 The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection, and our time for reflection leader today is Reverend Norma Moore, Church of Scotland. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and members for the opportunity to speak to you today. When I first became a minister, I discovered that the Church of Scotland is awash with committees. We have committees for everything, and they take up an inordinate amount of time and energy. In every one of these Church committees there are the yes men and women who usually vote with the chair, no matter their own true feelings. There are the single issue folk. Whatever you happen to be discussing, the issue is raised at every meeting. Then you have the awkward squad, those who always have a different opinion, and so the discussion goes round and round and round. It is exhausting and time consuming, but if you want to take folk with you, it is the only way to get things done. Or at least the only way to get things done, where even those who do not agree cannot say that their voices have not been heard, that no one has listened to their views. This is democracy. As Churchill said, democracy is in the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. As democracy you are dealing with here, you have committees at all levels, and like the Church you will have the yes folk, the single issue folk, and of course the awkward squad. Being the age I am, my mind slips back to Tony Ben and Tam Dielle. Man, were they a problem for the leaders of the day, but we most definitely need them. We need the people who keep prodding us with the things we hadn't thought of, the things we would like to go away, the things that directly oppose our own view, the things that will make our lives difficult. For this is democracy at work, and no one can say that they weren't listened to, that their concerns weren't taken seriously. They won't all agree or indeed be happy, but they will have been taken seriously. You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all of the time. Your job may not be to please the people, but it is to do the best for them and for people to read individuals. That is a very tall order, but by listening to the opinions of all those around you and seeking to bring as many of the strands together as is humanly possible, then it seems to me that, with apologies to Churchill, you are providing democracy and it is the best of all forms of government.