Scotland Week
The next item of business is a statement by the First Minister on Scotland week. The First Minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions.
I welcome everyone who is back in the chamber after the Easter recess. During the recess, it was my privilege to lead a delegation from the Scottish Government to America as part of Scotland week. Those efforts were complemented by the cross-party delegation, led by the Presiding Officer, that visited both the United States and Canada.
In my statement, I will set out what that effort involved and why it matters so much to this country, not least in developing new business, educational and cultural links that will benefit Scotland in the short and long term.
Scotland has always had many friends and admirers across the Atlantic. As a result of Scotland week, we now have many more; we also have new economic opportunities and a growing international profile.
Members will be aware that this year's programme—for the first ever Scotland week—was a departure from previous years. We set a higher bar and higher ambitions, and we sought to do full justice abroad to the potential of our people and economy.
Our relationship with the United States and Canada is as much, if not more, about enhancing economic and cultural ties in the future as it is about celebrating historic ties of country and kin. The Government's message to our friends all across North America is that Scotland is a country on the move, that we are a nation with ambition and that we are utterly determined to maximise our economic potential.
During our preparations for Scotland week, during the week itself, and during the following days, the Scottish Government has focused on delivering real substance and achieving concrete results to advance our country's interests at home and abroad.
I will outline to the chamber our work and progress on behalf of Scotland. I will highlight three issues in particular: Scotland's commercial links with the United States and Canada; the building of cultural links; and the strengthening of political ties and the enhancement of Scotland's image abroad.
I am pleased to report on a busy and productive programme to promote Scotland's economic potential. As First Minister, I took part in major business events in Boston, New York and Washington DC, which I will discuss shortly. The Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, Jim Mather, spent eight days in the United States, leading the Scottish delegation in discussions with some of America's most significant companies and investors. He knows not only the way to San Jose, but the way to Seattle, Houston and Austin, Texas, where, with the team from Scottish Development International, he helped to open doors for Scottish business in America. The fruits of those efforts will be real investment, jobs and tangible benefits for the people of Scotland.
I will give members the edited highlights of Jim Mather's tour. There were meetings with major players in the information technology sector, including Microsoft and Dell. In the energy sector, he had meetings with Apache, VetcoGray and the Endeavour International Corporation. In the areas of tourism and business, he had a meeting with Continental Airlines, and in the area of life sciences there were meetings with Alexandria Real Estate Equities and its accelerator programme, and with the VLST Corporation.
There were also meetings with major groups of investors, including business angel networks. Those companies took great interest in the changes that are under way in Scotland, not just in the new Government but in its new approach, its new economic strategy and its new ambition.
I will also update colleagues on my discussions with America's business community. When I spoke at Harvard University in Massachusetts on the eve of our historic cut in small business rates, I made clear the Government's ambition for Scotland to become a celtic lion economy by investing in the sectors of the future. That means investing in energy, life sciences, financial services and the creative industries. I outlined our ambition to become the world's leading centre for renewable energy, and I invited America's business community to share in the opportunities.
When I spoke at the National Geographic Society in Washington DC, I made clear the Government's desire for Scotland to act as a pioneer and innovator in the global effort to tackle climate change. I showed the depth of our commitment by launching the £10 million saltire prize—the world's largest ever single prize for innovation in marine renewable energy.
I was able to announce the invitation of Terry Garcia, the National Geographic Society's head of global missions, and Professor Anne Glover, Scotland's chief scientific adviser, to become the first members of the international expert prize committee. This small nation is going to have a big impact on a global challenge.
On that same day in Washington DC, I met Luis Alberto Moreno, the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, to outline our involvement in the bank's sustainable energy and climate change initiative. There is now the prospect of the bank working with Scottish Enterprise on a pilot to apply Scottish renewable marine energy technology to Chile and supporting further initiatives in countries such as Mexico and Colombia in partnership with the University of Strathclyde. The Government will do everything that it can to ensure success and to develop a model of technology transfer that we can export globally. The potential benefit of those new partnerships with Latin America—for Scottish jobs and the Scottish economy—is tremendous. A door that, prior to Scotland week, was closed is now open. That is precisely what Scotland week should be about—creating new links and new opportunities for our people and our economy. We intend to deliver on that ambition.
