I support Small Business Saturday every year because it helps to provide a much-needed boost to our High Streets and makes even more consumers aware of the fantastic products and services offered by small and independent businesses.

Building on the success of last year, Small Business Saturday 2016 will be even bigger and better and I will personally be meeting with small businesses in South Edinburgh.

In recent years too often we’ve seen small firms suffer, having been hit by soaring business rates. This is why I stood on a Labour manifesto to cut then freeze business rates at the last election.

We also put forward a clear plan to tackle the scandal of late payment which has got worse under this Government, including by ensuring late payers automatically pay interest to their suppliers, and outlawing bad payment practices such as firms being asked to pay for the right to be a supplier.

Ministers had the opportunity to back Labour’s amendments to the Small Business Bill last year which would have enacted these plans but they rejected them.•