 Gweltham yn ddweud, mae'r next item of business today is a member's business debate on motion 7560, in the name of Ruth Maguire, on flexible working, maximising talent and driving inclusive growth. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask members who wish to speak to press their request to speak button sile, and I call on Ruth Maguire to open the debate. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank colleagues from across the chamber who signed the motion, allowing this debate to take place. I look forward to listening to their contributions. Colleagues will note that family friendly working Scotland were involved in the production of the report cited in the motion. I'm grateful to Lisa, Nicky and their colleagues for their tireless work to promote flexible working practices. I would also like to extend my personal thanks for their support in organising a breakfast business briefing, which is quite difficult to say, for local businesses, which I held in Irvine earlier this month. I'll speak about that a little later. First, I'd like to focus on the report. As the motion states, this is a groundbreaking report in and of itself, representing the first time that the ratio of quality jobs advertised as open to flexible working in Scotland has been researched. Its findings are just as remarkable, setting out how demand for flexible working far outstrips supply, with just over a third of people in Scotland seeking part-time or flexible vacancies, while only around 11 per cent of quality jobs are advertised as such. I say advertised as such, because the report also highlights the frustrating fact that many employers who would be open to flexible working and who provide it for existing employees do not advertise it as such in their recruitment ads, so we have a twofold problem—low availability of quality flexible working jobs and poor advertisement of those that do exist. This flexible jobs market deficit has many negative consequences for individuals, as well as for our wider society and economy. It can mean that there is a talent bottleneck, particularly for women. It means that a significant number of well-qualified people become trapped in low-paid and part-time work, because they need flexibility but cannot find a quality part-time or flexible job. Again, that has a particular impact on women, many of whom have caring responsibilities, something that Graham Day will speak to in his contribution. It means that employers are missing out on hiring the best and the most diverse talent to grow their business, including women returners, older workers and disabled people, as well as those simply seeking to work differently. Addressing that, expanding the availability and promotion of flexible working, would help to create a fairer Scotland and a stronger economy, one founded on inclusive growth and greater gender equality. The inclusive and inclusive growth is crucial, meaning that economic growth takes everyone along. Jobs with good working conditions, which pay at least the living wage—I know that many of my colleagues are registered as living wage employers and would encourage them to encourage companies in their constituencies to join them. Flexible working can provide a better balance between home and work life for families across the country. It would allow more women to progress in their careers whilst balancing work with family life. It would allow qualified and motivated people to thrive and to contribute in a way that is right for them. It would deliver real benefits for business and the wider economy, with more loyal, productive and motivated employees who feel valued and supported. The good news is that positive strides have already been taken to normalise and to reap the benefits of flexible working. It is a key ask of the Scottish business pledge, along with the living wage. It was central to the report on the economic potential of closing the gender pay gap produced by the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee in June. My friend and colleague Gillian Martin will speak to that later. Organisations such as Family Friendly Working Scotland and Working Families are already providing excellent guidance and resources for employers to adapt their recruitment practices, in particular by using the happy-to-talk flexible working strap line. Many employers from big global corporations to small local businesses and everything in between have already discovered the benefits of fair and flexible working with great results. As I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, I recently held a breakfast briefing event for local businesses. I would like to conclude by sharing some concrete examples of flexible working and the benefits that are brought to local businesses in my constituency. One of the speakers that we had was Victoria Edwards, who is the CEO of Irvine-based call centre, Vodka. I first came into contact with Victoria when I was promoting the living wage and couldn't have hoped for a better employer to have had in my constituency. Vodka is the first call centre in Scotland to pay the real living wage. The company also doesn't use exploitative zero-hours contracts and supports flexible working and good work-life balance for its employees. As Victoria explained to us at the briefing, call centres normally have a terrible representation for working conditions and can be really difficult to recruit for. However, thanks to her flexible and fair approach to her employees, she no longer has to use recruitment agencies in her business and has a loyal and hard-working staff. We also heard from Jim Gallacher, director of Irvine-based Gallacher healthcare, which comprises eight community