Chamber and committees

Excellent, because I am sure that he would be able to spend that money.

Those points are incredibly well made, so I hope that you make them when you attend COP26 virtually.

I will pick up those points with Tahseen Jafry. If Scotland uses that soft power of examples, will other countries have the appetite to address those issues and to provide pump-prime investment and education, as you talked about very powerfully? Is there a chance of getting action on that third pillar at COP26?

That is helpful. You commented in your submission about the need for investment in training for new entrants to the sector from the Scottish Government as a response to Covid. Last week, the committee heard lots of evidence from freelancers. I want to open the question to the other witnesses about the changes that could be made now. First, I would like to hear briefly from PACT and then, I hope, from Fiona Sturgeon Shea of the Federation of Scottish Theatre about how theatres and venues could support freelancers through longer-term contracts.

Two weeks ago, we took evidence from representatives of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union and the Musicians Union. It is particularly worried about freelancers and the issue of venues and theatres being unable to put on productions in the way that they have done in the past. Do you have a comment on that, perhaps in contrast to PACT, which is saying that there are lots of job opportunities in its sector? We heard that, in your sector, people are losing out and that there is perhaps a need to change how productions are commissioned.

I have a follow-up question for Mr Munro about what the transformational difference would be. As you say, it is currently about getting through Covid. Your submission is powerful, stating that

“Scotland’s Creative Industries contribute £4.6bn to the Scottish economy each year, supporting 90,000 jobs”.

What is the priority in upping the investment that you put in? We have heard a lot about training, and issues around investment in buildings, not just to get through Covid but because a lot of our venues and theatres are quite old. What additional funding do we need, not only to keep things going but to invest in the buildings and the people that we need in our communities to ensure that the sector is with us in the future?

My question follows on from the one about multiyear funding—although it is also about the level of funding—and is for Creative Scotland. The written evidence that we have received from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and the Accounts Commission highlights the extent to which culture funding has been cut. The large number of charities that deliver cultural services at local level have been very badly hit during the pandemic. The Accounts Commission highlights the extent to which culture has borne the brunt of service cuts in recent years. Are we underfunding the culture sector? We have had lots of great evidence about jobs, the sector’s impact in the community and cultural wellbeing.

Festivals Scotland told us that its members have had in effect a 25 per cent cut over the past decade. Have we been underfunding the sector generally, even before the pandemic? I think that Creative Scotland’s budget is 0.2 per cent of the total Scottish budget. Do you have any comments on not just multiyear funding but the level of funding? Are we even at the races? Is the level too low?

It is good to see the witnesses in front of us this morning. I will kick off with a question that follows on from the evidence that we took last week. In his written evidence, John McVay from PACT mentioned the potential privatisation of Channel 4, which you say could potentially

“have drastic implications for the UK’s independent film and TV sector”.

We got some very good evidence from the BBC about the importance of production in Scotland. Would you like to talk about how we avoid the risk to the recovery of the indy sector, which you have described in your submission?

Would your priority be to have more multiyear funding for the theatre sector? One issue that has been raised with us is around community access and access to existing facilities. Are you considering that in relation to longer-term funding, as well as in relation to the community impact that such funding would have by supporting people to be in employment?

It has been good to hear about the issue of getting more people to access the arts. The Museums Galleries Scotland submission highlights the commitment to everybody having a right to culture, and suggests the concept of a minimum acceptable standard of cultural provision.

We have a lot of fantastic museums, but the focus is on preserving them, rather than promoting access, and a minimum standard could address that issue, although funding them might be challenging. Perhaps you could say a bit about that, because it is an interesting idea that might promote the joining up of portfolios that we have just been talking about.

It is very helpful to get the evidence and comments there, because I was looking for comments about the short term. Mike Jones made a comment about the importance of the JRS, given that we are not yet out of Covid, and Matt Baker’s idea about linking into communities, ticked all the boxes for me, because it is about employment retention, it links into wellbeing and communities, and it is potentially about the next generation coming through and retaining the skill set, so we are very keen to see that issue resolved. There is keeping people in employment and venues open. Is there anything else in terms of structural support you think we need to look at? I do not know if any of the witnesses want to come back in again, having heard the others’ comments. Matt Baker or Clara Cullen, is there anything else you want to come in with before we move on to the next question?