renfrewshire. It really focused minds from right across the political spectrum, from across different bits of government, local government, national government, to really put together a strong bid. The event that we had in the Parliament was one of the best events I have been to of an eve in this place. It was a shame. We can gradually coventry, but I think that that was the start of another part of a journey for Paisley. The sheer volume of support that it got from celebrities, from business, from academia all pointed towards the reasons why it should have won. As many have said, it was the start of a journey. If I could quote from a couple of local politicians on Paisley, I think that it is important that we reflect our voices on that. The leader of Renfrewshire Council, Councillor Nicholson, said that Paisley's UK city of culture bid did a huge amount to lift the town's profile, reputation and self-confidence. That is the key point here, the self-confidence that we should focus on. We said that that journey would continue. Clearly, it has, as reflected in the award that it won. Another Councillor McIntyre from North West, Paisley, said that it has been good for bringing people into Paisley who had not been in for a long time or, in some cases, had not been in at all. It raised the profile of the town and the residents have been supportive and it has put pride back into town. I have no doubt that the pride was always there. It is quite obvious that that pride has always been there. Going back decades, if not centuries, Paisley has a proud legacy of culture, of design in this specific award that goes to reflect improvements in urban areas and rewards towns that have made a lot of progress have indeed proven that Paisley has developed. It is not without its problems that Mr Adam reflected that in his speech. Last year, more shops closed in Paisley than opened, but it is no different to many towns and cities across the country. They are all struggling, and the High Street is struggling, but it is what you do about it that counts and it is what Paisley is doing about it that matters. You will see, if you walk down some of the empty shop fronts in Paisley, that they have been covered with a graphic, a wallpaper saying that you could be here, you know, bring your business here. It is really talking outwards to business saying come and make the High Street your own again. There are many things going on, the redevelopment of the town hall and more investment in the museum in Paisley. The Glasgow city deal will hopefully have some benefits and knock-on effects, but there are still some points of progress to be made, including things like the Glasgow airport rail link, which I think will ultimately benefit Paisley as well if that goes ahead. I thank Mr Adam in the short time that we have this evening to talk about his most favourite subject in the Parliament, that of Paisley, but also as a regional member for the west of Scotland to be very proud of everything that is going on there. I particularly like, just in closing, to pay tribute to some of the excellent work that is going on at West College Scotland Paisley campus. That whole organisation educates over 22,000 people in Scotland, many of which ride across the west region and has really set in the foundations of some excellent career opportunities for our young people. Really, that is what this is all about, is making sure that that part of the world is a positive place to live, grow up and work. Well done, Paisley. Thank you very much. I call Neil Bibby to call by Kenneth Gibson, Mr Gibson with the last speaker in the open debate. Mr Bibby, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome any opportunity to contribute to a debate about Paisley. It was where I was born. It is where I live and I have chosen to raise my family. It is one of the Renfisher communities that I have the privilege to represent. I am proud that Paisley was recognised by the academy of urbanism in November last year. That followed our bid in 2017 for UK city of culture, although ultimately unsuccessful. I want to express my gratitude to all those in the community who helped to reinvigorate a sense of pride in the town. That bid was more about just a series of events, it was about a vision of economic and social transformation and the promise of a real and lasting legacy. Presiding Officer, we would be doing the community a disservice if we simply come to Parliament to talk about Paisley and Pat ourselves on the back, rather than come here to speak up for what Paisley needs now. Living in Paisley, I know that it has many positives that have already been mentioned, including our heritage, our culture and many fantastic events that we hold and many fantastic local organisations. I also know that our community and local people face many challenges. Our biggest positive has always been our people and the biggest challenge is closing the gap between what Paisley needs and what Paisley gets from all levels of government. Paisley needs and deserves a massive government investment to take forward regeneration and transform the local economy. It is Scotland's largest town and it's time it was treated as such. Promises were made and promises must be kept. Renfrewshire council also needs a fair funding deal from the Scottish Government. People in Paisley are seeing cut after cut, cuts that have put local services vital to urban renewal at risk, such as Hilview, Nursery and Fergusley and the Renfrewshire CBA, with the law centre recently closing its doors altogether. We have also seen recently the council administration hiking up parking charges, an act of economic vandalism that can only chase people away from our town centre, and I hope that policy will be reconsidered. We need to see an industrial strategy, an action of fair work to tackle the levels of poverty, unemployment, insecure work and the wages of working people. To create hundreds of jobs in the future and improve our infrastructure and support businesses, we need to get on with the Glasgow airport rail link with a stop at Paisley. We must do that because Renfrewshire firms are warning us that the congestion on the M8 is actually deterring investors from the area. Jamie Greene mentioned West College Scotland. People of all ages and particularly young people need the opportunity to learn and retrain. That is not too much for anyone to ask, but places at the Paisley campus of West