pharmacies, another customer-facing business. He told us about an employee who started off with his company as a Saturday girl, earning money as a school student. She went to university, got qualified and then came back to the business as a qualified pharmacist. Worked her way up, which included taking two lots of maternity leave, coming back to work flexibly in different ways as she raised her family. Jim explained that she was a trusted employee and that they wanted to support her, and crucially they also wanted to keep her talent. Now the founder of that company is working flexibly to look after her own grandson. She gave up her superintendent pharmacist position to Gillian, who is now leading on this, so the most senior pharmaceutical role in the business. From Saturday staff to superintendent pharmacist, she stayed on throughout as she was given flexibility during times that mattered, and now the business benefits from her experience and her knowledge of the customers at time when the founder wants and needs to flex her role. Where flexible working is already practised, the benefits to individuals, families and businesses are clear. What is also clear is the huge potential for growing the flexible jobs market even further. All we have to do is seize it. Thank you very much. I now call Gillian Martin to be followed by Jamie Halcro Johnston. Thank you to Ruth Maguire for securing this very important debate on an issue that affects many working families, and I include my own in that. As a member of the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee, I was keen to have issues around the causes of the gender pay gap investigated, and the result of that was an inquiry into the reasons why many hardworking, talented and highly qualified women do not earn the same as their male counterparts and do not have the same access to high earning positions or career progressions throughout their career. Over six weeks of evidence gathering, one phrase kept on dropping up, and that was lack of access to flexible working arrangements. We found a single issue pushed able women with caring responsibilities into lower paid work, shift work, zero hours work and work under their skillset. I always tell this personal story when talking about flexible working. Nearly 20 years ago, I worked in a company that was undergoing their investors and people assessment. Quite a few of us employees decided that we would ask the management director if he would consider implementing flexible working practices, not just women, men and women throughout the company. Code office hours were 9 to 5.30pm, but we wanted the option to start our day anytime between 7am and 10am and end it between 4am and 6.30pm. As long as people worked their contractual hours over a period of a month and did not miss any scheduled appointments or meetings, we reckoned that you could still have flexibility. The MD was really sceptical. He was convinced that it would be abused and that it would adversely affect productivity in his bottom line, but in fairness to him, he said that he would allow a six-month pilot. At the end of the period, he called a staff meeting and announced to us his final analysis, and it was this. The productivity of the staff rose and it seemed that all staff had managed their time better. People did not take advantage, no-one did less than their contracted hours. In fact, he found that many did more. There was a drop in the amount of staff taking time out of the day for appointments, such as doctors and dentists, because they used their flexi time for that, and sick leave had more than half. He also said that people seemed happier—people were less stressed. They would not be battling through the rush hour traffic every day to get there in time. They were not spending as long as the time in their cars—a useless time where you can do nothing when they could avoid the traffic and get to work a lot quicker. The work did not just get done, it got done faster and it got done better, he reckoned. If he had come in at 7 am, he would be delivering work ahead of schedule. He reluctantly took on the pilot, but he became almost evangelical about the benefits of flexible working. What he discovered just in that six-month period was just short-term effects. Companies came to tell us in the gender pay gap inquiry about how they tackled the gender pay gap and were very positive about flexible working arrangements. They told us that employees are less likely to leave a job with flexible working, to find an alternative employment that worked in with their caring responsibilities. Employees felt more trusted and, as a result, more valued, so they stuck around. Flexible workers are also less likely to call in sick. In the world of work, one of the major overheads is recruitment and retention, and another is the time that is lost due to sick leave. Flexibility is not just about start and finish time, but it can also be about location. Flexible working can include flexibility about whether you work from home. Highly qualified people—not just women, because that affects all family members, and I would say that flexible working is something that could be an advantage to anyone, regardless of whether they have caring responsibilities or not. Highly qualified people, who might be finding it hard to a job that fits into their caring responsibilities, might prioritise working in a flexible working schedule over some of the more costly incentives that they might otherwise offer to entice people into their workplace. I just want to end by saying that I do not just give speeches on flexible work. My office here in Parliament and my constituency office are also flexible working environments, and, if