 The final item of business today is a member's business debate on motion 7806, in the name of Ash Denham, on small business Saturday 2017. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would encourage all members who wish to contribute to press their request to speak buttons now, and I call on Ash Denham to open the debate. I am very happy to be leading the debate this evening on small business Saturday. From the time that I was a young girl, I saw first hand the hard work, the sense of pride and determination that generally goes into running a successful small business. Between my parents and then my grandparents, I experienced what it takes to run a small kilt shop, a video shop and a horticulture business. Probably what was my favourite as a girl was my grandparents' sweet shop. In my youth, all the effort that went into these enterprises was evident. Now, as a member of the Scottish Parliament, my interaction with small businesses seems to have come full circle. I have had the pleasure of visiting and shopping at many small businesses across Edinburgh, eastern, where that same determined drive to work hard and that same sense of pride that I saw in my family's business is there unmistakably. In fact, Edinburgh eastern has seen what the FSB has described as an explosive growth in small enterprises, with a 40 per cent increase since 2010. Small business Saturday is taking place this weekend, and it is an opportunity to celebrate that growth and also to help sustain it. For Edinburgh and for small businesses right across Scotland, our small businesses are absolutely fundamental to the Scottish economy. It is supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, and interested businesses can sign up on the Small Business Saturday website. That means that, when people visit the website, they can find out more about the range of businesses that are available in their area that are taking part in small business Saturday. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for about 99 per cent of all Scotland's businesses, and within that 1.2 million Scots are employed by those firms. The livelihood of countless people who reside here and, to an extent, our nation's economic productivity very much depend on the vitality of our small business sector. That is why small business Saturday is not just a one-off day to visit a couple of local shops while shopping at large online retailers the rest of the year. No, it is an opportunity for Scots to acquaint themselves with the local businesses in their area to find that new favourite shop, cafe, restaurant, pub or other retailer. Get to know the local products that you love, tell your friends and family about them and then keep going back the rest of the year. That localised network of support is what keeps our local businesses thriving and we need them to continue thriving. Most importantly, the money that is spent at a local business is more likely to stay in that community, benefiting the people that live there as well as our public services. Across Scotland, you are bound to find any number of unique businesses that cater to a wide variety of tastes and interests. There is something literally for everyone, but I would be remiss at this point if I did not highlight some of the fantastic work that is going on in my constituency. As I mentioned before, Edinburgh Eastern has seen many businesses grow over the last seven years from Portobello's High Street and Promenade to a number of new developments that are happening through the Craig Miller regeneration project. There is no short supply of businesses to experience there, but I will mention just a couple of them that I visited over the past few weeks. One of them is Bellfield Brewery. They are just around the corner here from the Scottish Parliament in Abbey Hill. They are the first dedicated gluten-free brewery in the whole of the UK. They were founded by two celiac friends who thought that they would be able to produce a great gluten-free beer, and they have indeed gone on to do that. It is a family-run brewery, and it has made it its mission to develop small batch craft brew certified gluten-free beer that tastes as good as the real stuff if not better. I have tasted both their Lawless Village IPA and also their Bohemian Pilsner, and I can say that they have succeeded in their aim to develop a great tasting beer. Bellfield is just shy of being in business for two years now. They have already landed a number of awards for their beers. One of the ones that they have won were a finalist in the Aldi Scottish Beer Awards, and their Lawless Village IPA was named UK Country winner in the specialty beer—that was the gluten-free category—in this month's World Beer Awards. The Bohemian Pilsner received the second place and was a silver winner. Both beers have also won top awards in the London's Free From Food awards this year as well, so they are becoming very successful. They have also just got a contract to sell through Aldi, and they will be selling both of those beers through the 75 stores across the country. If anybody has any celiac friends that are at the moment distraught about having to give up good craft beer for their health, they do not need to, and that you could always purchase them some of Bellfield's brews this small business Saturday and send them along to them. You can also order Bellfield beer to go with your meal at a couple of small businesses in the constituency, the Portobello Beachhouse cafe and, also in Portobello, the Skylark restaurant. In this digital age, when more and more is done online, especially shopping, small businesses do not need to just be bricks and mortar either, and indeed Bellfield's brews are also available for purchase online. However, another business that I have visited recently is called Urban Twist, and that is a creative design company headed by Cameron Pitcairn, which has its studio based in Meadow Bank—also not far from here—and it supplies its customers through its own website. Urban Twist specialises in personalised gifts, wedding stationery and jewellery. A big seller this year that I saw that I thought was very cute was personalised Christmas tree decorations in the shape of Christmas jumpers that you can hang on your tree. When I visited them recently, I also like that they do a large framed family tree to which you can add the names of your immediate family, which would obviously make a great gift as well. I think that people that are looking for unusual personalised Christmas gifts could do worse than to look at their online catalogue, which is urbantwist.co.uk. These are just two of the nearly 1600 registered small businesses in my constituency, and collectively they provide for a vitality and livelihood for the whole of this side of the city. I want to conclude by offering my gratitude for the cross-party support in recognising Small Business Saturday. I appreciate the contributions of the MSPs that are going to be taking part today, and I am encouraged that we can all come together and support small businesses across the country, support small business Saturday. Last year, there was a 15 per cent increase in the campaign, and hopefully this year we can do even better. I would encourage everybody to get out into their communities, to shop local and help boost small business Saturday even further. Thank you very much. There is a huge level of interest in this debate, so I encourage all members to keep their contributions as tight as possible below four minutes—that means, Ms Baillie. I call Gillian Martin to be followed by Alison Harris. Thank you, Presiding Officer. This is the first speech that I am doing with an electronic iPad, so let's hope that it all goes well, because I am a bit of a luddite. I thank Ash Denham for bringing this member's debate to the chamber, and it's good to see some members