 Order of Business. The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 14747, in the name of Tom Arthur. On St Andrew's Day 2018, make someone's day. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Can I ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons now and a call on Tom Arthur to open the debate? Mr Arthur, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It's my great pleasure and privilege to lead this year's St Andrew's Day debate in our national Parliament. I would like to thank all those from across the chamber who supported my motion and to thank the minister, Ben Macpherson, for his engagement with members ahead of this debate and for providing information on how the Scottish Government is supporting the celebration of St Andrew's Day across Scotland. Presiding Officer, today marks the 10th St Andrew's Day debate that we have had since the Parliament reconvened in 1999. However, the first time we debated our national day was in March 2004, when a member's debate was secured by the late Donald Gorry. As we approach the 20th anniversary of devolution, it is perhaps revealing of the Parliament's early years, but it took almost until the second year of the second session to recognise St Andrew's Day in a parliamentary debate. Donald Gorry was, of course, an independent-minded MSP who famously advised his Liberal Democrat colleagues to never say never to an independent referendum ahead of the 2007 elections. I am sure that my colleagues are grateful that his colleagues did not take his advice. Perhaps, therefore, it is an interesting coincidence of history that the first St Andrew's debate on or around the day itself was led by Dennis Canavan, some eight months after Mr Gorry's. It is fair to say that no single Scottish politician of recent times has done as much as Dennis Canavan to promote participation in St Andrew's day. His most enduring legacy in this area is, of course, the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday Scotland Act 2007. However, he has also been a driving force in the St Andrew's Day campaign committee and is now secretary to the cross-party group on St Andrew's Day, of which I am honoured to be convener. That is a group that rightly commands support from across the chamber, and I would encourage members to engage with the group over the coming 12 months ahead of St Andrew's Day 2019. I also wish to recognise the contribution of both the Scottish Government and other colleagues who have secured St Andrew's Day debates over recent years. The record holder, if that is the appropriate term, is, of course, your colleague Linda Fabiani, who, as a Government minister, led debates in 2007 and in 2008—a day almost exactly 10 years ago in which there was also a debate on fishery negotiations with Europe, some things never change. More recently, debates have been secured and led by Kevin Stewart, Annabelle Ewing, Bruce Crawford and Michael Russell. Those debates have generally been consensual and serve to reminders that we have more in common than that, which divides us. They also serve as an opportunity to reaffirm our inclusive sense of Scottish identity. In a previous debate, it was you, Presiding Officer, who framed it distinctly in stating that St Andrew's Day serves as a symbolic reminder that we are the Scottish people, whether or not we are born here. It is that inclusive spirit that is carried into this year's celebrations. The theme of St Andrew's Day 2018 is to make someone's day. That is a message that is not only relevant but also necessary. This year, our national day falls at the end of a month in which children were tear-gassed by the world's only superpower, and our fellow EU citizens were described as queue-jumpers. It falls in a year in which, in the man-made tragedy of Yemen, the largest documented outbreak of cholera in history continues. It falls at a time of unprecedented wildfires, floods and extreme weather, which affirm that we are on the brink of climate catastrophe. In an era of such darkening skies, a sense of fatalism and despair can become overpowering, which is eagerly exploited by those who wish to fan the flames of hate and intolerance. Therefore, it is at such times that simple acts of kindness, decency and humanity become essential. Every interaction that we have with another human being is a small pebble dropped into the pool of our collective experience. We do not know how far the ripples will travel, but we each define in our own actions whether we send them with goodwill or malice intent. Communities, societies and nations are ultimately the sum of a complex web of relationships between individuals. It is the strength of each of those innumerable connecting threads that determines the health of the whole. By taking time to think of others, to make someone's day, we can each generate sparks of light that together will illuminate the darkened skies that we currently face. In that spirit, I am very much looking forward to attending Barhead Mentsheds 5th birthday party tomorrow and joining Lochwinnock elderly forum for the Andrew St Andrew's lunch, two groups who work to make someone's day all year long. At this weekend, we will once again