it works for me and my staff, it might work for an awful lot of other employers. Jamie Halcro Johnston To be followed by Jackie Baillie. Jamie Halcro Johnston Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I congratulate Ruth Maguire for securing this debate today, and I would like to begin by welcoming the support that is shown by both the UK and Scottish Governments to flexible working in recent years. Other members have already spoken, and I am sure that others will as the debate continues, about just some of the benefits of flexibility in the workplace, and it is positive that we are discussing it here today. A step change in the political approach to flexible working was made in 2014, when the UK Government granted all employees a right to request flexible working. Since then, we have also seen considerable steps forward in shared parental leave and free childcare, the latter being expanded across the UK by the actions of its various administrations. As well as illegal entitlements, cultural change has to follow if flexible working is to become commonplace. Incorporating commitments to flexible working in the Scottish business pledge and the Scottish Government's fair work programme also represent a positive contribution to change. However, it is clear that we still have a considerable way to go to embed that cultural shift. Earlier this month, the TUC pointed to a survey of young parents in low-paying jobs, with two out of five seeing themselves as being penalised with fewer hours and worse shifts for requesting flexible working. The aspiration of both Governments must be to create long-term and enduring change in working practices if the benefits are to be realised. To turn to my own region, the time-wise analysis that we are debating today noted that the Highlands had a slightly lower than average level of flexible jobs that pay over £20,000 a year at 11.6 per cent. There are certainly challenges in many rural areas around Scotland for businesses to deliver flexible working. Last year, the Institute of Directors survey noted that half of members would be more inclined to offer flexibility in working arrangements if there was greater availability of fast, reliable broadband. We know that parts of the Highlands and Islands regions are comparative low-paid and have lower than average levels of professional jobs available. Flexible working could well provide a benefit to regions like ours, making it an increasingly attractive place to live and work, but the infrastructure support must be in place. The time-wise analysis also showed that 58 per cent of job seekers were seeking part-time work only, while noting that transitioning to part-time was often accompanied by a drop in status and hourly pay. In addition to the human cost, that also represents a waste of economic resource. Individuals who seek shorter hours in place of flexibility are pushed into lower-skilled, lower-paying jobs, and that benefits no-one. The chamber will be aware that I said on the economy committee that flexible working arose during its recent gender pay gap inquiry, which happened before I was a member of the committee. Among the committee's findings were that flexibility can be valued as much as employee benefits or salary increases. Ultimately, it concluded that flexible working can promote people staying in on work and returning to the workplace after break such as parental leave. In its report, the committee also made a number of recommendations, and it would be interesting to hear if the minister could set out where any progress had been made. The first was a recommendation that the Scottish Government collected data on both requests for flexible working and how many of those are successful across the public and private sector. It would also be welcome if we could hear more about how the public sector is leading more widely on flexible working and the uptake of flexible working arrangements, not only directly within the Scottish Government but also across schools, police and NHS particularly. We are still in the early stages of building flexible working practices, with the correct support from Government and business in the coming years. Change can come and has the potential to be substantial. I again thank Ruth Maguire for bringing this debate to Parliament. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I too commend Ruth Maguire for securing this debate today? In a departure for me, let me commend the Scottish Government too and Family Friendly Working Scotland for commissioning the report. It is only with evidence—I can see that I have shot the minister—that we can start to understand the nature of the challenge and the nature of the opportunity. Flexible working is a real opportunity that we should exploit in the interests of the economy. I, at the outset, pay tribute to Family Friendly Working Scotland and to one of its directors, Lisa Gallacher. I used to know Lisa in a very different context when she worked with international street newspapers. I am pleased to see that she and the organisation are all about encouraging employers in Scotland to engage in flexible working practices and that they follow, for example, by doing it themselves. Can I draw the Parliament's attention, as others have done, to the recent report from the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee? No small change, the economic potential of closing the gender pay gap. Tucked in there are some recommendations about flexible working. Members considered flexible working very much as part of our inquiry. I, with all due respect to the Conservative benches, note that employers are obliged under the Employment Rights Act 1996 to consider flexible