Chamber and committees

Shona McCarthy mentioned the visitor levy. Do you want to expand on your thoughts on that?

I will bring in Fiona Sturgeon Shea for a final small contribution.

I would just say to anyone who still wants to add to the discussion that you have had an open invitation from a committee member for further submissions, so please provide them.

We continue our budget scrutiny with our second panel of witnesses, who are from Creative Scotland. With us are Iain Munro, chief executive, and Alastair Evans, director of strategy and planning.

I do not know how much of our session with the previous panel you were able to see, but people are interested in the restoration of the £6.6 million and the reserves. I am a bit unclear about how that will enable you to continue to work towards a programme of multiyear funding. Will you expand on what your plans are given the settlement that you have?

Thank you for that. Mr Cameron has a supplementary question. I will then bring in Ms Forbes.

I welcome Leonie Bell to the meeting. Our opening questions were about whether the Scottish Government’s budget and the new strategy meet the committee’s recommendations about improving confidence in the sector, and about the Scottish Government’s response to the committee’s recommendations on innovative funding solutions. Those were the opening questions, but if you want to say a little about your situation, that would be good as well.

I will let people reflect on whether they want to come in on that. First, though, I will bring in Shona McCarthy and then Fiona Sturgeon Shea.

That brings us to the end of our time. Thank you all for an informative and useful discussion. I particularly thank those who have had an early start. Christopher Thomson, you mentioned your enthusiasm for your job and said that it was what gets you up in the morning—you have certainly demonstrated that today.

Because this is our last meeting for the year, I wish everyone the very best for the festive season and—in the context of our international visitors and our earlier discussion—peace on earth.

As Motherwell and Wishaw constituency MSP, I know that we have been lucky to have North Lanarkshire Council engage with the fund for social landlords. There is a tower in my area that was dedicated for use in this regard, and that has worked out extremely well, with support services on hand. The families there are very well integrated into local schools and organisations. That was supported by a £50 million fund, and my understanding is that £23 million of it has been used to date. Can the cabinet secretary explain how the rest of that fund will be used? What barriers are there to getting social landlords to take up that opportunity for Ukrainians?

Thank you, minister. I now move to questions from the committee. Mr Brown will go first.

Good morning and welcome to the 31st and final meeting of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee in 2023. I apologise for the slightly late start. We have apologies from Neil Bibby, who is substituted, not for the first time, by Foysol Choudhury MSP. We welcome him, and there is no need for him to make a declaration of interests.

Our second agenda item is to take evidence in support of people who have been displaced from Ukraine to Scotland. We are joined by Emma Roddick, the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees. She is supported by Kirstin McPhee, head of ministerial support, and Fraser Dick, head of Ukraine resettlement finance, both from the Scottish Government.

I invite the minister to make an opening statement.