Chamber and committees

Improving access to a diverse range of arts and cultural opportunities for the people of Scotland should start with sustaining those who produce the artistic and creative output people experience and enjoy. We are working closely with partners in local government and the national culture bodies to support the creative sector, ensure their work can be accessed, and that the chance to take part in all forms of cultural and creative activity is open to all.

A summary of Choosing Scotland''s Future: A National Conversation: Independence and responsibility in the modern world has been translated into Scots and can be found on the Scottish Government website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/a-national-conversation/Translated-Summaries.

The Scottish Government is demonstrating its commitment to the development of Scots through initiatives such as the publication of the audit of Scots language activity; the Scots language seminar held on 9 February 2009 and our financial support for two important Scots language bodies*. We are considering, in light of these initiatives, further actions to support the development of Scots.

*Scottish language Dictionaries and Scottish Language Centre.

I met with representatives of Scotland''s creative and artistic communities at Edinburgh''s Traverse Theatre on February 18, 2009. This meeting was an initial fact-finding discussion, which gave those present the chance to hear my thoughts on the direction of cultural policy in Scotland, and to share their views on current issues. Full audiovisual coverage of the event is available on the Scottish Government''s website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport.

The National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery London will be responsible for fundraising for Diana and Callisto, using the longer timescale to the end of 2012 to plan and implement an extensive campaign for private sector funding.

There is no commitment of any public funds to this purchase.

The Scottish Government wrote to Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 7 November 2008 requesting the return of £150 million lottery diverted away from Scottish causes to help fund the London 2012 Games. At the time of writing we have had no reply to the letter. As the new Minister for Sport I view this as an early priority and to this end I have made further representations to Mr Burnham on 3 March 2009.

The purchase price of £50 million for Diana and Actaeon was negotiated between the owner, the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery London. This is substantially less than the likely open market value of the painting. Recent valuations (obtained in May 2007 and October 2008) by independent experts put the open market value of the painting at, or in excess of, £100 million. The agreement to purchase the Titian should also be seen in the wider context of the 21 year loan to the National Galleries of Scotland of the Bridgewater Collection, one of the most important collections of art anywhere in the world and estimated conservatively to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The purchase of Diana and Actaeon secured the continuation of free public access to that collection in Scotland.

As I stated during my meeting with representatives of Scotland''s artistic and creative communities on 18 February 2009, our cultural policy will support all creative practitioners, promote access and encourage participation.

The Scottish Government has encouraged artists and creative practitioners to think about ways to engage more formally with government, and to be part of the decision making process. This commitment to engagement was reinforced in my announcement on 18 February 2009 of our intention to attract to the board of the interim company Creative Scotland 2009 two further people with a background in, and working understanding of, the creative arts as well as a track record of entrepreneurship.

Full audiovisual coverage of the event is available on the Scottish Government''s website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport.

No representations have been received from the Scotland Office about fatal accident inquiries for Scots who have died abroad except in relation to the deaths abroad of Scottish military personnel on active service, concerning which matter officials continue to work on an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill enabling investigations to be held in Scotland.

The Scottish Government continues to support traditional arts and music throughout Scotland. The Scottish Arts Council, as the main funding body for the arts in Scotland, supports a variety of traditional music and arts organisations through foundation, project and flexible funding. They also provide support for individual traditional artists through creative and professional development funding. In future Creative Scotland will assume this role. The promotion and practice of the traditional arts and music are supported by a variety of public bodies funded by the Scottish Government, including local authorities, further and higher education, and the enterprise bodies. Other specific organisations receiving public funding have an important contribution to make to the traditional arts and music such as Feisean nan G idheal, An Comunn Gaidhealach, Proiseact nan Ealan, Ceolas, An Lochran, Sabhal M²r Ostaig and MG ALBA.

The targets and objectives within the China Plan run until 2011. There are no plans at present to publish an analysis on progress. In developing inputs under this plan we are clear that we are developing a long-term relationship with China which requires long-term commitments.