working requests. That is quite different. That, for me, is a minimum position. It is very different when what you need is a change of culture, where people feel supported, where you have the right flexible working policies, yes, but you have that positive work environment, too. We recognise that flexible working needs to be available career-long. There are clear benefits for parents, both men and women, who share childcare responsibilities. There are benefits for people sharing caring responsibilities, too, but there are also benefits for people who are just simply getting older and who, as they approach retirement, want to work less, but for an employer you retain the knowledge in the organisation. A lack of flexible working costs our economy. It could indeed be others, too, but women are underemployed and their skills are underutilised. They end up working in positions well below their level of qualification, which is something that does not benefit our economy. The Scottish Women's Convention told us in the committee that many women are unable or unwilling to work the same hours as they did before they had children, but it does not affect their ability to do the job. Others told us about the very positive impact in terms of the economy and growth, but it is also positive for people who want to engage in flexible working. It is good for workers, it is good for business, it is good for the economy, what is not to like. Some of the recommendations that we aimed at the Government, and indeed the Parliament, while you are here, we asked that the Scottish Government, its agencies and the Scottish Parliament ensured that all jobs were advertised as flexible, agile or part-time, that you collect data as to what is actually going on in the public and private sectors, and that all job application forms had a commitment to flexible working within them. We know that there is a long way to go. Only 11.9 per cent of jobs are advertised as flexible, demand far outstripped supply, and it poses a real barrier to progress. Something like 128,000 people, mostly women, are well qualified, they work part-time, many of them working at a level well below their qualification level, earning less than £20,000 when, in fact, they could probably earn double if not more that. That is a real opportunity lost. I would ask the Scottish Government to bed in a commitment to flexible working to everything that we do or everything that the Government can influence. Whether it is the Government, whether it is the Parliament, whether it is the public sector and our colleagues delivering in local government, or whether it is the private sector through procurement or the Scottish business pledge, that is not just a nice thing to do. It matters to our economy and it matters so that we, as a society, make use of all our talents. Thank you. I congratulate Ruth Maguire on bringing this matter to the chamber, because the time-wise report raises some very important issues. Among other things, the research makes an important distinction about the availability of flexible working, noting that the majority of employers offer flexible working to employees that they know and trust, which is seen as a retention tool. On the other hand, when it comes to recruitment, most employers fail to use flexible working as a factor to attract people, and the report states that there seems to be a default position of advertising the jobs as full-time ones, even when they are seeking to replace someone who is working part-time, and similarly failing to note the option of working on a flexible basis, even when the previous occupant at the post was able to do just that. There is a lesson to be learned by all of us there, and that includes the MSPs and our role as employers. Put simply, if employers do not change the way they advertise, they run the risk of missing out on excellent staff. People need to know that they can ask for flexible working, and spelling that out in adverts will help prospective employees to identify that it is on offer, perhaps making the difference between applying or not. In terms of advertising, the Angus area, which I represent, performs relatively well, with 13 per cent of job adverts, with salaries of £20,000 on more noting flexible working opportunities. However, low-skill part-time roles are currently being taken by over-qualified staff who have been pushed into roles in order to get the flexibility that they need, and we may well have the makings of a vicious circle here, as those with appropriate skills become unfairly locked out of the labour market. Let me highlight a very good practice example about flexible working for a significant sector of our community, and that is carers. The carer positive initiative, while it is not focused on the advertising undertaking by employers, seeks to provide carers with a degree of flexibility so that they can manage their employment and caring responsibilities. I was delighted to host an event here at the beginning of the year, where the Scottish Parliament received its accreditation. Across Scotland now, there are 81 accredited employers who have 2,772,255 staff. Those range from councils and health boards to large companies such as Scottish Gas and Standard Life. That is not just about the obvious, such as accommodating part-time working, flexi-time job sharing or granting emergency leave when it is needed. Carer positive highlights two other things, such as ensuring that carers know that they are allowed to take a call at work or that there is somewhere private for them to do so. Fife Council, for example, allows carers who wish to access the council's counselling service during work time to do just that. Carers should