The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-14652, in the name of Gordon MacDonald, on “Scottish Grocers Federation Launches Scottish Local Shop Report”. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament congratulates the Scottish Grocers’ Federation on the launch, at its annual conference, of the first ever Scottish local shop report; welcomes the findings in the report that there are a greater number of independent convenience stores per head of population in Scotland than in the rest of the UK and that the sector in Scotland provides 44,332 jobs; understands the importance of convenience stores to communities in Scotland, including in Edinburgh Pentlands; celebrates reports that 87% of independent retailers in Scotland were involved in some form of community activity in the last year and that the sector is highly entrepreneurial, with 65% of independent retailers in Scotland being the first person in their family to own or run a convenience store, and understands that turnover in the sector grew by 5% between 2014 and 2015, which resulted in a net growth rate of one new shop per week in Scotland.
17:07
I welcome to the Scottish Parliament members of the Scottish Grocers Federation who are in the gallery tonight, and I thank John Lee of the SGF for his assistance.
Last October, the Scottish Grocers Federation launched the first ever report on the importance of convenience stores to our villages, towns and cities. The introduction states that the report is the
“richest ever picture of the economic and social value of local shops”
in Scotland. The report, which was produced by the SGF in conjunction with its sister organisation in England and Wales—the Association of Convenience Stores—found that convenience stores often provide the only local shopping option for rural communities, while those in urban areas serve as part of the mix of stores that serve the needs of the people who live and work in our communities.
The report found that 75 per cent of the 5,602 convenience stores in Scotland are run by small business owners, that the sector provides 44,332 jobs, and that their value to the economy in terms of gross value added is more than £0.5 billion per annum. With one convenience store for every 946 people, Scotland has more such shops per head than any other part of the UK.
We have read in the newspapers recently that some retailers are going through a difficult patch, with at least one high-profile casualty being announced in the past week. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report for the first half of 2015 highlighted that five high street stores were closing every week in some of Scotland’s largest towns and cities. The figures highlight that stores that are owned by multiple retailers have shut up shop with not enough new openings to prevent a net reduction, and PWC highlighted that store portfolios continue to be
“reviewed and streamlined in response to the relentless advance of online shopping”.
How has that affected convenience stores? The report highlights that there are now more stores than there were in 2014, with a net growth rate of more than one new shop per week, which has provided more than 2,000 new jobs during the past year. Overall, sales are up 5 per cent year on year as a result of an increase in average spend, of more couples with young children using the stores, and of the increasing frequency of visits on foot to the local community store.
The range of services is increasing, which is helping to drive the increase in footfall, with many convenience stores offering mobile phone top-ups, bill payment services, free-to-use cash machines, community notice boards and cold food to go. Social media are helping convenience stores to take on the major supermarket chains with special offers and events being advertised via Twitter and Facebook.
The report found that another possible reason for the positive figures is the fact that 87 per cent of Scottish retailers engage in some form of community activity, with more than eight out of 10 collecting money for local or national charities, one in three providing funding or support to community events, and one in four providing sponsorship to local sports teams.
It therefore comes as no surprise that of the 12 types of retail outlet that are present in our communities, convenience stores were voted second by consumers in a ComRes—CommunicateResearch Ltd—poll in 2015 in respect of which have the most positive impact on their local area. That involvement in the community and the range of services that are provided are what help to create customer loyalty.
Customer loyalty encourages a new generation of young entrepreneurs in new store openings, with a 33 per cent increase since 2014 of business people below the age of 30 opening and owning convenience stores. The report found that the sector is very entrepreneurial, with 65 per cent being the first person in their family to own or run a convenience store in Scotland.
That does not mean that no issues need to be addressed in order that such success can continue. Small independent retailers are under immense pressure to maintain margins and profitability so that they can have the funds to reinvest in their business. Many store owners have embraced new technology and installed LED lights, smart meters, chiller doors and so on in order to cut overheads and compete with the supermarkets.
That drive to efficiency is being assisted by the Scottish Government’s environment agency, Zero Waste Scotland, which has made available a fund of £100,000 to enable convenience store retailers to carry out energy efficiency refits. That has proved to be highly successful and many SGF members are keen for it to continue.