celebrate small business Saturday, and I know that I am not the only member who will be sampling the produce of many of our small and independent traders as I visit Christmas fairs across my constituency of Renfrewshire South. This year's small business Saturday is particularly special, as for the first time, we will also be celebrating St Andrew's fair Saturday. The fair Saturday movement originates from Bilbau in the Bas country of northern Spain. It started in 2015 as a positive cultural response to the excessive consumerism of Black Friday. Since then, it has grown year on year with the last year seeing events taking place in 114 cities, with more than 140,000 artists and members of the public participating. Those events generated almost €200,000 for local social causes. This year, I am sure, we will see further increases in participation. I look forward to learning how communities across Scotland will embrace the fair Saturday movement. I also look forward to seeing how those events will complement many of our more established St Andrew's Day events, such as the work led by Bemis Scotland to celebrate our diversity, the famous St Andrew's Kong, which is pioneered by Glasgow, the Caring City and, of course, the St Andrew's Day debating tournament grand final taking place in this very chamber. St Andrew's Day offers a chance for all Scots, new and old, near and far, to come together and celebrate our unique contribution to the world, and to recommit ourselves to our values of fairness, equality and compassion. Some cynnakes may level a charge of Scottish exceptionalism, so in concluding, let me respond with this. As individuals, as communities and as a nation, our actions follow from our values, and only we can define our values. So, on this St Andrew's Day, let us recommit to the values that we choose, and, in doing so, make someone's day. Thank you very much. I call Gillian Martin to be followed by Rachel Hamilton, Ms Martin, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I want to thank Tom Arthur for bringing this debate to the chamber and highlighting St Andrew's Day. I have always thought that we need to do more at home to celebrate Scotland's national day. Across the world, global Scots probably do more than we do at home to celebrate St Andrew's Day. As I have been an ex-pat and a number of occasions myself, I can understand that, because you miss home, and you make the most of the days to celebrate your Scottishness. Friends and family who I know have lived and worked around the world, have been involved in organising and enjoying St Andrew's Day balls and events. Friends of mine, who lived for a few years in Baku and Azerbaijan, enjoyed many events like this, and I really much enjoyed looking at their photographs around this. My own aunt and uncle were heavily involved in running the Singapore St Andrew's Society ball every year, which looked a huge affair with pipers dancing and everyone in ball gowns and national dress. Yet, when we were at home, maybe not so much. I wonder why that is. Perhaps every local authority decided to implement a local holiday as voted on in this place in 2006. We might stand a better chance of St Andrew's Day becoming the special day that it should be as it is in other countries. Of course, there are exceptions, though. My party is a St Andrew's Day dinner hosted by Independence magazine the other week. Here in Edinburgh, the day marks the start of the winter festival, and Visit Scotland has a list of amazing events happening throughout Scotland to celebrate St Andrew's Day. I thank the member for giving way on the point that she rightly makes about the importance of local authorities being involved. She also agreed that it would be helpful if all local authorities agreed to take the same day to celebrate, because not all do. Gillian Martin absolutely. If we want the impact of St Andrew's Day to be a real festival, which I think would be a terrific idea, then I think that the coordination would be absolutely key to that. As Tom Arthur has mentioned, the theme of St Andrew's Day is to make someone's day. That is a wonderful idea for the reasons that Tom Arthur has said. The smallest acts of kindness can have a huge impact on brightening someone's day, making someone feel better to pay it forward, which I really do love. My only regret about the toll and the bridge being stopped is that we used to pay it forward by paying the tariff of the car behind us for two reasons, because it was a nice thing to do, but it also used to freak people out. I have tried to deliver an act of kindness by offering to close my office tomorrow, so that my staff can have a day off on St Andrew's Day tomorrow. I say to try that they are quite resistant. They are a hard-working bunch who really take their responsibilities very seriously, like all constituency staff. I think that I might have to make my offer a demand to get them to commit to take that day off. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, guys. Please just take the day off. In the spirit of Tom Arthur's motion that I will be collecting food for the Inverday Food Bank at the local Tesco, as I do every year, there is an act of kindness and support that every one of the volunteers wishes that we did not have to do, but it does every year remind me of a particular national trait that we can celebrate as well, and that is the generosity and fair mindedness of Scots. That is always an evidence of the donations that we get. I want to pay tribute to the efforts of the 10 schools in my constituency who have come together to form a choir linking St Andrew's Day with the fair Saturday that Tom Arthur has mentioned. They are performing a concert whose proceeds will go to the local St Andrew's School. St Andrew's School, as many here will know, is a unique special school whose pupils range from 3 to 18 that have a range of barriers to learning. The school whose emblem is that obviously of our national flag is on the cusp of a very big change, moving from the present location to be part of the new Inverday community campus. St Andrew's School will be housed in the new campus but will retain its singular identity and continue to provide the specialist environment and learning for all its pupils. It is testament to the high regard that the school has in the local community, whose pupils do not just come from Inverday but come as far as New Day or in Tariff, that the schools have chosen to make St Andrew's School's Day. I wish them all well and I wish you all a happy St Andrew's Day when it comes. I thank Tom Arthur for bringing this debate to the chamber today and delighted to have the opportunity to participate. I congratulate Gillian Martin and Tom Arthur on their very considered speeches. St Andrew's is a fantastic opportunity to show off to the world what Scotland does best, whether it is our warm hospitality, rich culture and history. There are many events planned up and down the country to celebrate the day. I welcome the initiative, Fair Saturday, which was taken, as Tom Arthur said, as an idea from the British Council meeting in Boutbaug in 2014. Fair Saturday aims to mobilise people through social empathy rather than through commercialism, which is something that many of my constituents talk about on Black Friday being something that is not very supportive to local high streets and communities. That ties into making somebody's day, as we have all spoken about. I feel that, on Fair Saturday and beyond into the Christmas period, it is only right that we take a moment to see through commercialism and embrace the true meaning of celebration and Christmas, which is social inclusivity and good cheer. Closer to home in my constituency, some 200 pupils from Hoik, Denham and Newcastleton primary schools will be putting on their dancing shoes for a lively night of Cailey dancing. The event that is held annually is organised by local branches of the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society. They have certainly been putting the pupils through their paces in the run-up to the event, with six weeks of practice. Watch the space, perhaps there will be some competition on strictly, Presiding Officer. I would like to thank all of those who organised the Cailey and Morrison's for donating the juice and the snacks. Those sorts of events are fantastic at pulling our communities together and offering a chance for people to socialise and have some fun for an evening. I believe that those events strike a chord with the campaign that is associated with the St Andrew's Day celebrations. If you are going to do anything on social media, please hashtag Make Someone's Day. The campaign encourages people to share just small acts of kindness. In particular, I am of the opinion that many of the members across this chamber are that we should really be striving to do this every day. Whether it is popping in paths to visit an elderly neighbour for a chat or volunteering for a local charity, the message from the campaign is a reminder that we should look out for one another, particularly as we are entering the darkest and coldest part of the winter. We should look out especially for our elderly neighbours. In my rural constituency, social isolation is a key problem, and with an ageing population, that is only just going to grow. Elderly people often cannot travel around so easily, and they might not see anybody for months or on each day, except for local postmen. During those cold winter months, I would urge everybody to make sure that they check on their elderly neighbours and relatives at this time, even if it is just to say hello. Just to continue with that theme of loneliness, it affects people's mental and physical health, too, and social isolation. As I have said in previous contributions in this chamber, it costs the national health service as much as £12,000 per person. It can be a significant risk factor for early death of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Whilst the Scottish Government is taking steps to reduce social isolation, a lot more can be done. I think that those campaigns and the letter that I received from Ben Macpherson can go in some way to helping the situation, and hopefully we all get involved. In closing, Presiding Officer, I want to wish everyone a happy St Andrew's day and to take away an important message that small acts