feel comfortable making their employers aware of their responsibilities but should not feel under any obligation to do so. Perhaps a carer positive logo on an advert would make people aware of that prospect that the prospective employer is willing to listen to the person's needs. Voluntary Action Shetland is another example. It lets new starts know in the staff induction pack that carers are welcome to identify themselves to the executive team or their team leader but that they do not have to. So why should organisations become carer positive? What is in it for them? Carering responsibility is impact on people across the whole working age spectrum but do tend to hit a peak when people will have gained valuable skills and experience. Carers leaving the workforce can not only have a negative impact on that individual's wellbeing and their financial circumstances but also be damaging to the employers and the wider economy. As the population ages and the number of carers rises, that cumulative impact is only going to increase. Supporting carers to remain productive in work delivers real benefits to employers with evidence showing increased morale, reduced stress and sickness absence, increased productivity and in helping to attract and retain experienced staff. Without support, combining employment and caring can lead to stress, exhaustion and people not performing to their full potential. Losing valuable members of staff can result in a loss of skills, knowledge and experience as well as leading to increased recruitment and training costs. Becoming carer positive is not without its challenges for small businesses—I recognise that—but where it can be implemented, flexible working, as delivered by the carer positive initiative, is quite simply a win-win. I also congratulate Ruth Maguire on securing Mr Beed on his important issue. The timing of the debate is particularly apt as next week is national work-life week. It is an opportunity for employers and employees to focus on wellbeing at work and work-life balance. It is important to stress that employers and employees can gain from flexible working opportunities as both parties have the flexibility to organise their working arrangements in a way that suits them. For employees, flexible working allows them a better balance in their home life with responsibilities at work. In today's society, men and women want to find a balance between work, family and caring responsibilities, which are shared more equally, perhaps not fully, but they were when I was growing up. For employees and businesses, flexible working can help to retain staff and hold on to experience and skills staff. It can offer flexible hours and open up a new pool of talent when you are recruiting more skills. Just a month ago, I employed a new person who is working for me here at the Parliament. She was very keen to have flexible hours, as was another member of my staff, and together they now have flexible hours, which suits them and gives me the best talent within the Parliament. However, we know that, from the UK time-wise, flexible jobs index is less than one in 10 quality job vacancies, which means that it is an option to work flexibly at the point of hire. If people do not see that on the advert, they are simply not going to apply for the job. Jobs advertised with flexibility are so scarce that 77 per cent of part-time workers feel trapped in their current role. I will report the commission by the Joseph Rountree Foundation in 2016 found that mothers and older workers are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of quality flexible jobs. As convener of the CPG on disability, I know from having listened to many individuals that disabled people being in work feel that flexibility would give them far more in regard to finding the right job that they want. Most disabled people want to contribute to society, to maximise their independent living, to reduce social isolation and to build friendships. A report by disability agenda Scotland about what life is really like in Scotland today for disabled people identified that some disabled people are not able to work and that needs to be recognised and supported. However, for others, the focus needs to shift from what people cannot do to what they can do to take advantage of their talents and skills. Evidence demonstrates that young disabled people have a similar level of career aspiration at the age of 16, along with their peer group. However, by the time they are 26, they are four times more likely to be unemployed. We need to foster that early aspiration and reinforce with support that enables the young person to take control of their own journey towards employment. I was very fortunate that when I got my first job from leaving university, my employer said to me, what help do you need to be able to do the job? There was a flexibility there that allowed me to start off in my career. I welcome the vision of a fair work convention to create an environment that enables people in Scotland to have a working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for all individuals, businesses, organisations and society. To achieve that vision, we need to encourage more employers to take a proactive approach and use flexibility as an employee benefit that will attract talent. I urge the Scottish Government to champion the business and social benefits of flexible hiring to employers in Scotland and to make a concerted effort to reduce the disability employment gap by ensuring that flexible working is key not only to how the Scottish Government works, but to local authorities and other businesses across Scotland. I also add my thanks to Ruth Maguire for securing the debate in the