St Andrew’s Day: A National Holiday Summary of Responses and Conclusions St. Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday Consultation General In total 142 parties responded to the consultation. (It is noted that 9 further submissions have been received since the initial figure of 133 was included in the Statement of Reasons considered by the Audit Committee on 30 November.) Overall responses to the proposed Bill were positive with 75% indicating support, 4% giving partial support and another 6% agreeing with the proposed Bill as long as certain conditions are met/considered. A total of 85% therefore indicated general support for the Bill. Only 8 responses (6%) to the consultation disagreed fully with the proposals and the remaining 9% were either unsure or made no comment1. The following chart shows the level of support in detail. Breakdown of Responses In Support 6% 6% Partial Support 3% 6% Conditional Support 4% Unsure No Comment 75% Against The 142 respondents were made up of the following groups and organisations: 39 political, 33 individuals, 17 local authorities, 21 religious, 12 unions/professional associations, 9 business, 3 education, 4 cultural/interest groups, 1 equal opportunities group, 1 community council, 1 association of community councils and 1 legal body2. Virtually all of the responses from individuals supported the proposal. The vast majority of elected politicians who responded expressed support for the proposal. Although a majority of local authority responses were in favour, some of them referred to difficulties which might arise. There was strong 1 Percentages subject to rounding 2 See Annex A for a complete list of respondents 1 St Andrew’s Day: A National Holiday support from the Scottish Trades Union Congress and individual trade unions but the business community was more divided. The CBI reported that there was not great support for the proposal amongst its members. However, some other submissions from the business sector were in favour. Some of the strongest support for the proposal came from religious leaders and organisations, including the Church of Scotland’s Committee on Church and Nation; the Scottish Episcopal Church’s College of Bishops; Cardinal Keith O’Brien and other members of the Catholic Hierarchy of Scotland; and the Scottish Inter Faith Council, which includes representatives from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Baha’i, Buddhist and Sikh communities in Scotland. The contents of the responses varied. A number of responses (approximately 25%) did not go into great detail but offered statements of encouragement such as ‘good luck!’ or more simply ‘I agree’. A few responses simply indicated their disagreement with no further explanation or explained that they were ‘unable to comment’. Conversely, many respondents engaged fully with the consultation exercise and tackled the questions directly. As a result it has been possible to extract a good amount of relevant qualitative information from the responses which the following analysis will group together. This analysis will address each question from the consultation document and will summarise the main arguments and level of support as a conclusion. (1) What would be the benefits of establishing a St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday in Scotland? Most respondents could see some benefit with establishing a ‘St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday’ in Scotland. Only 5 respondents said explicitly there would be no benefit of such a day. The consultation document gave a detailed comparison of UK public holidays with the rest of the EU. Nine respondents were concerned about this issue and felt that an additional holiday would help to ‘close the gap’ and allow Scotland to ‘gain parity’ with the amount of public holidays received by workers in other countries within the EU. The STUC felt that this would be a ‘positive step in the right direction’. Eight respondents saw the additional holiday as an opportunity to celebrate a ‘National Day’. Such a concept was seen by some to be ‘common across the world’ and a possible way of recognising the diversity as well as the unity of the nation. Ten respondents felt that the celebration of St Andrew’s Day could lead to an increased ‘sense of national identity’. This was argued by some to be important as it would highlight and offer a chance to reflect on the diversity of the Scottish people. 2 St Andrew’s Day: A National Holiday This concept of diversity was a concurrent theme throughout the responses to the consultation. Many respondents explained that Scotland has a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural make up and that a national holiday would allow a celebration of this diversity and, as argued by some, a sense of ‘unity’ to be shared by all the people of Scotland. Some religious individuals/organisations saw a St Andrew’s Day Holiday as an opportunity for Scotland and other countries to acknowledge Scotland’s roots in Christianity. One organisation felt that the ‘nation can express itself’ but also have time for ‘religious observance’. The question of whether the celebration of a Christian saint would possibly not appeal to people of other faiths was addressed by some parties in response to question 3 and will therefore be dealt with later. Some respondents, in response to question 1, said the holiday would promote Scotland and boost the economy. However, most arguments on these issues were given to question 4 and will be addressed later. In essence those respondents who answered this question felt that a national holiday would be a celebration of the diversity of Scotland and would be positive for Scotland and its image worldwide. Closing the ‘public holiday gap’ between the UK and the rest of the EU was another popular reason for establishing an additional holiday. (2) What are the problems, if any, that might arise from establishing a St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday in Scotland? There was a good number of responses to this question and the information given has allowed this section to be divided into the, main, ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments. No problem Three respondents felt there would be no problems with establishing a St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday and two argued that an additional holiday would create no more problems than any other bank holiday. The New Brunswick Scottish Cultural Association stressed it would be more negative not to establish the holiday. Unjustified employer resistance Two respondents felt that an additional holiday would be met with hostility by employers but that this would be ‘unjustified’. UNISON stressed that the holiday would need to be a ‘national holiday’ so that participation would be wide enough to lessen fears of competitive (dis)advantage. They added: “…there are already different bank holidays across the UK – with Northern Ireland actually having…more…than everyone else, so this should not have a serious impact on [Scotland]…” 3 St Andrew’s Day: A National Holiday The National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT) were fearful of ‘unscrupulous employers’ who may encapsulate all bank and public holidays into a 4 week holiday entitlement. They felt legislation would require ‘tightening’ to prevent this occurring. (However, the Scottish Parliament might experience difficulty with the competence of such legislation as employment is a reserved matter.) North Lanarkshire Council, who expressed general support for the proposed Bill, suggested that an additional holiday might cause disruption to some businesses but added: “…there is no evidence that this [disruption] would have any substantial negative impact on overall productivity and it may be that increased leisure time would lead to a more effective workforce.” Christmas holidays One individual commented that the only likely objection would be that St Andrew’s Day is ‘a mere 25 days before Christmas Day’ but felt that such an objection was not sustainable. Other respondents in response to question 4 commented on this issue. These arguments will be addressed later. The main problems envisaged by those respondents who were concerned about the effects of the proposal centred on the following issues. Disruption to learning The Association of Scottish Colleges supported the proposal but voiced concern over the possible disruption to students’ learning programmes if an additional holiday was established. They noted that for some colleges ‘another Monday holiday’ would affect day release classes and that a ‘Friday holiday’ could impact on Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) contracts. However, they did not expand further on this issue. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) also supported the proposal but commented on the existence of statutory provisions that define the length of the school year for pupils as 190 days. They felt that the consultation was unclear on whether these provisions would be altered if the Bill is passed. Holiday will not apply to everyone Some respondents felt that the benefits of an additional holiday would not be available to everyone as some people will still be required to work to ensure that certain services are available. Some organisations, however, suggested that alternative arrangements, although equating to an extra financial burden, could be arranged for staff affected in this way. A few respondents felt the celebration of St Andrew’s Day might not appeal to people who do not believe in Christianity. However, the Scottish Inter Faith 4 St Andrew’s Day: A National Holiday Council hoped that it would be a focus for all faiths and cultures embraced in Scottish society. The EIS felt that an additional holiday