Chamber and committees

Our second agenda item is on the presidency of the Council of the European Union, and we are going to take evidence from Her Excellency Mikaela Kumlin Granit, Ambassador of Sweden to the United Kingdom. We want to examine the priorities of the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which runs from January to June this year.

I give a warm welcome to the ambassador. Your excellency, would you like to make a short opening statement?

Good morning everyone, and a warm welcome to the first meeting of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee in 2023. Our only agenda item is to take evidence as part of our budget scrutiny of the culture spending portfolio for 2023-24 following on from the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny last year.

We are joined in a round-table discussion today by Alex Paterson, chief executive of Historic Environment Scotland; Iain Munro, chief executive of Creative Scotland; Donald Smith, director of the Scottish international storytelling festival and chair of the programmers group at Festivals Edinburgh; Chris Sherrington, policy and strategy support at the Music Venue Trust; Moira Jeffrey, director of the Scottish Contemporary Art Network; and Sir John Leighton, director general of the National Galleries of Scotland. Thank you all for your attendance at the committee this morning.

I will begin with a general question. In our pre-budget scrutiny report, we concluded that

“the sector now faces a ‘perfect storm’ as it struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by the cost of living crisis, and following on from longer term budget pressures.”

What is your assessment of how the Scottish budget for 2023-24 has responded to that “perfect storm”? How, if at all, has the outlook for the sector changed since evidence was presented to the committee a couple of months ago?

I invite Iain Munro to start.

I think that we have exhausted our questions. I thank everyone for what, as Sarah Boyack said, has been a really important and interesting session to have had prior to the budget.

Next week, we will take evidence from the cabinet secretary on the budget. We will also hear from the Swedish ambassador on the priorities of the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Mr Sherrington, did you want to come in?

Last night, we hosted the Scottish Youth Film Foundation. That organisation, which started by working in schools in Armadale, is a great example that has developed and is now feeding people through to working in the arts. That is quite profound, and it was timely to have hosted that organisation last night.

I am just going to ask all the witnesses to respond in turn. Ms Jeffrey, would you like to go ahead?

It was remiss of me not to thank you all for your previous written submissions on the budget process and the newer updated ones that came in before today’s meeting. I expect a free-flowing round-table discussion, so if you want to come in and answer a question that has not been directed at you by a member, please catch my eye or the clerk’s eye and we will try to get you in.

I open with questions from members, and I invite Ms Boyack first.

I wish you a good morning and give a warm welcome to the 29th meeting in 2022 of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee.

Our first agenda item is a decision on taking business in private. Are members content to consider the committee’s work programme in private at future meetings?

Members indicated agreement.

Our second agenda item is evidence on the legislative consent memorandum for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. This morning we welcome to the committee Angus Robertson MSP, who is the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture. He is joined by Elliot Robertson, who is head of the European Union secretariat at the Scottish Government, and Chris Nicholson, who is a solicitor and head of the constitutional reform and external affairs branch of the Scottish Government. I welcome you to the committee, cabinet secretary, and invite you to make an opening statement.

Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. We had two significant round-table meetings at which we took evidence on the bill. Some witnesses—probably the majority— considered that it should be withdrawn, but witnesses were unanimous that the bill is doing things back to front. They felt that EU law should normally be retained and that—as you have suggested—dealing with areas where the UK wants to do away with or amend EU law would be proportionate. What are your thoughts on that? What discussions have you had, particularly with exporters in Scotland about their concerns?