– in the Scottish Parliament on 3rd December 2020.
As we mark small business Saturday this weekend in a year that has been especially tough for small businesses, what is the Scottish Government doing to encourage and support people to buy and enjoy locally sourced Scottish products by shopping locally?
I encourage people to shop locally, support local high street businesses and buy Scottish produce where they can and where it is appropriate. There remain 11 local authority areas where non-essential retail is closed. Those restrictions will be lifted on 11 December. As we go into the Christmas period and, I hope, start to come out of the Covid crisis, there is an opportunity for all of us to support local businesses as often and as much as we can. I encourage people across the country to do that up to Christmas as well as after that.