chamber. From the contributions that we have already heard today, it has become clear that flexible working can do a great deal of good for both Scottish businesses and for working families. Indeed, we are in challenging times at the moment, and that requires society to be more creative and open to new ideas to ensure that Scotland's workforce and economy do not suffer. On top of Brexit, casting shadows of uncertainty, the average age of Scotland's population is projected to increase. Couple that with unknowns around EU nationals' right to continue working in the UK, and it is without a doubt that attracting more working-age people to work in Scotland must be a top priority. Flexible working is one such creative strategy that can help Scottish businesses to attract and keep more talent. The numbers here speak for themselves. Just over a third of unemployed people looking for work in Scotland are seeking part-time or flexible vacancies, and those people are also better qualified than the counterparts who are looking for full-time work. However, only 11.9 per cent of quality jobs in Scotland are advertised with flexible working options. While that is above the UK average, we should push where we can for that number to be higher in order to meet the demand that exists for flexible working. Such demand is further exemplified by 92 per cent of millennials ranking the workplace flexibility as a top priority for them when selecting jobs. That is the prime demographic that Scotland should be working to recruit at the moment as our current population ages. Research has also shown that flexible working boosts employee productivity, retention and reduces absenteeism. Take, for example, Glasgow-based pursuit marketing. They instituted a four-day work week for all their employees, and that helped the company to achieve a 500 per cent increase in job applications, as well as a 32 per cent boost in worker productivity and a 98 per cent staff retention rate. Clearly flexible working can help to foster the three main drivers of economic development—participation in the labour market, productivity and population growth—and, as such, the promotion of flexible working should have a defined place in Scotland's economic development strategy. However, the benefits of a flexible job are not merely financial, as we have heard already. A report commissioned by the Scottish Government and Family Friendly Working Scotland found that 77 per cent of part-time workers feel trapped in their current roles, and that is because they have taken on a part-time job that enables them to attend to other priorities in their life. Maybe that would be caring responsibilities or something else, but that is often at the expense of their career progression, and sometimes they then drop out of the labour market altogether. That phenomenon is what the report calls a talent bottleneck, and it has been known to cause a particular impact on women. Additionally, the report cited a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which states that mothers, older workers and disabled people are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of good quality flexible jobs. No one who wants to work should be kept from doing so, and that is not about a lack of skills but a lack of opportunities. Parents should not have to choose between raising their children and advancing their careers. Somebody with a disability or health issues or someone who is caring should not have to be held back professionally. I do not believe that they need to be, because flexible working offers that solution to ending the divide between quality of life and quality of work. We should all be talking about it as much as we can and continuing that conversation with businesses and in our constituencies. I can see that I am running out of time, so I will just say that flexible working makes sense, it makes sense for employers, and it makes sense for the country as well. I am very happy to be responding on behalf of the Scottish Government. I heed the call that is laid out in the motion that we, collectively and individually, as members of the Scottish Parliament, should be doing all that we can to promote flexible working in our respective areas. Can I echo Ruth Maguire's thanking for family friendly working? Scotland can echo her thanks. They are a fantastic organisation of which the Scottish Government is both a funder and an active participant in. She mentioned that she has some difficulty uttering the term business breakfast briefing. I should say that I often have difficulty uttering the term family friendly working Scotland, because we are always doing it in the context of flexible working, so I always want to throw the word flexible in there. I am delighted to have spoken in this debate, because it has allowed me to come to the pinnacle of my political experience. Jackie Baillie came to speak in a debate where she praised the Scottish Government as a seminal moment in the history of this Parliament. This is a timely debate because of three upcoming events. First, the tomorrow's business and the partner event is an opportunity to hear about the benefits of flexible working practices at one of the workshop sessions that I understand has been set up. Secondly, as Jeremy Balfour said next week, it is a national work-life week. Thirdly, as has been mentioned quite extensively, there has been the inquiry by the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee into the gender pay gap next week. We will, of course, debate that report, and I look forward to responding on behalf of the Government. As the time-wise report highlights the gap between flexible working on flexible hiring is causing a talent