There is also good news to report in the cultural sphere, not least thanks to Linda Fabiani and her team. By firing the starting gun for the Scotland run in New York, she announced the start of Scotland week—and of her own marathon tour to promote the best of Scottish culture. In New York, she met theatre and dance companies and arts supporters who are interested in developing and strengthening links with Scotland. No doubt they were inspired and spurred on by the National Theatre of Scotland's huge success in the United States with its "Black Watch" production.
In Washington DC, there were visits to the Smithsonian Institution, which hosts the Scotland at the Smithsonian archive, and to the US Library of Congress. We were able to thank the library for reinstating Scottish literature's distinct catalogue headings—a campaign that was energetically supported to success by Congressman Mike McIntyre and the friends of Scotland caucus. Linda Fabiani also hosted a reception at the Carnegie Institution for Science to introduce Scottish universities and colleges to aid-based organisations and to energy and life sciences organisations.
In Toronto, the Scottish Government helped to raise new funding for the centre for Scottish studies at the University of Guelph. I should note that, by hosting major tourism and business receptions in New York, Washington and Toronto, Linda Fabiani drove home the message of how Scotland's cultural success can go hand in hand with economic success. She of course extended the invitation to our friends—old and new—to visit Scotland in 2009 for the year of homecoming.
I highlight a third positive aspect of our Scotland week programme: strengthened political ties with America's decision makers. We were delighted to receive messages celebrating tartan day from the three leading presidential candidates—Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
Meanwhile, the President, in his official proclamation of the 10th national tartan day in the United States, emphasised the signal importance of the declaration of Arbroath in embodying Scotland's dedication to liberty—a principle that we helped to enshrine in the American spirit. That is why I was proud to visit the University of Virginia to speak about the priceless democratic legacy of Thomas Jefferson. That subject might trigger something of an allergic reaction in some quarters in Westminster, but—entirely rightly—our American friends are comfortable with the simple concept that Jefferson's principles of democracy can guide the course not just of this nation but of democracies across the world.
Scotland week has helped to raise the profile of our country on Capitol Hill. The friends of Scotland caucus—chaired on a bipartisan basis by Congressman Mike McIntyre and Congressman John Duncan—is growing and is now 47-strong after recruiting five new members in Scotland week alone. Our reception, which the Presiding Officer also attended, was attended by the majority leader and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. Senator Jim Webb, who is a great friend of Scotland, has pledged to recruit 20 members of the Senate—fully one fifth of the whole chamber—to a senatorial friends of Scotland caucus.
These are not fair-weather friends or your average well-wishers. Members of the world's most powerful legislature are taking note and endorsing the new confidence and the new spirit in our country. I am sure that all members of the Scottish Parliament will want to express their appreciation for that strong showing of respect and esteem from our friends in the United States Congress.
Let me draw some conclusions from our first ever Scotland week and 10th tartan day that should inform not only our future engagement with North America but the way in which we in the chamber think about Scotland—how we present ourselves and our country abroad.
First, we can say with confidence that the first Scotland week programme has been a substantial success. Above all, it succeeded in its central objectives of creating new economic, cultural and educational opportunities for Scotland.
That suggests a second lesson—that when Scotland's businesses and Government set out to work together, we can and do achieve results. Scotland can succeed just as well on the big stage as on the small stage. We are limited only by the scale of our ambition. If we bring home one part of the American dream, it must surely be the sense of possibility—the sense of "can do". Such a shift in national outlook must drive the next phase not only of the Government but of the Parliament. We should all want this country to be a global player and a global success. We can make that happen only by thinking big and carrying ourselves with confidence. That is the lead that the Government offers, and it chimes with our friends in America, who want to help us achieve our ambition.