Then, there are the issues that lie outwith the retailers’ control but which impact on the viability of their stores. Although the report found that 58 per cent of convenience store customers travel on foot, 38 per cent drive to their local store. Parking problems impact on local shops, which means the loss of passing trade or impulse buyers. That is being evidenced in my constituency. I understand that lack of car parking provision by Edinburgh Napier University at Sighthill means that more and more parking in the adjacent local shopping and residential area is being used by students, which is resulting in a reduction of passing trade to local shops and is making it difficult for residents to park adjacent to their homes.
There are also the increased rents and non-domestic rates that are demanded of small retailers, which do not reflect the difficult trading circumstances that many find themselves in. Retailers in my constituency inform me that the Scottish Government small business bonus scheme has been welcome in its giving 100 per cent relief to properties with a rateable value of up to £10,000, and a sliding scale of discount for properties with a rateable value of up to £18,000. Across Scotland, 92,000 small businesses—many of them local convenience stores—have had their rates abolished or substantially reduced.
In August 2014, during the first ever parliamentary debate on the importance of convenience stores to our local economies, I quoted the Carnegie UK Trust, which stated:
“We recognise that for many towns, the contribution of independent retailers is a crucial factor in the long-term sustainability, diversity and vibrancy of high streets.”—[Official Report, 19 August 2014; c 33651.]
“The Local Shop Report 2015” confirms and justifies the view of the Carnegie UK Trust that the long-term sustainability, diversity and vibrancy of high streets is down to local shops and the convenience store sector.
I urge members to pop in to committee room 1 on Thursday, where they can not only pick up a copy of the report, but can discuss the findings with a number of retailers from across Scotland.
17:15
I thank my colleague Gordon MacDonald for bringing the debate to the chamber and I welcome our visitors in the public gallery.
On 27 November last year, I had the pleasure of sending off a charity conga around Hampden Park. Participating in that event were a number of local primary schools, including additional support needs schools. The purpose behind the conga was to raise funds to ensure that no child in those schools went without a happy Christmas. All the funding that was raised on the day, which totalled thousands of pounds, was kept by the schools for their pupils.
Those responsible for that fantastic event—besides Glasgow the Caring City and the schools—included Hampden Park, which generously let us use the stadium, and the Scottish Grocers Federation, which made sure that every child was watered and fed. There might even have been some teacakes and caramel wafers from a well-known company whose name escapes me.
That generosity from the SGF is only one example of the community work that the independent retail sector does. The report provides an excellent breakdown of the sector’s activities in communities. As Gordon MacDonald said, more than 80 per cent of independent retailers are involved in their community, and across the United Kingdom, Scotland is second in that only to the south-west of England. The sector is to be congratulated on that.
Community engagement has taken many forms, which include collecting money for national or local charities. Local stores provide funding or in-kind support to local events and sponsor local sports teams or other community activities. They play an important role in community, council and local business association meetings and projects.
I was amazed at some of the other statistics that the report contains. The convenience store sector is worth a staggering £5 billion to the UK economy, which equates to 6 per cent of the UK retail sector; 75 per cent of local shops are owned by small business owners, many of whom benefit from the small business bonus, as Gordon MacDonald mentioned; 32 per cent of owners are women, which is not parity but is an encouraging number to build on; 23 per cent of business owners have been in business for more than 26 years; and 36 per cent own their business in partnership with family members. Stability and longevity appear to be just two of the benefits of running a convenience store.
We cannot forget that, when the word “convenience” is used, it is extremely appropriate: 78 per cent of customers travel less than a mile to their local store; 25 per cent use their local store every day; and, as has been mentioned, 58 per cent travel by foot to their store, so the stores are both convenient and environmentally friendly.
In areas such as the Cathcart constituency, the convenience store often stands alone as the sole source of shopping in parts of housing estates such as Castlemilk. In areas such as Croftfoot and Shawlands, where the stores are playing a notable role in establishing a new business improvement district, they operate with other service providers to give residents choice and diversity. They are such an important part of the local community that it was after consulting local businesses in Mount Florida and Battlefield that I helped to establish the business forum, in which the numerous convenience stores that are located in the area have continued to play an important role.