taking part. Like my colleagues, I'm keen to use this as an opportunity to name-check and celebrate small businesses across my constituency, including the towns of Tariff, Ellen, Inverry, Meldrum and Mintlaw. In Aberdeensia, we're seeing more small businesses being set up than ever before. The region's got a proud history of the towns and villages with small businesses that are visited from afar. The number of enterprises with up to 49 employees in Aberdeensia is an estimated 13,800 people in total. That accounts for a Scottish employment of 49,500 people. A number of enterprises with 249 staff is 240, which represents the Scottish employment of 12,730. I would like to pay a tribute to a business in Ellen, which only recently, just in the last couple of weeks, was named employer of the year at the Pride of Aberdeen Awards. That's Phil Anderson's financial services. He's a living wage employer, and through the business, Phil and his staff also give back to the local community through sponsorships and charity work. I noticed in the local papers that he, in celebration for the award that he won, he's taking his staff to the States on an all-expenses-paid holiday, so yeah, Boss is out there. Look at what Phil's doing, and maybe he'd like to give your staff a nice Christmas present this year. The business only started six years ago and now has offices in Aberdeen and Caithness, and they are an example of how a very small local business can grow and thrive. Earlier this month, just round the corner in Ellen, Keira Piddy won an award for her success running the chocolate bar in Ellen. Keira was given support from the Federation of Small Businesses and from the Princess Trust Fund to help run the premises. With dedication to her craft, Keira was named retail manager of the year at the Evening Express Retailer Awards, and she's one example of many people who are so important to the local economy of Scotland's town. In my home village of Remaker, one of my favourite businesses in my constituency is Kils Wahey, who I've mentioned before in this chamber, run by Lindsay Ritchie, who's turned her hobby for sewing into a full-time business and is a global ambassador for this part of the world, as our products are sold all over the world. In five years, she's built a thriving business that expects an almost one million turnover by the end of this year, which is an incredible achievement for someone who started out making Kils in her house. Finally, I would like to point to the success earlier this year of the Inverury Business Association, which has made up of small businesses in the thriving market town of Inverury. After some incredibly hard work, their application to become a big town was successful, with more than 80 per cent of the businesses voting to support it and keep Inverury one of Scotland's best retail town centres. I also want to mention a small business where it's a collaboration of other small businesses, which is Glam in King Seat. Owned by Gillian McLeod, Gillian has opened her doors to other small beauticians and hairdressers and therapists who all work out of the premises in King Seat, including my own fabulous hairdresser, Elaine Cornish, who will probably, if she's watching this, be screaming at the monitor. I want to end by giving a huge cheer to the micro-businesses, particularly those in the creative and craft industries who fill our towns and villages with Christmas fairs. Many of them are women-led. As the convener of the cross-party group on women and enterprise, I have to mention them because there is a wealth of talent and display in our artisan and craft fairs right now across the whole of Scotland. If you want to buy Christmas presents, that you know that no one else will duplicate them under the tree, go to Christmas fairs and take advantage of the hugely talented people out there that are keeping those craft fairs going. I just want to end by saying that we should support all of those people as we begin our Christmas project, but most importantly throughout the whole year. First, I wish to declare an interest as I am the owner of a small business, a chartered accountancy firm. I am delighted to take part in a debate this evening on the annual Small Business Saturday, an initiative that is now in its fifth year and has steadily raised the profile of small businesses throughout Scotland. Over the last five years, the number of small businesses in Scotland has steadily risen to a figure in excess of 360,000. Although that sounds good, that figure per 10,000 head of the population is well below that in the rest of the UK, albeit that sector is playing a growing part in the Scottish economy. Scottish Government figures show that, as it marched this year, 1.2 million people are now working for small and medium-sized businesses in Scotland, accounting for well over half of private sector employment in Scotland. Whether from sole traders' partnerships to small and medium enterprises, this spirit of entrepreneurship is at the forefront of making a more dynamic Scotland, paying for public services, making us a more prosperous country and providing the jobs that so many of our fellow Scots depend on. Government also has a part to play in continuing the growth of the small business sector. Business has to be nurtured and assisted by the Scottish Government, not to have the builders of those businesses, the creators of jobs, the risk takers, threatened with more tax than fellow entrepreneurs in other parts of the UK. Setting up and establishing a small business is rarely easy. As an accountant and from personal experience, I know only too well how hard this can be. People who are not in business often do not appreciate the challenges that are actually involved. Men and women trying at the expense of working long hours, often with no holidays for years on end, and limited access to benefits at time of sickness or maternity. Many businesses struggle to get established. Some, sadly, do not make it for various reasons, but every person that I know who attempted to set up a business gave it a good go. Often with odds and bureaucracy stacked against them, some sunk every penny they had to the extent of remortgaging their homes into trying to make a success of their dream. Those who have succeeded are now businesses serving our local communities, creating jobs and paying taxes. It is great that small business Saturday puts the spotlight on those who serve our communities throughout the year. Shops and service providers that we too often take for granted. Small businesses, which are the lifeblood of town and village centres—not only throughout central Scotland but the rest of Scotland—offer the sort of personal service that has been lost by many of the large businesses and super stores. In an age when more and more supermarket check-outs are a machine telling you, please scan again, or when many in our society are not comfortable to give their credit card numbers to a computer screen, the personal contact offered by small businesses is a real lifeline to many people. The human touch and personal service still go a long way. From the corner shopkeeper, who is a friend and confident to many in the local community, to the hairdresser providing an at-home service to the elderly and house-bound, to the local butcher with his ever-helpful serving suggestions, small business has a vital social role to play, as well as an economic one. I wish small business Saturday every success. Many of the novel initiatives from business The Length and Breadth of Scotland that I have read on the internet are testimony to the creativity and imagination of the sector. I join others in the hope that this Saturday, and indeed throughout the year, constituents value their small businesses and heat the adage that is, of course, true to every business, use them or lose them. I urge local people to support their local businesses. Thank you very much. I call Stuart Stevenson to be followed by Jackie Baillie. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and firstly thank you very much to Ash Denham for the opportunity to talk about small business. I am immediately jealous of her access to a sweety shop. I was six years old before I could go to the sweety shop without my ration card. There are four of us in the Parliament that would be true for. Like others, I use small businesses. My journey down this week I travelled from Gillian Martin's constituency, from the station at Inbururi, and I dropped in at the Coco Works restaurant at Little Coffee and had my lunch, a lovely toasty salad and a latte—absolutely excellent. A tiny little business that serves a real local need if only it is on my digest. There are wonderful examples in the north-east of Scotland. I have in my constituency a relatively small fish processor that does smoked salmon. There is nothing uncommon about that, but it buys old whisky barrels from the distilleries and uses wood from the whisky barrels to smoke the salmon. You can tell what brand of whisky is when you taste the smoked salmon. It is an excellent initiative. On Monday 2, I visited Granny's Bakes, which has just opened in the last few weeks on a straight path in Banff, to buy eclairs for Gary, who works for me in my office in Peterhead. Gary, when the eclairs are on your desk tomorrow for your birthday, he came from Granny's Bakes in Banff. There are just examples. Every one of us will have examples of wonderful entrepreneurship and innovation. Small Business Saturday is, of course, not just one Saturday for them. One thing is the fifth year that it has been going on, but it is about the accumulation of efforts by the FSB and others to promote small businesses around the UK. Another part of the programme is Small Business 100. It is a list of 100 small businesses, one being featured in each of the 100 days leading up to the main event. There are lots of examples. My assistant has identified in Richard Lockhead's constituency in Fogherburs, a habitational and fabric store in Fogherburs that is participating in that. Those businesses are, as we have heard, a challenge to people who run them. This is not an easy thing to do. It is not something that I have ever done. It is not something that I have ever contemplated doing. When I meet small business people, I find that their experience is not such as would suck me in. However, they are a vital part of our social and economic infrastructure in many of the communities in the north-east of Scotland and across Scotland. Supporting local commerce is a vital cog there. Small businesses with people committed to customer service, because if they are not, it is not going to work. In the modern world, where so much of our interactions with businesses is relatively abstract or online, there is no human involved, it makes a real difference. However, the businesses, too, are going online. Granny's bake may have only been started a few weeks. They are going online in the new year, and I wish them every success, and I wish everyone who participates in small business Saturday every success. I thank Ash Denham for once again bringing this debate to the chamber this year and for her excellent speech. It has undoubtedly been an opportunity for every member to be very parochial and to talk about their local shops, and I am going to be no different. However, small business Saturday shows how important small businesses are to our economy, and I have no doubt that it will be a great success again this year. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99 per cent of all of Scotland's businesses. They provide 1.2 million jobs and make up 55 per cent of private sector employment. Those businesses are important not just to our local economies and our high streets but to the Scottish economy more widely. Last year's campaign had a huge impact on small businesses, and we know that it certainly encouraged people to shop locally. Something like £717 million was spent on small business Saturday alone. I was responsible for a small portion of that, but, as Ash Denham said, there has been a 15 per cent increase on the year before, so let's make this year an even greater success. One of the greatest challenges facing small businesses in our communities is, in fact, our changing shopping habits. The majority of people shop online. You only need to look at what was going on on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to understand the truth of that, or they shop at retail parks outside of the town centre, and the consequences of those changing habits are clear to see on our high streets. If we care about our high streets and we do, we need to make more of an effort to reverse that trend, and we need to shop local, not just on small business Saturday, as other members have said, but all year round. I am grateful to have so many wonderful small businesses in my constituency. That comes the advert. Last year, I had the pleasure of visiting Callaghan's A Butcher in Helensburg, Lily's Forest in Alexandria and Wilkie and Ryder in Dumbarton, a local optician and jeweller. The year before, I went to Gowns and Crowns wedding shop and Scruples cafe in Dumbarton East. This year, I am excited to visit A Darden in Cardras. A Darden is a local farm that has a farm shop and visitors cafe attached. I have to confess that I am a frequent visitor, and I would recommend it to all members, because they have the most amazing local produce and the cafe is a particular favourite with my staff. However, A Darden is just one of the small businesses in my constituency. There are so many more. I am resisting the temptation to do as other members have done and name them all and even give you their website addresses. We would be here all day, Presiding Officer. However, in West Inbarnshire alone, there are over 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises employing over 10,000 staff, and I want every single one of them to do well. The better they do, the more our local economy will flourish. I am grateful that West Inbarnshire Council has taken action to address the visible decline on the high street. A decision by the previous Labour administration means that they are moving their council headquarters right into the heart of the town centre, bringing more than 600 staff on to our high street. That footfall will make a difference, because already we have seen businesses starting up on the back of that promise. I hope that when the office is open in the new year, it will encourage many more businesses to locate on the high street in Dumbarton. I would like to pay tribute to the local chambers of commerce and the many volunteers who sit on town centre forums to support small businesses on our high streets. I would also like to pay tribute to the FSB. The FSB provides vital support to small businesses across Scotland. They are a powerful campaigning voice for business owners up and down the country and help them to flourish even in the most difficult times. Let's encourage shoppers to shop local, put those businesses in the spotlight this Saturday and every day. I would like to thank Ash Denham for bringing this debate to the chamber. Small businesses are the lifeblood of Scotland's economy, and they are the backbone of our communities across the country. Although small to international companies and super stores with well-established reputations can all too often be the default choice for many consumers, small businesses are woven into the fabric of our society. They keep our high streets alive and provide a variety of bespoke and artisan services that large companies cannot compete with. Scottish Government figures showed that SMEs account for 55 per cent of the private sector employment and 