Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2025
I begin by declaring an interest as a business owner. That declaration of interests also applies to the interventions that I made earlier on Fergus Ewing in relation to rates revaluation.
Today, I pay tribute to all those enterprises and entrepreneurs across Scotland who work hard all year round. Those are the people who take risks, invest their savings and work long hours, and who keep going even when the economic environment is stacked against them. Their efforts provide the tax revenue that we need to fund public services; their success supports our national health service, schools and local councils and the services on which communities depend; and their hard work provides the good-quality paid jobs that we all need.
On small business Saturday—and, indeed, all year round—we should celebrate, and encourage support for, small businesses, including those in my area of the Borders—Border Eco Systems in Jedburgh, Thomas Sherriff & Co machinery and Border Padel Company, which I recently visited, are all fantastic examples. They need our help at this critical time more than ever, as it is an incredibly challenging time to be a small business. Owners are facing relentless pressure from rising bills and from inflation and energy prices, and on-going economic uncertainty is at the forefront of their minds. Many feel that, just when they start to recover from one challenge, another is placed in their way.