Many of us will remember Ronnie Barker’s popular sitcom “Open All Hours”. That title—although, thankfully, not the attitude and work practices of that old skinflint Arkwright—could not be more apt. The stores are indeed open all hours. They are often open 24 hours, seven days a week, which earns them the accolade of being a crucial mainstay of the community.
I congratulate the SGF and its partners on compiling the report. The sector deserves to be recognised for the role that it plays as an important part of Scotland’s economy and for its resilience in response to a changing business environment. It also deserves our recognition and praise for the important role that it plays in communities across constituencies such as Cathcart and for the many examples of support that it has given our communities.
17:19
I, too, congratulate Gordon MacDonald on securing the debate and on giving us all the opportunity to note the findings of “The Local Shop Report 2015” and to speak more generally about the retail and grocery sector in Scotland. I commend the Association of Convenience Stores, the Scottish Grocers Federation and the Scottish Retail Consortium for all the work that they do to keep us in Parliament informed about what is happening in their industries and in the real economy.
As the motion says, there are well over 40,000 jobs in convenience stores in Scotland and many of the stores are family-run businesses with roots in the community. The overwhelming majority are run by small business owners, which suggests that the sector is highly entrepreneurial. If we include independent shops that operate on petrol station forecourts, 75 per cent of the shops that the report studied are small businesses. Only 17 per cent of people said that they visit their local shop less than once a week and 25 per cent said that they visit every day. According to the report, 87 per cent of independent retailers are involved in the community in some way.
I have taken time to visit convenience stores. It is clear that local shops can be a social hub in the community. It strikes me that many stores have regular customers, particularly older people, who could have been shopping in the same place for decades. Convenience stores can be more than just a place to exchange money for groceries; they can be a place to exchange conversation and meet neighbours. It also strikes me that, for some people, their regular trip to pick up groceries or get a newspaper could be the only time that they leave the house on some days, and that the only people who they speak to all day could be the staff working at the till or stacking shelves.
Last week, I presented to the Parliament the Equal Opportunities Committee’s report on age and social isolation. I recommend that all members should take the time to read it, because it underlines the importance of social interaction and being part of a community, which many of our convenience stores are.
Some issues that are relevant to the debate have been raised at the cross-party group on towns and town centres. The Scottish Government has indicated that it is involved in reviewing and, I hope, refreshing the town centre action plan. I want a new, robust and comprehensive action plan to be brought forward at the earliest opportunity.
The themes of the Scottish town centres review, which Malcolm Fraser led, are useful for anyone who has an interest in turning around our town centres, regenerating our towns and supporting businesses that invest in our local economies. Those themes must be developed and taken forward in the coming months. One is the town centre first approach, which is about the public sector taking a lead and promoting investment in town centres to drive up footfall and promote accessibility. Another theme is town centre living, which is about making our town centres places in which to live again and not just places in which to work or shop. Then there is the enterprising communities theme, whose aim is to have a community estate agency established to audit town centre assets and to find better ways to use local properties and existing capacity. A fourth theme—digital towns—is about supporting wi-fi and making sure that we have high-speed broadband in all our town centres.
It would be useful to know more about how the Scottish Government intends to proceed with the renewal of the town centre action plan. Retailers large and small will be interested in the result, as will be the communities that they serve.
“The Local Shop Report 2015” has clearly set out the importance of convenience stores to local communities and local economies. It is another valuable resource for us in the Parliament to draw on as we consider the future of our town centres and of the retail sector.
17:23
I, too, thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing the debate to the chamber. I welcome the debate because, as many members will be aware, I represent the great town of Paisley, which has faced many of the challenges that have been mentioned in the retail sector over the past 10 to 15 years. The media automatically tend to take a picture of Paisley High Street when they want to make a point about how dramatically things have changed. However, although the retail giants have moved out of town, the convenience stores are still in my town centre, serving and working with the community.
