Hansard

I congratulate Allan Wilson, the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, on securing the debate.

I listened carefully to what the minister said. Despite my delight that ministers have taken such an interest in my Scottish Register of Tartans Bill of late, I want some assurances that they will take forward the general principles of the bill, with which they say they agree, before I withdraw it. My bill is important: a national register of tartan would establish a publicly owned and managed register that would enable current and historical records to be recorded and preserved.

Three years ago, I was approached by a steering group that had been meeting for two years with the request to facilitate the introduction of a bill. The steering group consisted of representatives of each of the existing registers, the Lord Lyon and others from the world of tartan. By the time I joined their discussions, they had sought, but not found, a non-legislative solution. I introduced the bill because of the underlying and overarching desire to secure the status of an independent and authoritative register for Scotland. At the time, there were also considerable rumours that, if Scotland did not produce such a register, another country—for example, Canada—might steal the lead.

Tartan's roots are in Scotland, but its branches spread worldwide. Scotland is the Mecca for tartan, and it would be stupid for our country to lose that valuable status. Other countries would give their eye teeth for such a recognisable symbol of identity. Anyone who sees tartan anywhere in the world thinks about Scotland—and bagpipers, pipe bands, the historic Scottish regiments, the rugby supporters, the tartan army of football supporters, the Edinburgh tattoo, the kilt shops, tartan day in New York and numerous Highland games worldwide. Tartan inspires pride in Scotland's past and present.

Tartan has been around for a long time and does not belong to a private section of the population. It does not belong to the weavers or to another section of the industry; it belongs to Scotland. That is why it is important to have a Scottish register of tartans. It is vital that such a register should be independent and publicly managed. That was the conclusion of the steering group with which I was involved, which is why the legislative route was required. A public register would not just secure important information for our nation but make that information accessible to the Scottish diaspora. The 30 million or so members of the diaspora will be pleased that the new Scottish Parliament is elevating such a beloved national icon.

The proposal for a national register received strong support from many sources. Dr Andrew Cubie wrote in his submission on the Scottish Register of Tartans Bill to the Enterprise and Culture Committee:

"I believe that an official register of tartan would greatly benefit not only the limited number of commercial weavers who call themselves the ‘tartan industry', but also the entire Scottish tourist industry and tourist related activities, including genealogy."

VisitScotland said that tartan is Scotland's trademark and went on to say:

"tartan conjures immediate associations with the scenery, our culture and heritage".

Tartan adds value to the tourism industry.

Shortly after I introduced the bill, I went to the excellent, revamped Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Attached to the interesting tartan display in the museum are the words:

"When you see tartan, you immediately think of Scotland. It's a powerful symbol for the Scots—so powerful that Government"—

a Whig Government—

"once banned people from wearing tartan. Tartan is now a huge success story. It graces the catwalks of London and Paris, finding its way into the hearts (and the carrier bags) of most visitors to Scotland."

That nicely states in a nutshell the importance of tartan.

I am grateful to Allan Wilson for his kind remarks and I will search his opening and winding-up speeches for an assurance that both parties in the Executive will take action to create a national tartan register if they are returned to Government. His remarks so far have been encouraging. I will help in any way that I can, as I am sure will the people whom he intends to consult, who submitted evidence on the proposal at an early stage. I am grateful for their work and encouragement. I also thank David Cullum, Rodger Evans and Alison Wilson from the non-Executive bills unit for their invaluable guidance and assistance, and I thank my assistant, Joanna Mowat.

If the Executive were to take forward the general principles of my bill, it would be churlish of me to demand more parliamentary time from an already overburdened schedule. Therefore, I will consider withdrawing my bill, but I reserve the right to bring it back if I am re-elected and the Executive does not fulfil its promise.