of kindness really can make somebody's day. I call Mark Griffin to be followed by Ruth Maguire. Today's debate celebrates the day of our patron saint, Andrew. It gives us the chance to celebrate our Scottish heritage. As Tom Arthur's motion says, tomorrow is an opportunity for people in Scotland across all faiths, cultures and origins, to mark the contribution of Scotland at home and across the globe. I am thankful for his action in making sure that we have this important debate today. Those of here will also know that this debate complements the establishment of a new cross-party group that is charged with promoting the celebration of St Andrew's day. Of course, St Andrew is the national saint of countries, including Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Russia, Cyprus and Barbados. I hope that those two are geared up for their own celebrations. He is also the patron saint of fishermen, fishmongers and rope makers, which is so very appropriate to Scotland given our seafaring heritage and perhaps noteworthy given recent vigorous debates around the common fisheries policy. However, St Andrew's credentials as a saint of workers do not stop there. He is also the saint of textile workers, miners, butchers and farm workers. Perhaps then it is apt that for some of our public sector workers, at least tomorrow, is a bank holiday in Scotland pursued by Dennis Canavan. We know legally that the law allows someone to choose not to make payment on St Andrew's day. A boon for small business and anyone budgeting ahead of Christmas is a good opportunity, as if a workers across Scotland to fill the theme make someone's day. However, it is a starting point for our work on the cross-party group to encourage more organisations and businesses to take the day so that the people of Scotland will have the opportunity to take a rest and celebrate their national identity, their cultural diversity and their membership of the international community. The impetus behind that is the same that is at the heart of UK Labour's plan for four new bank holidays and the patron saint days of the United Kingdom to celebrate and share in our national cultures and strengthen the bonds across those isles. Before I finish up, the motion says that this year our celebration of Scotland's art and culture is, for the first time, being co-ordinated through Fair Saturday, from Beaumaud in North Berwick and Stromness to St Andrew's, where people are celebrating to celebrate the national day. Unfortunately, for residents in my own region, the only event being held as part of Fair Saturday is in Falkirk, so clearly a bit of work for me over the next year to go back to the region and encourage more organisations, community groups and artists from Central Scotland to get involved or at least signed up for 2019. However, for tomorrow, I hope that all Scots, born and bred, new or just simply visiting, get to enjoy the day, rest and immerse themselves in the day's history and our heritage. Our national day is a wonderful opportunity to promote Scotland as an inclusive and outward nation and to reaffirm to ourselves the very things that define our values as a nation. I thank my friend and colleague Tom Arthur for securing this debate and giving us all the opportunity to welcome the annual St Andrew's Day celebrations. As has been mentioned by colleagues, this year's St Andrew's Day theme is make someone's day, imploring us to take a moment of time to perform a small act of kindness, perhaps to look in on an old friend to spend a bit of time with a neighbour or to support local volunteering that goes on in all our constituencies. The cup of kindness is something that I am proud to say overflows in abundance in my Ayrshire constituency Cunningham South. In Stevenson, for example, the Henry family at Townhead cafe will once again be providing Christmas dinner absolutely free of charge for any vulnerable, elderly or lonely people in the three towns and co-winning. Not a week goes by that our local newspapers don't carry stories of fundraising efforts for various worthy local charities. If the chamber will indulge me, I'd like to mention some of the local folk that have been doing good things. For example, Pauline Tremble is an urban-based artist who provided a series of paintings to raise funds for whitely's retreat in air. Ellie Kennedy, from Irvine, raised an amazing £700 for the Beatson and for the Little Princess charity that provides wigs to children who are going through cancer treatment. The co-winning ambulance depot raised £1,900 for the brain tumour charity by putting on an amazing funding that many of the community took part in. Bertie Hill Scouts managed to raise £300 for Guide Dogs for the Blind. The new kindness rocks campaign is something that is being done by Irvins reverent Neil Urhart and Father Willie Boyd. They are coming together to further promote the message of kindness. They are working in association with North Ayrshire kindness innovation network and the Two Shoes Brothers, as they are known. I'll give them a research on YouTube and you'll see their song and dance activities. They are recording a song and promoting a video to promote kindness at