That is important, because there is still a demographic among my constituents who do most of their shopping in the town centre. The elderly and those from poorer backgrounds have more difficulties shopping out of town. That is borne out in the report, which states that 78 per cent of convenience store customers travel less than a mile to use their local store; that 58 per cent travel to their local store by foot, compared with 38 per cent who drive; and that 25 per cent of customers use their local shop every day.
That is mirrored in my constituency, where there are small pockets of successful local shops throughout our town. For town centres such as Paisley to succeed, we must encourage those stores and ensure that they get the opportunity to develop further, because they are the ones that are still contributing to our local economy.
I remember a comment from a number of years back, when there was initial talk about welfare reform. It was said that, from a retail perspective, welfare reform would cost Paisley town centre about £1 million a year, because it is the old and the poorer individuals who shop in the town centre. All those things have to be taken into account, because they are the people who are making sure that we have a local shop to go to.
It is interesting that one of the top three stores that everyone wants to have in their area is a specialist food shop, such as a traditional butcher, which we still have a number of locally. They were extremely busy during the festive period, although they tend to slow up, but they are still the only type of business where people can get certain products. Shops such as independent butchers and grocers make our town centres thrive because they offer something that is slightly different and a service that people can no longer get elsewhere. They hark back to a time when the shopkeeper knew everybody’s name and knew who his customer base was, and we do not want to lose that.
Last week, I spoke—ironically, it was during a debate on lobbying—about an independent bookshop that we used to have in Paisley town centre. Three or four generations of the same family owned that store but, with the internet and the chance to buy a book and have it delivered straight to the door, and with the opportunity to buy e-books, they could not compete.
A town centre loses something when it loses that type of shop. The irony is that the rest of the top three shops that people want is banks and post offices—businesses whose business model has been changing over recent years. I have constantly spoken to the minister about the major banks pulling out of certain areas. They are part of the retail ecology of every high street and town centre as well, and they have to take on a responsibility, because shops and retailers need them, too.
I believe that small retailers are the solution to our town centre problems. I thank Gordon MacDonald again for bringing the debate to the chamber. I wish all the retailers all the best, but I encourage everyone to try to shop in local stores, as I did recently in my town when buying Christmas presents. We need to lead from the front and support such traders, because it is all too easy for a store to go the same way as the bookshop that I mentioned. When it is no longer there, people will wonder what happened to it.
17:28
I, too, wish to congratulate the Scottish Grocers Federation on the launch of the first ever local shop report, produced in conjunction with the Association of Convenience Stores. We must emphasise the word “convenience”. As ever, the rich amount of detailed information provided is incredibly useful for us MSPs in order to know how the sector is doing, what challenges it faces and what we can do to help. We are probably all quoting the same statistics, because it is a large range of information in a targeted, concise report, which is a welcome development. I am sure that colleagues across the chamber agree that the report paints a positive picture of the independent convenience store sector, and those entrepreneurs deserve our praise. They also deserve our help, which is why we should examine the areas in the report in which challenges remain, so that we know how to help.
The report highlights the welcome news that, as we all know from the statistics that we have heard, we have the highest concentration of convenience stores in the UK, with 5,602 in Scotland. The figure of one shop for every 946 people is impressive proof of the breadth and commitment of the sector to serving our communities. We do not have to look very far to find yet further proof of small retailers’ commitment, as 29 per cent of Scottish shop owners work more than 70 hours a week, and 22 per cent take no holidays during the year. That is an incredibly strong work ethic and something that they should be congratulated on, although it is important that options for more flexible working should also be available if desired.
Although longevity is itself impressive, as evidenced by the fact that 26 per cent of shop owners in Scotland have been in the trade for more than 25 years, it is imperative that we look forward to where economic growth and the jobs with it will come from in the future. The answer of course is entrepreneurism. In that regard, the news in the SGF’s report is again impressive. Some 65 per cent of people who own or run a convenience store in Scotland are the first person in their family to do so, and 57 new shops have opened in the past year, which hints at exactly the sort of start-up drive that we need in this country. Furthermore, there is an encouragingly large representation of young people in the sector, with 16 per cent of the managers being 30 or under.