40 per cent of private sector turnover, providing much-needed local jobs and in turn economic growth in our communities. Last year, my Rutherglen constituency was the home of around 1,600 registered businesses and the vast majority of which were small businesses of all varieties. From mobile food outlets at funfares and parks, run by the Thomas family, to Avisa here and beauty, from Sweet Pea and Pandora's box gift shops to Rye Sign joinery company, a huge variety of small businesses catering to the needs of locals and visitors, but also driving the local economy. SMEs are local job creators, but they can be set aside from some larger companies in the way that they give back to the communities that they proudly serve. One such business in my constituency is the TB on Cambuslang main street. Angeline Coyle, the proprietor, not only runs a first-class T-room, but she is a pillar of the community. Angeline does a great deal of work with Cambuslang community council and she is one of the strongest voices advocating positive change in the town centre. She, along with the other local business owners, has been pushing South Lanarkshire council to tackle the problems of inadequate parking on the main street, arguing that customers will frequently shop elsewhere due to the lack of parking spaces. The TV was recently the subject of a review by The Sunday Post, who highlighted the community spirit of the cafe. The author of the review noted that, whilst in the T-room, Angeline gave a woman a free coffee. On querying that with Angeline, she advised that the woman was known to her from a local homeless centre and that she regularly provides residents with a free hot drink and food should they need it. Regulars and new customers are treated as friends and this is especially welcomed by those who live on their own or who have little social company. Along with other small business owners in Cambuslang, she has worked closely with Cambuslang in Bloom who have done an incredible job in revamping the appearance of the main street by adding colour with an assortment of flowers, plants and trees. Urban Alfresco, another Cambuslang small business, provided much of the plants and equipment for the project. I visited the TBA last week and had a chat with Angeline who said that, in addition to running the cafe, she probably devotes around two full working days per week serving the community. Many large businesses do undertake work locally, however, the personal touches from our small businesses like the TBA are what keeps our communities alive and thriving. A little under four miles away in Blantyre, my constituent, Brian Calderwood, runs a small deli called Stacks, just like Angeline, Brian is a true community champion. On new year's day morning, while many larger stores open late or not at all, Stacks is open and Brian will provide a free breakfast for the homeless and people in need. Brian would never let anyone go hungry and he's always conscious to help locals if they're needing a helping hand. Stacks is close to local schools, and so Brian has a great rapport with the pupils who visit regularly, and he'll keep an eye out on the kids watching if they don't have enough money for lunch, and then he'll help them out discreetly so that no one else notices. Presiding Officer, Angeline and Brian don't openly broadcast their good deeds. They don't look for any recognition. The help that they give is done without fanfare or announcement. However, their communities are well aware of the great work that they do. On behalf of them, I'd like to say thank you. To the many other small businesses who, through their time, generosity and kindness, make the life of their fellow citizens a little bit easier. Our small businesses support local people and local projects, and without them our communities would be worse off. Small business Saturday may be only one day in the calendar year, however, it should act as a reminder to shop small and shop locally all year round. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to debate small business Saturday, and I thank Ash Denham for securing the time. This weekend will be one of the busiest of the year with small businesses across the country, hoping that it translates into a strong few weeks of sales in the run-up to Christmas. Now, in its fifth year, small business Saturday is an excellent initiative to highlight the importance of supporting our local shops, family businesses, small manufacturers and all other kinds of small independent businesses. Not just during this crucial period, as we've heard, but all year round. As Alison Harris said, small business is about much more than business. That chance to have a chat may be the only opportunity that some people might have in a day. They know how about the products. Folk and small businesses get what they're selling, they have real expertise, and it's important that we get out there and do what we can to support them this Saturday. To ensure that our small businesses flourish and that our high streets really benefit from increased football and trade, our towns and cities need to be designed in a way to create healthy, vibrant local high streets that allow pedestrians, cyclists and those on public transport, and those with mobility issues to move around freely and safely. To maximise access to the high street, it's important that we, the Parliament, the Government and local authorities continue to work together with our communities to ensure that they have the bus and rail services that they need to invest properly in active travel to boost the numbers of people who are walking and cycling around our high streets. When that happens, business is boosted and gets rid of air pollution, too. As you know, my colleague Mark Ruskell is progressing his 20-mile-per-hour bill, and I think that that would have a really positive impact on the atmosphere and the environment and our local high streets as well. Local members have done a very good job in selling local businesses in their area. I think that it's fair to say that there are many fantastic small businesses in Edinburgh and across Lothian that are vital to our local economy. Big retailers have no incentive to prevent their profits leaking out of the local economy, and we need to do everything that we can to provide small independent businesses with a level playing field. Money spent in a local business will benefit local people and services, not distant shareholders. Let's work to see public bodies use more of their procurement budgets to benefit local firms, and more support for small and micro businesses. Gillian Martin mentioned them. Let's make sure that we're doing everything that we can so that everyone's got access to broadband at a good speed, so that we can reach across Scotland to keep small businesses connected and to let them reach more customers. The Small Business Saturday campaign conducted a UK bus tour again this year. It stopped in Edinburgh in October, and it gave people a chance to learn more about the initiative. This year, it saw the launch of the Small Business Saturday mentoring programme on the bus, offering free business mentoring to small businesses at each stop. It was launched after feedback from small businesses, and it will continue into next year, encouraging communities to develop their own mentoring programmes for experienced small businesses to share the knowledge that they've gathered with others. I think that this kind of information and knowledge sharing is really important. It gives me great hope that our local high streets want to work together in that positive way. To name but a few, I'll be heading to my local high streets this Saturday. I hope to drop into Collent and Arts, where local art is at the heart of the business. The stunning dandelion and ginger and toll cross go there. They really turn Small Business