home, in the workplace and across our communities, on the run-up to Christmas across the constituency. As has been mentioned, this year we'll also see the launch of St Andrew's Fair Saturday, part of the global celebration of Fair Saturday, to provide a celebration of arts and culture and an opportunity for people of all faiths, beliefs, cultures and ethnic origins, as well as Scots internationally, to mark the contribution of Scotland at home and across the globe. The theme of kindness is again prevalent, with contributors asked to support a social cause and to promote the wider celebration of St Andrew's day through their work. This Saturday, I'm lucky to be joining the very hardworking staff of Tesco and Irvin on their annual food bank collection. St Andrew, of course, has an international profile, being not just the patron saint of Scotland but also of Greece, Russia, Romania and Ukraine. It's appropriate that we reaffirm Scotland's commitment as an open, welcoming and inclusive nation. Amidst the chaotic maelstrom of Brexit and what seems to be a terrible surge in racism and fascism, as Scots, we should continue to celebrate and aspire to embody our shared global values in respecting human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. I just finish by wishing everyone a very happy St Andrew's day. Thank you very much. I'll call Peter Chapman to be followed by George Adam. Mr Adam will be the last speaker in the open debate. Mr Chapman, please. I thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased, like everyone else, to speak in today's debate, which celebrates Scottish culture, ethnic origin, heritage and inclusiveness. I'm also delighted that this year's theme is Make Someone's Day. Across this chamber, we've heard stories from every member's different background and experience. I would like to share some of my Doric culture with a poem by Mr George Dunbar. This is a poem about a party held on St Andrew's night, and it's amazing the huge amount of food and drink that was consumed on the night, and hopefully it'll make at least some of your day. I've always said that there are some great poems written in the Doric. The best poems written in the Doric will stand comparison with anything written in the English language. Unfortunately, this is not one of them, but the reason I'm using it today is because it is focused on St Andrew's night, so there might be another occasion when I can actually give you some of the real quality stuff written in Doric. Mostly, when I'm doing this, I do it from memory. I'll learn the poem, but unfortunately I haven't had time to learn this poem, but it is entitled St Andrew's night. When balls at Andrew's night come rune, a core forgathert of the tune, to hear rant, or lilt a tune, and team a jovial djoram. They suppot kale and gweed kale bros, quilt needs no praise and rhyme or prose, till face is loud like redest rose or came o cocaloram. Comes cocaliki, gweedley fairan, and huddy sweet and collar heran, there was a newch farah and sparen as faced their frapple storm. Sign calm the haggis, het and reken, his spicy gough, elk nose was seeking, and they atong had room for speaking, till nippy swak did score him. The rose embraced or some fat knout that aft mong juicy girth did rout, the dealer ween of them would flout, but scoffed what was a forum. Now sheeps he'd rune the table creeps, along we bushalled tatties, neeps, and whang oed her stuff and heeps, some winnert were then store him. We pheasant here and Patrick's there, stoot mealy puddings on our aunt's spare, you would have thawed some hidnace here, say herty, they did lure him. Kneast rits plumbed off and able tired, and trembling tarns, the sweetly set, got elk a chill prey to be spared to form the happy quorum. Some knew made why their teeth to pike, some crag at nilts, and just sick like, while tongs were busy in like a bike, we nothing knew to bore him. We sang and used the oe'r sped by, well-pleasure beamed in elkie eye, and care good wondering we assay, ayant al cairn quorum. A doch yn doros neen made out with quaft before the dhanardoot, who are shawing the means sharp and a bit snoot, some swore they saw a score of him. And so we sang and heard some cheer, we held acquaintance eyes of the ear, they held St Andrew's Nech this year, as others did before him. And that's it, folks. I hope some of you, at least some of you enjoyed it and I hope some of you could understand it as well. I need little encouragement to speak a bit adorat, and I rarely do an after-dinner speech without doing a poem or a bowtie ballad. But just in closing, Deputy Presiding Officer, it is great to see such vibrant and varying Scottish culture in the chamber today. While this debate has been a great opportunity to express and display a wide variety of culture and experiences of St Andrew's Day, I also want to touch on another part of our shared culture. Part of our shared culture, ladies and gentlemen, is our flag. The saltire is the flag of Scotland and the head of St Andrew's Day tomorrow. I think that it is important to get behind the everyone's flag campaign. It is not a flag belonging to one political party, one belief or to push one agenda or political persuasion. It is everyone's flag. I am just wondering, Mr Chapman, what the official report made of that. I hope that you have written out an English translation for the bits. I have followed bits of it. It is wonderful to hear your doric in your accent. I now call George Adam to close it and then to the minister. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am loving this debate. I am loving the fact that we are all defining our idea of our nation and the Scottishness of ourselves. I thank my friend and colleague Tom Arthur for bringing this debate to the chamber. I have been involved in this debate on numerous times in the past. One of the things that I always manage to do is how we are doing in Renfrewshire and Paisley with regard to St Andrew's Day. In Paisley, it is part of the winter events that we have that start with the fire that the fantastic fireworks display goes on to the Christmas light switching on and then St Andrew's Day. Currently, we have Paisley first, which is the business improvement district, actually having a winter festival in the town centre now. There is a massive big wheel right next to Paisley cross that has all the lights on and everything else. The London Eye has nothing on this big wheel in Paisley cross. It is an incredible event and if we are going to be spending any time over this period, it will probably be there with the family. For us, it is ensuring the legacy of the Paisley 2021 year of culture. As Mark Griffin has already stated, St Andrew is the patron saint of textile workers. If a town like Paisley cannot celebrate our patron saint, then with our history and textiles, there is absolutely no one else that can do it. However, it is only right that the Scottish Parliament recognises our patron saint because, near the day that we celebrate St Andrew, over the years I have looked at the iration, the idea of St Patrick's Day with some envy, and I have looked at them as all over the world has celebrated their patron saint's day. For us, I think that it can be a missed opportunity to promote and tell the world what we are all about. I know for a fact that the Scottish Government has been doing a lot of work on this, but we can still use these events and these days to promote ourselves some more. The Scottish diaspora is equal, if not larger, than the Irish one. St Andrew's Day can be another example of how we celebrate and promote all things special about Scotland. On Friday, my office will be taking the day off, so if I am going to make anyone happy and make anyone's day, I have already done it with my members and staff because they have one day off to be able to rest up after supporting and helping the good people of Paisley over the past year. However, I particularly like the theme of this year's St Andrew's Day celebration. The idea of using our patron saint's day as a means to make someone's day is a brilliant way to celebrate it. It shows that we continue to believe in our people and our communities. As I have already said, my staff will have that day off and they promise to have a good day with that as well. However, the whole point of the campaign is for us to make people's life that wee bit better. Whether that is ensuring that our neighbours are okay or that there is no family and friends that we have not seen in a while, if everyone does one small thing, together we can make a huge difference. Surely that is a fitting tribute to St Andrew's Day. As I have previously said, it shows that our priorities are. As Paisley's MSP, my priorities have always been to the people that I represent. It has always been about people that I try to make their lives better. As an individual, my family is extremely important to me. Sometimes my daughter Jessica will complain that I sometimes get the two mixed up in my priorities and I sometimes maybe spend more time helping the people of Paisley than dealing with my family and grandchildren. Perhaps for me it might be a good day for me to make that time special to go and visit some of my family and friends and spend time with them. In closing, I would like to thank Tom Arthur again for bringing this debate to the chamber. It is my belief that days like this are the ones that we can celebrate Scotland in its entirety, and this debate has shown exactly what we have done. Who we are and what we have done and where we are going, that is important to me of days like today or tomorrow. I look forward to future years and to see how we can further promote St Andrew's Day, how we can enjoy Scotland together and how we can promote it to the world and tell everyone who exactly Scotland is. I call on Ben Macpherson to close with the Government Minister. Thank you so much to Tom Arthur for bringing today's debate and to all members who have contributed for such thoughtful, passionate and enthusiastic speeches. It is great to be in the chamber with you all today as part of this important debate. The Scottish Government, Presiding Officer, is very proud to support our winter festivals with over half a million pounds, because our winter festivals boost Scotland's tourism and event sectors. However, as we have already heard today, they