Dennis Canavan wants Scotland to have an extra day off

Two Scottish Parliament committees will hear views on the merits of the plan by independent MSP Dennis Canavan.

The Confederation of British Industry and Scotland's banks will voice opposition to the idea.

But it is backed by retailers, who believe the 30 November holiday could almost double their sales if it fell on a Monday.

'National identity'

Mr Canavan, MSP for Falkirk West, has launched the move to take Scotland's total number of bank holidays to nine.

As with all bank holidays, it would not give a legal right to extra pay or time off to staff who work those days, as that would be a matter to be agreed between employer and employees.

At Holyrood on Thursday, the financial and other implications of Mr Canavan's move will be studied by two committees.

The Scottish Retail Consortium will tell MSPs a St Andrew's Day holiday would be "an ideal opportunity to reflect upon and celebrate our national identity", while also boosting shop sales and tourism.

Bankers' opposition

The consortium calculates that if it fell on a Monday, it could boost the usual Monday sales figure of �49m by 80% to about �88m.

But the CBI will tell MSPs: "We have consulted widely on this matter and there is very little support for the proposals to create an additional bank holiday on St Andrew's Day."

The Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers said: "The creation of a new Scottish bank holiday on November 30 will do very little to raise awareness of Scotland's patron saint or make that a day of celebrations."

It would also run counter to bankers' objectives of having standard practice throughout the UK, and would reduce the productivity and efficiency of the banking sector, said the committee.