Saturday into quite an event. The Edinburgh Boot Shop in Brunsfield, who have won too many awards to name in the time that I have remaining, will continue to do all that I can to encourage local business in Lothian to register with and take part in the campaign. Let's all shop local this Saturday and every Saturday. Do all that we can to publicise the efforts of making the coming Small Business Saturday such an important fixture in our calendar? I'll agree him to be followed by Liam Kerr. Can I begin, as others have by congratulating my colleague Ash Denham on securing this debate, which provides an excellent opportunity for me to follow others in highlighting the importance of small businesses across Scotland and in particular in Angus, where around 4,000 SMEs provide employment for in the region of 20,000 people. This year's Small Business Saturday will take me to Sacred Grounds coffee in our broth. Sacred Grounds is Angus's only coffee roastery. It sources premium beans from ethical and sustainable sources before roasting them to the highest standards. The company started operating in December 2015 and is building a reputation for quality excellence and attention to detail. I look forward to meeting Catherine Baker and her team, although I am currently working out how I break the news that I am not a coffee drinker myself without upsetting them. Sacred Grounds, like so many SMEs, the length and breadth of Angus has received vital support from the economic development department of the council. My experience, rightly or wrongly, is quite rare these days to hear council departments proactively and universally praised, but this one reflects well on Alison Smith and her team. Let me offer one further SME success story from my Angus South constituency, one this time outwith the highly successful food and drink sector, but before those doing so, I should refer colleagues to my register of interests as I am a season ticket holder at Canustee golf links. That is relevant, because I want to highlight the work of Blair Precision Engineering, the company that started manufacturing steel master tines in 1987, after Canustee golf links approached the company looking for custom shapes and sizes of tines to fit their ration machines. The firm's tines are now used by greenkeepers and groundsmen all over Europe on everything from championship golf courses to pitch and putts, premiership football grounds and country parks. Headed up by managing director Alan Jeane's, Blair Precision's focus until recently had been on the domestic market, but now the company is looking to export its products and looking to the southern hemisphere in particular, because that would help to address the seasonality of the company's order books. The necessary support that is being provided to small businesses in Angus is not just confined to that on offer from the council's economic development team. I was extremely pleased to see the latest figures for backing being provided to local businesses by the Scottish Government under the small business bonus scheme. Those figures show that the number of businesses in Angus benefiting from the rates relief rose from 2,475 in 2016-17 to 2,536 in 2017-18, and that compares with a figure of 1,854 in 2008-9. All told, the scheme delivered £4.9 million of relief in 2017 up from £4.1 million the previous year and £1.8 million in 2008-2009. Although I think that there is an element of small businesses who have been benefiting from this backing over many years now, taking it for granted, there is no doubt as to its value and the extent to which it remains appreciated by the majority of beneficiaries. One small business owner described it to me as being the difference between surviving those early years when we were establishing ourselves and well-failing. In light of just how much the small business scheme means to my constituency, can I say in passing how amazed I was to learn that Richard Leonard's manifesto for the Labour leadership questioned the continuation of the scheme? I do hope that, just as he has come to realise that Scottish water is already publicly owned, he will recognise how deeply damaging removing the SPS would be to local economies, not to mention a small town high street, such as those in Angus. As a number of colleagues have highlighted, while small business Saturday provides a focal point for highlighting the importance of small businesses, there is, of course, a more long-lasting message to be taken away as we approach Christmas, which is that small businesses are there and deserving of our support 365 days of the year, not just on small business Saturday. I thank you just before I call Mr Kerr. Due to the high level of interest in this debate, I am minded to accept a motion without notice under rule 814.3 to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Ash Denham to move such a notice. Thank you very much. I put the question to the chamber that we extended the debate by up to 30 minutes. Are we agreed? We are agreed. I call Liam Kerr to be followed by David Torrance. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am delighted to speak in this debate, and I also thank Ash Denham for lodging the motion. I was not meant to be speaking in this debate, but I kicked my colleague off because, like Stuart Stevenson, Gillian Martin and Graham Day, I am very keen to talk up the north-east and the contribution of local enterprises. I should declare an interest, of course, as I run a small business, providing employment law advice and solutions to Aberdeen and beyond under the law agency banner. However, just like Lillie Norris of Lillie Hunter Consulting and Linda Beattie at first employment law in Aberdeen, who do an equally good and possibly better job. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, as of 2017 in Angus, Aberdeen City and Shire, there are 26,190 small businesses that employ under 50 employees and around 800 that employ between 50 and 249. We need to look after them, as again, according to the FSB, 40 per cent of Scotland's private sector turnover can be attributed to SMEs and provide four out of five private sector jobs in areas such as rural Angus and Aberdeen Shire. Many of those businesses have already visited smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com to sign their businesses up for free and without obligation to promote themselves for this Saturday's big event. How will I spend it? Well, the same as you if you come and visit the area. I'll start in Montrose, where I shall take breakfast at Rosie's Pavilion cafe at Melville Gardens. From there, it's a short walk to the Flower Pavilion to pick up a bouquet to congratulate my wife on securing another sale of one of the hats she makes and sells from her Miss Muirhead millinery Facebook site. Then over to Rust, which is a concept homeware store in the old ropeworks, which is an extraordinary centre for homeware, upcycled furniture and gifts and interior design, but as art. If you don't know what I mean, come up and check it for yourself. From there, I'll pick up the ScotRail to Stonehaven. That's not a small business, of course, but it is vital for the north-east and it does a good job. The new high-speed train is coming in great. If Alex Hynes wants to email me and tell me we're getting the full 20 cycle spaces that were promised, I promise I'll say even more nice things about ScotRail in the next relevant debate. So to Stonehaven, where it is straight to Nicky's cafe on Market Square for a great lunch, I better sort out my evening so a quick dive round to the cool gourmet bakery and Charles McCarty butcher should do the trick. I'll need a few drinks for Saturday evening, so it's up to see my old friend Murray at Donotter Wines. Now, I think it's fair to say that Murray's politics are about as far from mine as it's possible to get. That's