College Scotland have been cut by nearly 3,000 over the past three years. We need to see action on that as well. Staff at the RAH, one of the town's biggest employers, also need to be properly resourced. Bed numbers at the RAH are down nearly 100 since 2012. Local patients need to be protected from creeping centralisation of services from Paisley to Glasgow. We know that because this Friday marks one year since this Government's decision to close Paisley's children's ward. On all those issues and more, people in Paisley are being let down. As I have said many times, there is a big difference between what Paisley needs and what Paisley gets. The last thing that Paisley needs is complacency from its politicians. The ward last year was a remarkable achievement. We should be proud of it and celebrate it, but people in Paisley are not partners on the back for the deal that our town is getting. It is outcomes for the people of Paisley that matter most now. Outcomes like more jobs, better jobs and secure jobs, investment in our infrastructure, a healthier health service, a stronger, fairer local economy, a community that gets its fair share. That is how Paisley is transformed, that is how we unlock Paisley's potential and that is how we improve the lives of people in Paisley. That is not Paisley just as it is, but as it should be. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to speak in this evening's debate. As understandably, I have always had a strong affinity for the town in which I was born. I congratulate my colleague George Adam on securing this debate. Of course, Mr Adam has a burning ambition, which is to ensure that Paisley is mentioned in this Parliament as often as Stuart McMillan manages to mention Inverclyde. At the moment, my strongest connection to Paisley, as I currently live in Colburnay, is the fact that my oldest son is currently studying chemistry at the University of West of Scotland. Tonight, we have the chance to celebrate the success of Paisley, not just at November's Academy of Urbanism Awards, but also its success in building upon the momentum of the two-year city of culture 2021 campaign. Paisley may not have won that bid, but the town has gained an enthusiasm for its identity and culture, which will surely lead to greater success in the future. On footballing successes, I have to point out to George, as he will undoubtedly know, that I have a poster on my wall from the 1922 St Myrran match in Barcelona when it was in that tournament, which was given to me after a speech at Raiuda Canyas in Catalonia. That commemorates St Myrran being the first Scottish team to play at Barcelona's then ground of Les Cortes. It is the town's use of heritage and culture to build community confidence. It pushed Paisley ahead of the other two great town award finalists, Chelmsford and Barnsley, which won over the assessors. That will come as no surprise to those who have followed the town's tenacious campaign to use culture and creativity as a catalyst for promoting regeneration. Paisley is steeped in its industrial history and, on that period, goes some way towards explaining the drive and passion that bodies have today for making the town the greatest in the UK. The Paisley weaving industry was well renowned for both the quality of its designs, including the legendary Paisley pattern and for its radical workers' movements in the early 19th century. Paisley's artisanal weavers went on strike to fight for a Government truly representative of people and not just the elite, which is remembered by the 1820 society and the 200th anniversary of that will no doubt be celebrated next year. In addition, Mary Barber, who is remembered today as the main organiser of the Government's rent strikes of 1915, was the daughter of a Kilbarking weaver. The indomitable spirit and belief that a better future was within reach remains in the heart of the people of Paisley. I believe that that same spirit drives Paisley to overcome the challenges that it now faces, such as areas of high poverty. It would be remiss of me to speak only of Paisley's rich cultural heritage, as its architectural legacy is equally impressive. From the 12th century Paisley Abbey to the Victorian Town Hall to the Paisley Museum and Art Gallery, a visit to Paisley will undoubtedly feature some of the finest architecture in the UK. Central to Paisley's enduring charm is its unwillingness to stand still. On 28 December 2018, Paisley Town Hall hosted its last cailie before closing its doors for a £22 million makeover. It will reopen in 2021 following a redesign led by architects Holmes Miller. The hall, which serves as Paisley's civic and social hub, was designed by Belfast architect William Henry Lynn and began construction in 1879, made possible by a legacy donation by George Aitken-Clark, a prominent local threadmaker whose statue stood outside the historic venue since its completion. Since then, Mr Clark's likeness has watched over the plethora of events that have taken place in its halls. It's ever-changing crowds reflecting Paisley's dynamic and varied culture. One of the most famous bodies, Jerry Rafferty, played early gigs there and did the more recently celebrated Paolo Nettini. The town hall was also the setting for cutting a rug, the central play in Paisley artist John Burns, The Slab Boys Trilogy. I'm confident that when the hall reopens its doors in two years, it will further cement its position as both a flagship performance venue and a thriving civic hub fit for the 20th century and beyond. Paisley folk are not people content to look only to the past, and new additions to the town's culture have been innovative and outward looking. In 2017, Paisley opened the secret collection, the first of a public accessible museum store on a UK high street. The large basement unit houses tens of thousands of items of Renfrewshire museum collections, not in displaying the main museum with many treasures not seen by the public for decades. Not only is his innovative project a shining example of how innovation can rejuvenate high streets in the face of tough times of retail, the secret collection is most importantly reflective of the self-assured identity that the people of Paisley have cemented in recent years. It's about celebrating what makes you great no matter how big or how small. It's about being unashamed and facely proud of your heritage. It's about a society that is free and accessible to all