are certainly not all about finance, in fact quite the opposite. From the unifying spirit of Hogmanay to the remarkable poetry of Robert Burns and others, from the global solidarity of all lying zine to celebrating Scotland's modern multicultural identity, our winter festivals are positively and purposefully entangled and entwined with boosting Scotland's international profile, enhancing our collective confidence and affirming and promoting our values of fairness, kindness, inclusivity and empowerment. On 1 November, I was delighted to launch the Scottish Government-led campaign to showcase Scotland's biggest-ever celebration of St Andrew's Day. On Friday, tomorrow, 30 November, Scotland is inviting people from near and far to join in the celebration of Scotland's national day through co-ordinated partner activity and national and local events right across the country. What is particularly exciting this year, as others have mentioned, is that, for the first time, the celebration of Scotland's national day is linked to the global fair Saturday initiative. Indeed, I understand that we are the first northern European country to join the fair Saturday initiative, the second in Europe after founding country Spain, and the first country as a whole to commit to the initiative. This year, we have up to 100 events to celebrate St Andrew's Day between 30 November and 3 December, which is four times the amount of last year, and reaches into areas across the country, including key island communities with events in the sky and the western isles. Back to the fair Saturday initiative, which is part of that, was founded by Jody Albareta, who is a really inspiring person, to promote and deliver positive social change. Reflecting the progressive and compassionate spirit of fair Saturday, the common thread that connects all of Scotland's St Andrew's Day celebrations this year, is a focus on marking our national day by encouraging Scots far and wide to support others, by engaging in small acts of kindness to make someone's day. As others have said, whether it is helping a relative friend, neighbour or stranger, or showing compassion where it is needed, whether it is contributing to a local cause or an international charity, or inviting friends and partners to mark the occasion together. Throughout Scotland this year, we are encouraging ourselves and each other to celebrate our national day by looking outwards and positively engaging in kindness. The aim of all of this is not only to make a difference, but also to make Scotland's St Andrew's Day celebrations something quite unique, by keeping local communities at the very heart of the celebrations, by reflecting our values and global reputation for fairness, by expressing the importance that we place on the vital and integral role of our young people in our society, by celebrating a diversity of what modern Scotland is all about and by working to strengthen the inclusive nature of the modern Scottish identity. This year, our St Andrew's Day celebrations will be the biggest yet. With so many different initiatives taking place, from a mass conga of school children to torchlight processions to multicultural events, demonstrating the positive plurality of Scotland's sense of national and global citizenship, the multicultural celebration of Scotland's winter festivals delivered by Bemis Scotland has gone from strength to strength. This year, I am delighted that groups, including the Polish Cultural Festival Association, Interfaith Association and St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, the Nepalese Himalayan Association Scotland in Aberdeen, the ethnic minority forum in East Dunbartonshire and the Glad Cafe in Glasgow are all celebrating St Andrew's Day alongside their own unique heritage, faith and traditions. Presiding Officer, as I said at the beginning of my remarks, as Scotland marks our national day this week, we do so looking outward, not inward. In these times of flux and challenge, it is important to emphasise, as others have in the chamber, that Scotland's national identity is set within our internationalist ethos and traditions. Our sense of ourselves as Scots is and long has been bound up and intertwined with a long-held, wider identity as a progressive European and global partner, and with our broad commitment to global citizenship. As it says in Tom Arthur's motion, this year, whether it is on St Andrew's Day tomorrow or on Fair Saturday, coupled with commitments to small business Saturday, tomorrow and on Saturday we have the opportunity for people in Scotland of all faiths, beliefs, cultures and ethnic origins and Scots internationally to mark the contribution of Scotland at home and across the globe. Whatever you are doing to members and everyone across Scotland, have a very happy St Andrew's Day. Thank you for being part of this wider commitment to make someone's day, because together, through kindness, community and fairness, we can make an important difference and demonstrate to the world, ourselves and each other, the very best of what it means to be Scottish. Thank you. That concludes the debate, and I suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2.30.