The ability to drive economic growth in the future is, of course, tied up with the embracing of technology. Scottish shops have certainly been active in this area, with 23 per cent having a Facebook account, 20 per cent having a Twitter account and around a third offering contactless payments. As a businessman and frequent customer of local shops, I know that using technology to attract customers and make their transactions easier is key to competing with other, perhaps larger, shops, as is the personal service that those convenience stores give. As George Adam said, gone are the days when people used to know one’s name when one went into their shop, although that still happens in certain areas.
There appears to be a bright future ahead for convenience stores in Scotland, but we cannot be complacent about delivering on that potential. I am sure that grocers do not need politicians to tell them which technologies to adopt to help their business, but it is important that we remain aware of any issues facing small business owners that might prevent them from making the most of technological opportunities in the sector.
Finally, I would like to touch on another admirable feature of independent stores, which is their extensive contribution to their local communities. As we have just heard, over the past year, 87 per cent of those stores in Scotland were involved in some form of local activity such as charity or sports work. Time and again they have shown themselves worthy of our extensive praise and support, but the most important aspect is how that binds their relationship with local customers. That, after all, is key to cementing small stores’ place in our communities and the continued health of the sector. As the SGF’s report shows, the sector is growing in Scotland because it is providing customers with the local service that they want—that, after all, is what it is all about.
17:31
I thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing this debate to Parliament, and congratulate the Scottish Grocers Federation on its publication of the first Scottish local shop report.
Without any doubt, small retailers and convenience shops contribute greatly to our economy. In Scotland, nearly 6,000 such shops provide more than 44,000 jobs. In addition, by using local services and suppliers, small retailers also reinvest in their local economies. However, as Gordon MacDonald mentioned in his motion, independent convenience shops also play a vital role in communities across Scotland, with 87 per cent of independent retailers being engaged in community activity. Those activities are wide ranging. For example, since the introduction of the 5p single-use carrier bag charge, small shops have raised significant sums for charitable purposes. To make the benefits more lasting, the Scottish Grocers Federation now also works with the Scottish Government and Keep Scotland Beautiful to support smaller retailers to work together and make their donations more tangible.
I believe that acknowledging the benefits of small retailers and convenience stores is important. It highlights that small retailers and convenience stores are thriving aspects of communities across Scotland and contribute towards sustainable economic growth. However, those statistics should not lead us to neglect the fact that Scotland’s town and city centres are affected by a large number of shop vacancies. Towns and cities have difficulties in attracting customers and have to compete with larger shopping centres on the periphery. Even though statistics show that shop vacancies are falling and that restructuring changes are having an effect, I believe that further improving the attractiveness of our town centres is a crucial aspect of supporting local economies. However, creating more vibrant and active town and city centres is not an easy task. It requires the co-operation of a range of stakeholders, including the local council and business owners. To avoid conflict, that also demands the careful consideration of various interests.
In that regard, I want to mention Kirkcaldy4All, which is an excellent example of how to involve and work with local small retailers and businesses and of how beneficial such a partnership can be for customers and the local economy.
Kirkcaldy4All was elected in 2010 by the business improvement district in Kirkcaldy to deliver a business plan that, in its words, aims to
“promote Kirkcaldy Town Centre as a place where people want to work, shop and spend their leisure time in a welcoming environment which is customer focused and investment-friendly”.
To reach that goal, Kirkcaldy4All promotes Kirkcaldy town centre through various events, including the Fife international carnival, the big haggis Burns night, a lantern parade and the beach Highland games, as well as advertising in local newspapers and radio stations.
Kirkcaldy4All encourages small businesses and retailers to participate in small business Saturday, which, in 2015, took place on 5 December. In Kirkcaldy, the campaign, which encourages people to shop local, was celebrated with street entertainers and many offers and promotions in participating businesses. Participants also received free social media coverage for a period of five weeks leading up to the event.