cruel. Murray's inability to see sense, though, is more than compensated for by his encyclopaedic knowledge of wine and ales. Then I'll stop off at Alibali to do some early Christmas shopping. The company that employs 18 mostly local people offers customers a unique array of contemporary and designer jewellery, and I've just realised that I've just told my wife what Christmas present she's getting this year. However, finally, it's back to Aberdeen to pick up my car from AW Autotech next to Pytodri, where Alan will remind me again that I agreed to host the blast from the past vintage car festival for him at Sainton on the 21st of July next year. You can find it on Facebook to enter your car or book tickets. Gillian Martin, I look forward to seeing you there. Then a quick jaunt to see Gordon Bell Pianos, to thank Gordon for the excellent Yamaha U3 that he sold me in August and complimenting him on the perfect setup that he delivered. All of that is why I'm delighted to support Small Business Saturday this weekend. I wish all small businesses a very successful day and urge every member of Parliament and everyone outside it who can to go to smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com and support their local small businesses, not just this Saturday but the whole year round. I call David Torrance, followed by Daniel Johnson. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ash Denham for bringing this motion to Parliament today to celebrate the fifth small business Saturday. We hear a lot about big businesses and industries in this chamber, but small businesses are the engine of the Scottish economy. Four in five private sector jobs in rural areas of Scotland are provided by small and medium-sized businesses. They account for 99 per cent of all businesses in Scotland, with micro-businesses alone accounting for half a million jobs. That number has increased in post-evolution with over 100,000 more businesses now than in 2000. Those figures highlight the crucial importance of smaller businesses in our economy and society. Following the economic downturn that the world has faced in the last 10 years, small businesses in Scotland have proven themselves relatively resilient by creating jobs and looking for new markets to expand by taking on additional employees. While the economic potential of small businesses is often a topic for discussion, I would like to highlight the importance of small businesses in supporting an inclusive and diverse workforce, where all of smaller businesses in helping to achieve more inclusive employment is often overlooked. Small businesses are more likely to facilitate pathways to employment for marginalised groups by creating jobs and disadvantaged communities across Scotland, with around 50 per cent having hired people who were unemployed. Additionally, over half of small businesses in Scotland pay their employees above the living wage. Over 40 per cent of those working in the private sector work for a small business, and that is a substantial role in creating a more inclusive economy, diversifying it to include rural and urban areas. In addition, the informal and flexible working environment of smaller businesses leads to a higher job satisfaction. In fact, employees in smaller businesses are the most satisfied group of workers in the labour market. In addition, the Scottish Government's small business bonus scheme has helped a variety of small businesses to thrive on local high streets by removing many of them from business rates and allowing them to flourish. Local councils can also provide additional relief. That has proved successful in certain parts of the country to regenerate small local high streets and keep them in place, supporting them through economic hardships. It is important that we continue to support our local businesses. For every pound that is spent in local independent businesses, over 60 per cent of that money stays in the local economy. I would like to specifically highlight Kirkcaldy for all, the business improvement district that has been helping to support and develop Kirkcaldy town centre since its establishment in 2010. The effects of the economic recession and the change of retail habits for customers has undoubtedly impacted on Kirkcaldy town centre, as with many other high streets across wider Scotland. The current economic times are challenging and extremely competitive, so it is vital that town centres and small businesses do not lose out. Kirkcaldy for all provides businesses with a voice and provides invaluable guidance and support. We facilitate the co-operation of businesses such as restaurants, retail shops, cafes, health and wellbeing centres, as well as specialised services to work together in order to identify collective opportunities for investment for their own benefit, as well as the benefit of the wider area. We have been successful in creating a well-promoted, lively, diverse and dynamic environment that I am proud to represent. As a founder member of growing Kirkcaldy, we have also played a major role in the town's continued success at both beautiful Fife Awards and beautiful Scotland's awards as we enhance Kirkcaldy and encourage visitors to the town. Since its inception, the group has been instrumental in securing and organising many large-scale events, including the Helfers Tour Series, Fife's very first pride festival, and the UK's only beach island games, all of which have attracted an amazing number of visitors to the town, increasing business, football and boosting sales. In conclusion, small businesses play an increasing vital part in high streets and town centres. In many cases, large retailers have abandoned the high streets for retail parts on the outskirts of towns. However, that creates opportunities for small businesses by opening up space for local businesses. That is why it is crucial to support small businesses not only on a small business Saturday, but throughout the whole year, and we encourage people to visit our high streets and town centres to support their local economies. I too would like to thank Ash Denham for bringing forward this motion, because, as a former independent retailer, I feel that this debate is somewhat made for me. The only issue is that the declaration of interest is somewhat of a large hurdle that I have to overcome, being a director of a business with interests in independent retailers in the city centre of Edinburgh. I would like to remind members that, for whatever reason, I leave people to think that there are no other options for creative independent card shops in Edinburgh that are entirely misunderstanding, and that there is a wide range of businesses that you can custom. However, that is a fantastic opportunity, because I think that independent business is really important. It is something that is really important to my constituency. Indeed, as a member of the FSB, I would like to thank them for the briefing that they provided all members. Through today, they have been both briefing and tweeting. I noticed that they asked two questions. First, what was the best high street for independent retail in Scotland? I assume that that is a rhetorical question, because it is very obvious to me that it is Morningside Road and Brunsfield Place, because I think that there is no better example of two flourishing high streets full of independent retailers. The only issue is that the second question—because they are so full of such fantastic creative independent retail businesses—would be unfair to me to single any particular businesses at. However, I would encourage all members that, if they have some time in this fantastic city to visit those high streets, they are really fantastic venues for shopping. Indeed, it is a testament to their success that, while across Scotland, one in 10 retail units lie as unlit, literally units on