Chamber and committees

Matt Baker, you made a point about Dumfries and moving into the town centre. Could that model be applied elsewhere as we try to regenerate our town centres and link culture in?

That was a really good discussion about wellbeing, but I want to pick up the issue of employment. The importance of keeping people in employment in the live music and cultural sectors came across very strongly in some of the written evidence that you have submitted. The Music Venue Trust talks about how one in 11 jobs are in the creative industries, which might surprise a lot of people.

Last week, the Musicians Union gave evidence that about a third of musicians were thinking of leaving the sector. In the context of this year and now, our job is looking at what the budget should look like. What short-term measures do you think will help to keep people employed in the sector, but also make it resilient, as we are not quite through the pandemic yet? Could I start off with Clara Cullen from the Music Venue Trust, because that issue came out in your evidence. I will move then to Matt Baker from the Stove Network, because you were talking about the importance of retaining culture staff, and the others can come in afterwards. Over to you first, Clara Cullen: what can we ask for directly now that would keep the sector going and keep people in jobs?

That was really helpful. In relation to longer-term planning, certain types of cultural performances move around the country, so venues will be thinking about not just this year but the next two years. The point about the public sector needing to think about longer-term funding, whether it be for three years or five years, was very well made, and the committee will reflect on that.

I will ask two questions, one of each witness. The first question follows up on the issue of commissioning the programmes in Scotland. Steve Carson talked a bit about rebooting after coming through the pandemic. You have different types of new projects, such as drama, comedy and factual content. Can you give us the numbers as well as a sense of how you are retaining and increasing employment opportunities not just for actors but for all the staff who are involved in making new content?

Over the years to come, is there scope for increasing the number of new productions in Scotland?

What is the impact on your future role of that shift and people’s opting out and moving to private sector online streaming services, for example? What will the impact of that be on the BBC? It is hugely important with regard to accessibility. As I mentioned, the viewing habits of younger people, in particular, and perhaps older people as well—not to get into the detail of the licence fee—is an important issue with regard to cost and accessibility.

Yes. It would be useful to get a sense of job numbers as well. Maybe you could write to us with those numbers after the meeting.

I have a different question for Leigh Tavaziva, about what the BBC is doing to address the challenges for different types of broadcasting, particularly the important role of public sector broadcasting, given that viewing figures for private online streaming services have rocketed during the pandemic. What consideration are you giving to accessibility and different ways of accessing BBC products? I am thinking of younger and older people in relation to the costs of accessing services through connectivity and broadband. What is being done about that at the UK BBC level?

It is good to have you both with us. I want to follow up on the point about people losing their jobs over the past year when live performances had to stop entirely. Do you have a sense of how many people we have lost from the arts and culture sector? There have been press articles about freelancers not getting support and having to go and get other employment.

Access to a digital connection is a crucial issue for people on low incomes and for older people, who might not have access to that. It is important that that is prioritised.

The two of you have spoken very eloquently about the short-term crisis, but thinking about this year’s budget, I note that there are, as you have highlighted, issues with venues as well as performers and all the staff needed to put on performances. Having met organisations such as Culture Counts and the Night Time Industries Association, I know that they are all very focused on what has to be done next. What are your thoughts on that? The issue of school tuition relates to local authority funding, for example. Does something need to be done about how employment is structured if we are to attract people into the industry or ensure that people stay in it?

Moreover, what about the debate over the percentage of funding for the arts? I see from one of our briefings that the Scottish Government spends 0.2 per cent on culture. Do we need to change how money is spent, and do we need to invest more? I would be interested in hearing both witnesses’ views on that.