Hansard

There is absolutely nothing to stop any Scottish political party handing out the saltire to Scots people.

I welcome the amendment in Ted Brocklebank's name, despite the fact that he corrected my grammar. In the motion, I referred only to the six modern cities of Scotland. I apologise for that; I should have paid due respect to our ancient cities, too. I am happy to accept Ted Brocklebank's amendment. Obviously, he thought about the substantive issues and has made a considered contribution to the debate.

St Andrew's day is Scotland's national day. In our manifesto and the 100-days document, we set out our commitment to mobilise Scotland's national day for the benefit of our economy and country, and to give a boost to our traditional and contemporary culture. Our aim is to raise awareness of the day as a cornerstone of Scotland's winter festival, building on our success in attracting visitors to join us for hogmanay. We also want to build on the global reputation of Scotland's national bard, the excellence of our summer festivals and our incredible scenery.

We want to ensure that Scotland is seen as a year-round destination that is open for business and ready to engage with the world. The St Andrew's day programme involves events around the world and in all Scotland's cities—modern and ancient—and serves as a launch pad for Scotland's winter festivals. Throughout the country, top visitor attractions are opening their doors for free, in celebration of our national day.

Scotland's pre-schools, schools and universities are being encouraged to join the St Andrew's day celebrations. Some are hosting events and others have themed their activities on the day around the many cultures that make up Scotland's people. We are creating new events such as the St Andrew's day debate and we are working with new partners such as Edinburgh Leisure, Dance Base and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

The Government is spending £400,000 on St Andrew's day and a further £300,000 on the winter festival, giving sponsorship to Scotland's cities for their winter festival events. We are galvanising activity all across Scotland, sponsoring events in Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Glasgow, Stirling and elsewhere and delivering the St Andrew's day celebrations in Edinburgh.

We know of 60 schools events and 13 events in further and higher education institutions. For example, Banff and Buchan College is providing a free porridge breakfast for staff and students, and 87 second-year pupils from Waid academy in Fife are taking part in a sponsored walk along the old pilgrim route from Guardbridge to St Andrews cathedral to raise money for the Children's Hospice Association Scotland.

We are raising the profile of St Andrew's day and Scotland internationally as well as at home. A new section of the www.scotland.org website, entitled celebrate Scotland, will provide a permanent online resource for the promotion of Scottish culture and festivals. The St Andrew's day section, which is live and promoting activity in Scotland and overseas on and around the national day, will build into a sustainable, international resource for the winter festivals.

We are selling Scotland abroad. Tomorrow, we will launch a new website in Chinese—www.scotland.cn—which will be followed up with direct mail to appropriate Scottish stakeholders and Chinese media contacts. By celebrating St Andrew's day overseas and utilising Scotland's reputation, icons and traditions, we can reinforce Scotland's culture and place in today's world.

The Scottish diaspora are proactive and very proud to celebrate their home country's national day. To date, we are aware of more than 100 St Andrew's day events around the world, and we are still counting.

We are also doing more here. I hope that some members have already downloaded the Red Hot Chilli Pipers ringtone from the website. I am not technically minded enough to be able to do that, so I would be grateful if someone could show me.

Our national conversation is up and running, and the public are engaging in their thousands to argue for and against constitutional change. The debate has shown how every aspect of life in Scotland has somehow been constrained by the current devolution settlement and, between this St Andrew's day and the next, the Scottish Government will make the case for constitutional change. I urge everyone who lives and works in Scotland and those throughout the world who have an interest in the country to join in that national conversation.

Scotland has been shaped by the ebb and flow of migrants over centuries and the richness of our culture and tradition, our architecture and music, our art and education are testament to those influences. That diverse population helps Scotland to experience different ideas and values and helps to develop a culture of entrepreneurship and ambition.

Scotland is growing in confidence, and becoming more dynamic, forward thinking and energetic. Of course, there are challenges that can shackle opportunities and our nation's potential. Yes, there are pockets of prejudice, bigotry, racism and discrimination. We will continue with a wide programme of work on those issues, and further develop the one Scotland campaign and the national statement and action plan on race equality. Moreover, following the announcement of the outcome of the spending review, we are considering the future funding of work and other projects that tackle racism and promote race equality, integration and community cohesion.

St Andrew's day is Scotland's national day. It is the national day both for everyone who lives here and for anyone who wishes to visit us tomorrow. It is time for us to celebrate everything that is good about Scotland and challenge what needs to be challenged.

Presiding Officer, I trust that you are pleased that I have given you some extra time. I move,

That the Parliament believes in the importance of celebrating Scotland's national day; recognises the opportunity that it offers to both celebrate what it means to be Scottish in the 21st century and to promote a fair and inclusive society; notes the Scottish Government's proactive support of a programme of events throughout the country and all of Scotland's six cities; commends the work of schools and community groups across Scotland in teaching our young people about St Andrew's Day and promoting diversity through their celebrations, and furthermore thanks the St Andrew's societies, Caledonian societies, Scottish Development International, Globalscots, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and all the other overseas organisations who have planned over 100 wide-ranging celebrations in countries around the world.