as long as you're willing to get involved. That's the attitude that one pays for the great town award in November, and that's the attitude that will carry Paisley through to ever greater success in the future. I again congratulate George Adam on bringing this debate to the chamber. Thank you. I'll call in game day to close for the Government minister. I begin by joining colleagues from across the chamber in congratulating Paisley on its award for best town in the UK, receiving the Academy of Urbanism, which recognised Paisley as a town that's recovered from industrial decline by concentrating on good, affordable housing and a strong town centre. Paisley is rightly proud of its achievements and it's great to see that the spirit of the UK city of culture bid survives and thrives. The Academy of Urbanism is focused upon identifying, promoting and learning from great places, and this award is a well-deserved accolade for Scotland's largest town, Paisley. Having mentioned Paisley four times already, I fear I'm in danger of becoming a George Adam tribute act, but let me genuinely commend Mr Adam not only for bringing this debate tonight, but being the unrelenting champion he is for his constituency. The rationale for the award makes impressive reading. It could indeed be characterised, as Mr Adam characterised it, as Paisley is awesome. Paisley has seen to have successfully started to transform through using its unique cultural and heritage assets, celebrating its manufacturing and industrial heritage, reinventing its textile heritage and launching a new destination brand Paisley is in the last year. It's done so in tandem with the Scottish Government, which has made key contributions, including funding towards the coming transformation of Paisley Museum, showcasing the town's unique heritage and collections, the renovation of the iconic Russell Institute and the learning and cultural hub in the heart of Paisley's High Street. The wider partnership team-Paisley approach is to continue with the likes of the Police University of the West of Scotland Glasgow School of Art, Scottish Enterprise SDS, Creative Scotland and perhaps most importantly of all a number of local and community sector organisations who will all be involved in developing a vision for Paisley Town Centre. The Academy's award for Paisley again and again emphasised the strength of community spirit in the town as a powerful force for change. The judges also recognised that one of Paisley's greatest resources is the level of aspiration, engagement and commitment shown by its local communities in enhancing and improving the built environment, so that continuing interaction with local organisations is vital. Scotland is a nation of towns and, unlike some other developed nations, more than two thirds of our businesses and citizens don't reside in cities, they reside in our towns, our islands and smaller rural communities. We want and we need all our towns and town centres to be vibrant, creative, enterprising and accessible. The town centres are facing challenges as retail patterns change and evolve. It's essential that we support town centres to become more diverse and sustainable, creating footfall through local improvements and partnerships, which can include repurposing buildings for retail, business, housing, social and community enterprise services, leisure and culture tourism and heritage. In particular, town centre living has significant potential to increase footfall day and night, as well as delivering more homes, safer communities and creating town centres that are creative, diverse and sustainable places. Since 2013-14, the Scottish Government has been pleased to provide over £25 million of housing grant to enable the development of over 400 affordable homes for social rent, for shared equity, including a number for older people, as well as a small number for mid-market rent in the town centre of Paisley, including Cotton Street, the former Arnott site, the west end and Love Street. We look forward to continuing to work with the council to deliver affordable housing, which will contribute to making Paisley an even more attractive place to live. The Government is also promoting and supporting the transformation and regeneration of Scotland's town and town centres through Scotland's town's partnership, which supports delivery of the Government's town centre action plan through information tools and the development of local partnerships. Further, the Scottish Government has supported the establishment of around 40 bids across Scotland, enabling local business and partnerships to vote to invest collectively to deliver improvements and create platforms for local economic growth. The Paisley first bid, a key partner of the wider Paisley partnership board, is focused on diversifying and developing the town centre, including its management and maintenance. In addition to that, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work recently announced the establishment of a £50 million capital town centre fund to enable local authorities to stimulate and support a wide range of investments that encourage town centres to diversify and flourish, creating footfall through local improvements and partnerships. Specifically, that fund will contribute to transformative investments that will repurpose and diversify town centre use and promote inclusive growth through place-based approaches, and we hope that innovation will be inspired through the approaches taken by Paisley. We know that Paisley is not resting on its laurels. In accepting the Academy of Urbanism Award, it is already looking to the future. What next for Paisley is the question? There is clearly no complacency at play here. The Scottish Government is supporting this through the development of a vision for Paisley town centre, which will build upon and develop a plan for Paisley to deliver the changes that Paisley envisaged by 2027 and 2035. Lessons being learned by the bodies will be shared and applied to the regeneration of other traditional towns and their centres across Scotland, because, as Jamie Greene pointed out, it faces the same challenges as Paisley does. Paisley's football club might, to the great distress of George Adam, lie second bottom of the premiership, but when it comes to delivering a town centre for the future, Paisley is top of the pile. Thank you very much. That concludes the debate, and I close this meeting of Parliament.