bottleneck particularly for women, Gillian Martin set out that issue very clearly, talking about her own experience. She and Jackie Baillie both referred to the committee inquiry having picked up on that issue, particularly under utilisation of skills and low-paid part-time work, as the committee's inquiry heard contributing factors to the gender pay gap. We will, of course, debate that matter in detail next week, but let me put it on the record now, Presiding Officer. The Scottish Government's very clear commitment to seeing that gender pay gap closed. Without a flexible jobs market, people become trapped in low paid part-time work, not because of a lack of skills but because they need that job flexibility. The skills of those workers are being underutilised by employers in many drop-out of the workplace altogether. Graeme Dey rightly highlighted that point. He also spoke about the carer positive initiative. Let me thank Mr Day, who is a champion for unpaid carers and championing the carer positive scheme. I have seen the difference that it makes in both my previous ministerial role, where I had responsibility for carers policy and in my current one as well. Of course, the Government will continue to promote that scheme as a valuable part of the promotion of the flexible working agenda. The flexible jobs index also highlights the potential and the need for an expansion of the flexible jobs market that will have benefits for employers, employees and their families and our overall economy. Before thinking, employers already understand the business case and are using flexibility as a key tool to attract a diverse range of talent into their organisations. Ruth Maguire made that point. As a necessary one, Ash Denham was quite right to pick up on that as well. Against the backdrop of what is a very welcome, strong-performing labour market at this moment of time, there are concerns about certain skills gaps emerging. There are concerns about the ability of employers to fill those skill gaps from elsewhere. If we are going to respond to those concerns, we need that new thinking that Ash Denham spoke of. We need to harness the talents of all our people and part of that new thinking that we need employers to engage in is thinking about flexible employment. Of course, the greatest asset of any business is being able to carve out their competitive edge through their workforce. Reports that are published by a range of organisations have reached the same conclusion. A diverse workforce gives greater innovation and, ultimately, business growth to tact. On top of that, I know that we need to have employers actively discussing flexible working practices with their employees. Let me set out clearly where the Scottish Government is advertising externally. For an external post, we use the happy to talk flexible working strapline. Flexible working also helps employers to retain their top talent. We also want to move flexible working into the labour market mainstream in that sense as well. The benefits to workers and to employers do not just apply to those with specific needs that can benefit all the employees in a particular workplace. Flexible working, including part-time employment, can help those with disabilities or long-term health conditions to access and sustain employment. In that regard, Jeremy Balfour spoke about the need to take more effort to tackle the employment gap that we see for those with disabilities. That is something that this Government is very clearly and firmly fixed on taking forward in the years ahead of us. The benefits of flexible working for employees are, I think, self-evident and, obviously, a better chance to strike a balance between work and other commitments. We also know that there are benefits to employers as well. The evidence supports the view that flexible working feeds into better employee engagement motivation and retention and, ultimately, productivity—all important ones—for employers. That is why it is important for employers to be willing to engage in that agenda. I thought that it was very telling to hear from Gillian Martin about her own personal experience, where she had a somewhat reticent employer, at least willing to experiment, as it were, with flexible working, who ultimately moved from being skeptical to being somewhat evangelical about the benefits of flexible working. That is why we need to get all employers and to get them into that space. Let me just close by commenting on the recommendations of the report. Many of the recommendations from the report that we debate today essentially encourage us to maintain our direction of travel. We will continue to do that. We will continue to use the fair work agenda, the business place to develop assured vision across Government and business across all sectors to embed flexible working, to embed a fair work agenda, with the goal of boosting productivity, competitiveness, employment, fair work and workforce engagement. I am very serious about that agenda. All the evidence shows that flexible working is not only good for the worker, but also good for employers. In that sense, it makes smart business practice, and we will continue to promote it. Thank you very much. I thank the minister and all the members for taking part in the member's business debate today. The next item of business that we are perhaps slightly ahead of where people expect, but this is a follow-on debate, and I am glad to see virtually all the members are here. Our next item of business is a debate on motion 7905 in the name of Michael Matheson on stage 1 of the Domestic Abuse Scotland Bill. I would ask those members who wish to speak to this debate to press their request to speak buttons now.