Overall, 2015 has been a very successful year for Kirkcaldy4All. Besides being re-elected for another five-year term, Kirkcaldy4All launched a six-month trial for reduced parking costs in Kirkcaldy’s town centre. Most notably, Kirkcaldy was named home of Britain’s fastest growing small businesses. I believe that Kirkcadly4All played a crucial role in that success. A recent Experian study ranked Kirkcaldy number 1 in the United Kingdom—higher than cities such as Birmingham and Aberdeen. Turnover in small retailers and convenience shops in Kirkcaldy has grown significantly in the past 12 months, reflecting a trend for growth in the sector.
The debate has been a great opportunity to discuss such positive developments. However, we need to think about how we can sustain that trend and ensure that small retailers and convenience shops continue to thrive.
17:36
I, too, congratulate Gordon MacDonald on securing the debate. I also congratulate all those involved in the launch of “The Local Shop Report 2015”.
The independent retail sector is relatively strong in Scotland, with the highest concentration of such stores in the UK. As other members have said, new businesses are opening all the time. Most local shops are stand-alone businesses or family businesses, with many owners and family members working long hours and taking little time off because of their commitment to the enterprise.
Sadly, hard work alone does not guarantee the success or even the survival of a business. Even long-established independent convenience stores have found the financial climate of recent years a challenge. There are also pressures and temptations arising from the growing competition of supermarket chains entering the convenience store market. Let us take, for example, Kelly of Cults in Aberdeen—a local shop, complete with bakery and butcher’s department, which was run by the same family from 1902 to 2015. The shop is now leased to Sainsbury’s—no doubt a rational business decision for the owners but, inevitably, a loss of choice and variety for the customers.
Sainsbury’s is a good employer, of course. It provides jobs, training and opportunities for its staff, negotiates terms and conditions with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers—something that other employers in the sector should also do—and is a popular and successful retailer. However, what supermarket chains cannot provide is the diversity of products for which local shops, such as Kelly of Cults, are rightly known.
The business model of a company such as Sainsbury’s is to keep prices down by procuring produce from a single source; by definition, that reduces diversity and therefore choice. It also has unintended consequences. An example of that was when Young’s Seafood lost the smoked salmon contract with Sainsbury’s. At a stroke, the fish processed at Young’s factory in Fraserburgh lost outlets throughout the UK. This month, as a consequence, more than 150 workers in Fraserburgh have lost their jobs.
Local shops, by contrast, are more able and willing to place orders with local suppliers, which is one of the ways in which they can contribute to their local economies. That is one of the things that is lost when local shops are taken over or driven out of the marketplace altogether.
Another challenge that faces new and existing businesses in the independent convenience store sector comes from the illicit trade in alcohol and tobacco. Sellers of such contraband advertise their products and services through social media, making it difficult for the police and HM Revenue & Customs to track them down. A recent sting operation in Aberdeen, in which hundreds of illegal cigarettes were bought from two different street sellers in just a couple of hours, revealed just how easy it was to access those products and services.
Nevertheless, there has been some success in tackling that trade, including, in September last year, the seizure of 5,000 illegal cigarettes and 3.5kg of tobacco from addresses in Peterhead and Fraserburgh. Continued operations by the police, trading standards and HMRC will go a long way to tackle illicit sales, thereby protecting legitimate business in local convenience stores from that unwanted and illegal competition.
I was interested to note that the Scottish Grocers Federation has called on the Scottish Government to give responsibility for tackling that illicit trade a more prominent role in a ministerial portfolio. That might be a step in the right direction to show the seriousness with which the issue should be taken.
I welcome the debate and the report, highlighting as they do the important role of local shops in urban and rural communities. I hope that enough people will continue to choose to support their local shops for their important role to continue for generations to come.
17:40
I congratulate Gordon MacDonald on securing this important debate. He pointed out the huge importance of convenience stores to Scotland and set out his stall by summarising some of the salient facts—for example, the more than 40,000 jobs that are sustained by the sector, with £0.5 billion or more of turnover, and the enormous contribution that convenience stores make to the communities that they serve, not least in his constituency of Edinburgh Pentlands. I have had the pleasure of working with Gordon MacDonald and with some of his constituents and the Scottish Grocers Federation. He has been a champion of the cause, which he has persevered in pursuing. I note, incidentally, that the Scottish Grocers Federation is 98 this year and will be celebrating its centenary in 2018, which is something to look forward to.