Morningside Road do not lie empty for any more than a matter of weeks. Indeed, it was something of a surprise to me when I noted from the FSB figures that Edinburgh, as a whole, has almost 18,000 small businesses employing 70,000. In fact, that is higher than any other local authority in Scotland, including Glasgow, which is quite something of a testament to the success and thriving economy for small independent businesses in the city. However, those are challenging times for retail. The last decade has been particularly difficult for many retail businesses right the way across the country. That is why small business Saturday is so important—we recognise and celebrate the success and encourage people to shop. Ultimately, independent retail provides a much better shopping experience. As a former small business owner and retailer, I always felt that small businesses are businesses with personality. They have a point of view, a sense of creativity and fun. At this time of year, when we are seeking to buy presents for our loved ones, it is exactly those sorts of businesses that we want to be buying our gifts from—a business that has a bit of personality. After all, it is the thought that counts. Do not do the unthinking thing in shopping a bland multinational chain retailer—usually local high street, usually local independent retailers—because it makes them much more thoughtful present. However, I would just like to make two small political points. First of all, that retail needs to be looked after. I think that it was striking in the evidence that the economy committee has recently that the enterprise agencies simply are not supporting retail in particular. It is a very small proportion of what they do. I think that we need a much greater emphasis on supporting those businesses because they employ so many people. If we want to see an increase in productivity, we have to see that productivity through businesses such as retail and certainly through SME businesses as a whole. The other point that I would like to add is that we must also think about retail workers. As members may be aware, I am bringing forward a bill to protect retail workers, because this is a challenging time of year, but it is also a time of year that many retail workers will face assault and verbal abuse, which is something that we should not tolerate. Members think that that is important. I urge them to support my forthcoming bill. At that point, I will close. Thank you very much, and I call Stuart McMillan. Thank you very much. I want to congratulate Ash Denham for securing this important member's debate. I am delighted to be taking part in this debate about the small business Saturday and I would also like to thank the FSB for its information that it provided. Certainly, this small business Saturday is one simple aim. It is to celebrate and support small businesses in our communities and what they do for our communities. It is in the motion that the small business Saturday started in 2010 in the United States, and it is now in its fifth year in the UK. Its contribution to the economy has been massively helpful, with 80 per cent of local authorities across the UK actively supporting the campaign last year. In 2016, with £717 million being spent on small business Saturday, that was up 15 per cent from 2015, with tens of millions of pounds spent with the independent businesses here in Scotland. Specifically, it has had that positive effect on the economy of Inverclyde and my constituency of Greenock and Inverclyde and also other parts of the country. I have also heard from some colleagues today about how important it is for their particular communities. Certainly, as a member for Greenock and Inverclyde, I genuinely and wholeheartedly welcome the contribution that small business Saturday actually provides. Certainly, it is a small and medium-sized company's account for 99 per cent of all of Scotland's businesses. Small business Saturday reaches millions of customers every single year. When these firms provide 1.2 million jobs, 55 per cent of the private sector employment. Additional data also shows that there were 365,000 private sector businesses operating in Scotland during 2017. That was up 3 per cent from 2016. Inverclyde alone, there were 1,710 local small and medium-sized businesses operating and providing employment to approximately 9,610 people. Whether that is from Jumbo in Port Glasgow down to the cottage in Greenock, which makes a fabulous MacBurger—I encourage anyone who goes to Greenock to pop into the cottage—to Macasky's butchers down in Memes Bay, which is an award-winning butchers. I am heading back up the road into the Inverclyde marine area, where there are plenty of small businesses dealing with marine tourism sector. I am finishing off on Kempock Street and Shore Street in Gwyrwch. The vast, vast majority of shops in Kempock Street and Shore Street are small independent traders. There has been a huge amount of investment in recent years to help to regenerate Gwyrwch. I am sure that Kempock Street would give Morningside Road a huge run for its money in terms of the best street to shop in the country. Certainly, small business Saturday highlights the benefits of going to our towns and villages, as well as our cities, instead of shopping online. Certainly, it is one of the members who has an Amazon warehouse in this constituency. I generally appreciate how important Amazon can be, but I also support wholeheartedly the issue of our towns and villages in getting people to go out of their houses and go and shop in the shops. If they do not, then we will lose even more valuable jobs in our high streets. I generally am committed to the small business sector in Inverclyde and Scotland, and it is certainly one aspect of this. Alison Johnstone touched on the issue of the small businesses, and Graham Day spoke about the small business bonus, certainly in Inverclyde. In 2008, there were 604 businesses benefiting from the small business bonus scheme. That is now up to 1,063 businesses contributing an extra £2.6 million to the economy. I feel the support of the small business sector in Inverclyde, and I would like to welcome everybody to come to Inverclyde to do some of your Christmas shopping. You will have a very warm welcome, and certainly bring your friends, because you will have a day to remember. I invite the minister, Paul Wheelhouse, to respond on behalf of the Government. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I add my thanks to Ash Denham for bringing this very important debate, a small business Saturday to the chamber. I also thank all members across all parties who have taken part. As members have demonstrated, this is vitally important, because it shines a light on the need of the small business community. We do this maybe once a year in this format, but as a number of members have said, this is about a debate that applies 365 days a year. While we are talking about the run-in to Christmas, it is important to all of us that we see businesses supported throughout the year. Small business Saturday gives us a great glimpse of the fantastic range of small businesses across Scotland. We have a really good taste of it today with all the contributions from members in the chamber. I thank Stuart Stevenson and Stuart McMillan for making me feel extremely hungry with some of the examples that they have given. Sadly, I cannot travel today to Bamfam Buchan to get a produce from there, but I could not order online from Granny's Bakery, which sounds promising. It helps to demonstrate the variety and vital contribution that they make to our economy. It also reminds us of the importance of supporting small businesses. The lifeblood of our economy, as members have said, with our spending powers consumers, as Ash Denham has stated. The Scottish Government welcomes a small business