Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2025
I am very pleased to be able to speak in this debate marking small business Saturday and to help recognise the extraordinary contribution that small and micro businesses make to our economy, our communities and our national life.
Small business Saturday is, at its heart, a simple idea. It is about encouraging people to look first at the businesses on their high streets and doorsteps and in their own communities, and to recognise the value that they bring to those communities.
The motion alludes, rightly, to the fact that small businesses across Scotland are the backbone of our economy. In my constituency—and I am sure that this will be the case for every member who speaks in the debate—that reality is evident every day. The impact of those businesses, from the independent retailers and cafes in the town centres in my constituency to the many local innovative manufacturers on the various industrial estates dotted across it, is keenly felt.
I have been very keen to support small business Saturday for many years, and this year is no different. As I do every year, I visited one Cumbernauld-based business and one in Kilsyth. This year, I was pleased to visit RM Blinds, a family-run business that has been providing blinds across the west of Scotland for more than 20 years, and which operates its factory from Kilsyth, with a showroom attached.
I was also happy to visit NutriKing Meal Prep at the business’s kitchen in Cumbernauld. Started by Chris Jones, who has a background in fitness and nutrition, NutriKing provides nutritionally assessed, pre-prepared meals directly to customers in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and the surrounding area on a weekly basis. The business is hoping to expand in 2026, and it will be looking to partner with gyms and various other businesses in the locality. It is a reminder that small businesses can support one another, too.
In previous years, I have visited many great businesses that serve my area. Last year, I visited World of Wings Birds of Prey, Scotland’s largest birds-of-prey centre, and McLachlan Opticians, which has two branches in my constituency. In 2023, I met the team at Serpent Kings Barbershop, in Cumbernauld village, which launched that very same year. Its success since then has been underlined by the fact that, just this week, it announced that its business would be moving to bigger premises, which are, thankfully for its dedicated customer base, still located in Cumbernauld village.
In 2022, I visited the Scarecrow bar and grill in Kilsyth, which won the best gastropub award at the town’s 2019 and 2021 food awards. That visit followed my visit to Banton to see the equally excellent community-owned and run Swan inn, an acquisition by the community that was assisted by funding from both the Scottish Government and the national lottery.
All are superb examples of small businesses in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, and small business Saturday provides a focal point and an opportunity to celebrate and encourage such businesses. However, our commitment should be year round, through policy, partnership and practical support. Of course, the commitment that we show must also be backed by another P-word—patronage. We should all value and use the many small businesses that we are lucky to have in our local communities, and we should do so—as the motion sets out—not just on small business Saturday, but all year round.
17:51