Chamber and committees

Thank you. That was interesting.

Just to clarify, in relation to the Scottish supersponsorship scheme, Highland Council has said:

“The lack of funding instructions from SG prevents the Council from planning ahead for this resettlement scheme.”

Is that incorrect?

On a separate topic, what are your thoughts on the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and the Scottish Government’s role in that?

To date, none of the Scottish Government’s humanitarian emergency fund has been used to support the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Are there any plans in place to deploy that fund?

Minister, we heard earlier that approximately 500 Ukrainians have been staying in a hotel for one month or more. Is that a number that you recognise? If so, how long will it be before that situation is addressed?

I want to follow up Sarah Boyack’s questioning. We have heard from people who are close to the supersponsor scheme that there are some flaws in it. I am keen to explore your experience of the scheme. For example, you have mentioned 500 or more people staying in a hotel for a month or more. Do you have a sense of where the blockage is? Is there anything that the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities or individual local authorities could do?

We have focused rightly in this evidence session on how cultural organisations can continue to do what they are already doing. However, business as usual is clearly not acceptable when it comes to achieving net zero.

Despite the climate of a reduction in expenditure, there is also a requirement for our cultural organisations to invest in energy efficiency measures, which will be extremely challenging. Could the Scottish Government assist with assessment of that expenditure for cultural organisations directly or through its agencies? Is consideration being given to exemptions for certain buildings or organisations, although that would need to be squared off as a whole with meeting our wider net zero targets? What are your thoughts on that, cabinet secretary?

Thanks for that. I have a specific question for Angus Robertson. As you will be aware, one of the initiatives that is facing a funding reduction is the culture and business fund Scotland, which faces a 33 per cent cut in funding for 2022-23. It makes funding, which is matched by business, available to cultural sector organisations, so that cut is a double whammy for the cultural sector. Could the cabinet secretary explain the rationale behind that funding cut?

Kate Forbes talked about increased UK Government public expenditure. Does she accept that there is a tricky balancing act in that regard, because increased UK Government public expenditure will also fuel inflation, which means that although it would be a benefit in cash terms, it could be problematic in real terms?

In the interests of time, I will bundle my questions into one, so it will probably be in two parts.

First, we have discussed changing the culture. I used to work at the Murray-Darling Basin Commission in Australia. It was a tricky process of attempting to manage finite water resources between competing states and, indeed, competing actors within states. I want to explore your thoughts. We have also mentioned a sectoral conference or other body to look at a specific issue. Even with that, are the structures sufficient for when it is in political interests for intergovernmental relations not to work very well? Secondly, beyond the sectoral conferences, where sharing best practice on specific issues is a really good idea and would be welcomed—Wales has done fantastically on recycling, so that model could be rolled out in Scotland, although it would be more challenging in England—is there something beyond sharing best practice within those structures?