Chamber and committees

In the past, other committees have had representations the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, asking whether there is a sufficient supply of music teachers in schools for the future.

I declare another interest—it is not a financial one. I have an interest in historic ships, as those who know me well will confirm. I note that the submission from Museums Galleries Scotland points specifically to issues facing historic ships, and I am curious to know more about that.

I have a general question, followed by a couple of very specific ones. My initial question is possibly for Alison Reeves and Lucy Casot.

Given what you have said about the importance of the arts, music and museums in the community, and given that we are going to be talking about a budget at some stage, do you feel that budgeting recognises the importance of mainstreaming the arts? I am not going to be the person who goes on record and says that we should be talking about what the NHS spends on the arts while we are in the middle of a Covid crisis. However, everybody recognises that, as you have said, the arts benefit health, town planning, business and the community. Do we budget in a way that is joined up enough to recognise those things?

I have a question for Alison Reeves. I declare an interest as an active participant—not very active at present, for obvious reasons—in a Gaelic choir.

I want to ask about some of the problems that Making Music has faced during lockdown, and how you are working to overcome them. A related issue, which has been brought to the Parliament’s attention in the past, concerns the need to ensure that we have a supply of music teachers in schools. I am sure that someone will correct me if I am wrong but, as I understand it, the majority of those teachers are coming through the private sector rather than the state sector.

It would be interesting to hear about those two issues. What has happened to music in the community, and what has happened to music in schools?

This is probably a question for Donald MacKinnon and Miranda Geelhoed, given both of their interests in crofting. I suspect that the clock is against us, so I will ask two questions together. One is about legislation and the other is not.

On legislation, Donald MacKinnon, you have mentioned—and many people would agree with you—that there is a need for legislation around crofting. The crofting law sump is one place to begin, but you also mentioned that the costs of taking on a tenancy are out of control. Should there be a reassessment of what is meant in law by improvements on a croft, in order to prevent the costs of such tenancy assignations getting out of control?

The question that is not about legislation is about the effectiveness, in your view, of the arrangements that we have for dealing with not so much absentee crofters—because people can, I know, sublet and otherwise make use of crofts—but crofts that are abandoned or derelict and whether you feel that the Crofting Commission could do more to intervene in those situations.

As has been mentioned, I am interested in your take on what has been happening post-Brexit. In particular, I know that the NFUS has had things to say about trade deals. Do you have any views or concerns about what future trade deals might look like for farming? That is a question for Beatrice Morrice or Davy McCracken.

Do you really think that the impetus behind the trade deals has anything to do with the issues that you have just mentioned?

I think that many women in agriculture would agree with what you have just said about women being excluded from such deals. Do you feel that Scotland has been excluded from those deals as well?

I do not want to put words in your mouth, but you obviously have concerns about the quality of what might be imported in the future, particularly when it comes to meat. Does legislation such as the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 give you any concern about Scotland’s ability to introduce legislation that would restrict imports that would be unhelpful to the Scottish industry?

Do others have any views on that? I see a hand up from Sally Shortall.