The cross-party support that we have heard for the sector is extremely encouraging. This has been a very positive debate and I praise all members’ contributions to it, which have given us the opportunity to discuss some of the enormous contribution that the sector makes.
These businesses are truly local businesses—perhaps more so than just about any other type of business, as “The Local Shop Report 2015” exemplifies. I think that they come second only to the post office in being the most community based and the most local of businesses, and in making the greatest commitment to communities of perhaps all the retail sector. That is the message that I took from the various contributions to the debate as we went on a sort of virtual geographic tour of Scotland, from Aberdeen and Kirkcaldy through to Glasgow Cathcart, which left me with the indelible image of Mr James Dornan leading a conga to raise money for a children’s charity as a sort of Pied Piper of Hampden, as he might describe himself.
We know that Mr Adam always champions his native town of Paisley, which he always mentions, so I was surprised that he got a whole three seconds into his speech before he said the word “Paisley”, which showed uncharacteristic forbearance.
A number of issues were raised in the debate, some of which I will highlight. Business rates were mentioned; they are a necessary contribution to Scotland’s finances and businesses make an enormous contribution to sustaining public services through the rates that they pay, but when did we last hear a business getting recognition for contributing enormously to helping maintain our health, education, police and environmental services?
Smaller businesses value highly the small business bonus, as we heard. I think that near 100,000 businesses now receive the small business bonus. My ambition—or one of them—is that the small business bonus becomes a sort of embedded part of policy—not something that is liable to be removed but something that will continue to be part of the system as long as we have the current rating system. Our party has made the commitment that we will, if re-elected, retain the small business bonus to the end of the next session—which, by my arithmetic, will take us to 2021. That is important, because that sort of certainty and long-term planning would be really appreciated by the smaller convenience stores that, as Mr MacDonald clearly set out, value the small business bonus that they obtain. I hope that the parties that do not presently support the small business bonus will join us in recognising the enormous contribution that is made.
However, the sector makes other contributions, including employment of young people. From a convenience store in Mr MacDonald’s constituency I learned of the contribution that such businesses make to employment of young people through the provision of what used in the old days to be called Saturday jobs, such as paper rounds—which, if I may say so, you and I can remember particularly well, Presiding Officer. Okay—the salaries are not high, but the experience inculcates the work ethic in young people and presents an opportunity for them to learn that they must arrive and finish at a certain time and get the job done. Businesses provide such work to local children, in a safe environment. That can be easy to overlook.
Problems such as parking, planning and regulation are at the heart of the nitty-gritty experience of running a small business. Such frustrations and irritations can be considerable, as I well remember from running my own small business. I will not share with members the frustrating experience that I had in relation to planning, although I might do so in a different environment.
When we are taking steps to encourage responsible use of tobacco and alcohol, we must, prior to making and implementing regulations, consider what they will mean in practice for the people who will have to apply them. It is easy to make a high-minded rhetorical speech about the value and rightness of such action; it is far more difficult to ensure that regulations can be applied in a practical, consistent and proportionate way, which does not impose an undue burden, as our better regulation policy sets out.
I think that almost every member in the debate mentioned convenience stores’ enormous contribution to charity, which we cherish. That contribution perhaps explains why such stores are the second most popular type of retail business in the country, as it says in the independent report.
As the minister who has sought to build a close relationship with the whole retail sector and to recognise its value in employing around a quarter of a million people in Scotland, I have a particular affinity for the small and often family-run businesses that are rooted in Scotland and its communities—the convenience stores that are open from 8 til late and whose staff start work from 6 am or 7 am and work hours as long as anyone in the country works. It is a great experience to have the opportunity to thank all those businesspeople and their staff for the enormous contribution that they make to their communities and to Scotland.
Meeting closed at 17:47.Previous
Decision Time