Saturday campaign. The campaign itself encourages people to support their local businesses, which are, as we say, so vitally important to local communities. It is a great example of partnership working across the public and private sectors within local communities. I warmly welcome, as members have done, the commitment of the Federation of Small Businesses and our local authority partners, including Business Gateway Services, which Graham Day mentioned in particular in Angus, and I commend the work that he identified there. I commend all those partners for the campaign and commend all members, including ministerial colleagues, for their promotion of small business Saturday this week. The campaign helps to raise the profile of small individual businesses. Hopefully, it also helps to raise their income, as a number of members have claimed, including Jackie Baillie. I joined Jackie Baillie in confessing that I contributed to beer consumption through the small businesses last year with Tempus Brewery in the Borders, but small business Saturday is now in its fifth year, as Alison Johnstone and Stuart Stevenson mentioned. Initially, it continues to grow in impact with 2016, seeing a 15 per cent increase in sales on the year before. Those involved in the campaign work tirelessly throughout the year to ensure its success. In some respects, that reflects the tirelessness of those working in small businesses, as Ash Denham identified there with the great pride in their businesses, but working extremely hard, Alison Harris identified that. There are great sacrifices made by people who run small businesses, and we have to recognise that. In the run-up to the day, small business Saturday highlights a range of small businesses in the small business 100, nine Scottish businesses featured this year, from Kelso, Dumfries, Barhead and Strotherfockers, Aboyne, Motherwell, South Lanarkshire and Dunbar. Those businesses operated in sectors as diverse as food and drink to creative industries, and I congratulate all of them for making the list. I thank the minister for taking this intervention. Would the minister be aware that, according to the recent FSB report, which constituency sought a 43 per cent increase in the number of local businesses, the second highest in the whole of Scotland? I'm going to hazard a guess, Presiding Officer, at the point in Glasgow province, but I'll see if Mr McKee confirms that. Yes, indeed. Well, I congratulate all of them in Glasgow province for that. I certainly know that, like others in the chamber, I plan to be out on a small business Saturday itself. This Saturday, I'm visiting small businesses in my region, Tartan and Tweed in Galashuils, and I'll be hoping to top up some of my kilt accompaniments and REBs motorcycles in Tweedbank. Although I have to confirm from my mum, in case she's watching this, I'm not planning on riding a motorbike. She's always telling me not to do that, but you never know, I might get a shot. I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work also plans to visit Newfangled Glass in Allawa on Friday, and the Minister for Employability and Training will also be out and about visiting castle comics and sparkling flowers in Cumbernauld. As I said earlier, I know that other ministers will be taking part. I hope that this year builds on the success of previous years in raising the profile of small businesses, the length and breadth of Scotland, and this debate has made clear just what the vital part of the economy of small businesses are. As others have said, there are over 365,000 small businesses operating in Scotland, an increase of over 11,000 since March last year. As Ash Denham has said, small and medium-sized firms account for 99.4 per cent of all Scotland's enterprises and provide 1.2 million jobs. Those jobs are in local communities. As members have said, Alison Johnstone has said and others, it is a really important point that the lower leakage from local businesses tend to recycle services that use local electricians, local plumbers and so forth for their premises. Those jobs contribute to inclusive growth and to prosperity, but while we celebrate their success, we know that it is not always easy, it is not always plain sailing to run a small business. As Alison Harris rightly identified, there are sadly some businesses that do not succeed, and we need to support those who go through that process. Often they come back stronger and found new businesses and succeed second time round. As a Government, we are committed to helping those businesses to grow. We want to ensure that, as Alison Harris was calling for, that we nurture them and that Scotland is the best place to do business. Our future economic success very much lies in the strength of our SME community. We offer a range of support to small help small businesses through business gateway, as Graham Day identified in other enterprise agencies. We also offer support to small and micro businesses in Scotland helping them to start-up, survive and grow. Last year, nearly 700,000 people visited the business gateway website, an increase of 13 per cent from last year. I hope that that is a sign of increased interest in starting a business. Nearly 2.6 million pages of business advice were accessed. Last year, business gateway helped nearly 11,000 new businesses to start-up, so I want to thank all those who operate length and breadth of the country in providing those vital services. It is crucial that viable SMEs can access a range of finance to start-up and grow their businesses. Despite current levels of business support, more is needed. We are investing in our future through the Scottish growth scheme, targeting over three years high-growth, innovative and export-focused SMEs. Graham Day gave a good example of a precision engineering company that is widening its net and not just servicing carnage to golf courses, but now looking to export. We would certainly encourage that and look to support companies in doing that in the future. I can spend time talking about business rates. I think that that has been covered by colleagues in the chamber. It is suffice to say that we continue to look to see how we can continue to keep business rates environment as competitive as possible. Obviously, we have had a debate today in the chamber around one specific aspect of that. Before closing, I want to briefly touch on wider work that is being undertaken to promote entrepreneurship. Given that our prosperity depends on successful new ideas and new businesses being created here in Scotland, it stands to reason that entrepreneurs will be fundamental to generating jobs in future economic growth. Over the past four years, we have worked with partners across the public, private and third sectors to develop and further the Scotland can do approach. It sets out our shared ambition for Scotland to be a world leader in enterprise and innovation. It aims to ensure that people in every part of Scotland have the confidence, encouragement and support that they need to become entrepreneurs. Today's debate, if it shows anything, is a huge political support across the chamber for those small businesses and those who lead them. I very much welcome the opportunity to recognise Small Business Saturday campaign today and to celebrate the success of small businesses across Scotland. I am sure that this year we will build on the success of previous years, recognising the vibrancy and vitality of our Scottish small business community. It is almost all members who have highlighted, and I am sure that we would all agree, shop locally this Saturday, but please also support your local businesses throughout the year. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much. I thank the minister and all the members for their contribution in our sharing for bringing the debate. I now close this meeting.