Let me outline a third and final lesson. We have seen that Scotland week has been in the national interest, creating new opportunities for our businesses. It projects a positive national image and is raising Scotland's profile in North America and beyond. However, the United States and Canada are vast, and there are other countries and markets in which we must conduct similar campaigns to promote our country. We need to mobilise all our efforts and energy—in the chamber and outwith it—to promote Scotland's interests. It should be seen as in interests of all members for Scotland to succeed internationally—that should be a joint endeavour for all of us. A window of opportunity is open to us, and many friends overseas are showing a willingness to embrace the new Scotland.
America knows what we all know from the past significant year—that Scotland has a new voice and a restless ambition. There is a sense of renewal, opportunity and possibility that has long been at the core of what it means to be an American. In addition to our achievements in promoting Scottish business, culture and education, we are showing our friends in North America that such optimism and ambition also now lie at the heart of what it means to be a Scot.
The First Minister will now take questions on the issues that were raised in his statement. I will allow around 30 minutes for questions before we move to the next item of business.
I thank the First Minister for his statement. I noted his reference to his Jeffersonian address, in which he commended Thomas Jefferson on a leadership style that was
"patient, honest and deeply thoughtful."
Does the First Minister intend to emulate that leadership style in the chamber in future? [Laughter.]
Understandably, today's statement tones down the rhetoric of the First Minister's Harvard address, in which he claimed that his "defining mission" was for Scotland to become
"one of the great success stories of the global economy."
He said that that purpose
"lies at the heart of the decisions"
that the Government has made. [Applause.]
Order.
In the interests of ensuring that his rhetoric is matched by reality, I will ask him some specific questions about the prospects of attracting American business to Scotland.
According to Mr Mather, taxation was never far from the table in discussions with American companies. During their tour, did ministers find a single potential investor who favours their plans shortly to make Scotland the most highly taxed part of the United Kingdom, with a 15 per cent hike in income tax? If they did, is the First Minister willing to name that investor, for the avoidance of doubt?
The ever-industrious Mr Mather not only found his way to San Jose but was also sleepless in Seattle, because he wrote in Seattle's local newspaper about the importance of having a skilled workforce. Why, when ministers were out of the country, did we back home discover that the Government is cancelling all adult modern apprenticeships in tourism, hospitality and the entire service sector—the very sectors that Linda Fabiani was promoting?
Finally, the First Minister referred to events to promote Scotland as a world centre for life sciences and stem cell research, which is a commendable ambition. In the light of that ambition, can he confirm that, as member of Parliament for Banff and Buchan, he intends to support the clause in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that will permit the use of admixed embryos? That measure has been widely sought by the biomedical research community in Scotland, which considers it to be vital to Scotland's ability to secure its place in life sciences research in the future.
One of the things that Wendy Alexander should perhaps ponder on is the fact that she gets a much better reception when she quotes my speeches than she does when she retells Simon Pia's jokes.
On the final part of Wendy Alexander's question, I will certainly be voting on the bill that is before the Westminster Parliament. I have already said publicly that I am sympathetic to many aspects of it, which I will take into close consideration. However, I must confess that at the round-table meeting that we had with the life sciences industry, which involved many new investors who have recently come to Scotland and a number of key companies that we hope will come here, that issue was not mentioned, whereas a range of measures that we are taking to build the excellence and success of the life sciences industry in Scotland were mentioned.
I know that, in fairness, Wendy Alexander will want to welcome the substantial increase in the number of modern apprentices in construction and other engineering industries.
Finally, no one mentioned the prospect of the abolition of the council tax and its replacement with a fair means of taxation. In fairness, I should point out that no one mentioned the quite disgraceful imposition by the London Treasury on 600,000 Scots of a 10p tax increase, either. However, American audiences were deeply interested in the substantial cut in business rates, which will give a potential advantage to 100,000 small businesses in Scotland precisely when such an advantage is needed, as a result of Westminster's rather depressing economic policies and, indeed, the western downturn. I hope that, at some point, Wendy Alexander will bring herself to support small business in Scotland.
I, too, thank the First Minister for a copy of his statement.
I cannot help noticing that last year we had tartan week and this year we have had Scotland week. I presume that next year we will have Salmond week—we are agog with excitement.
The First Minister has given a glowing account of his trip to the States. One is tempted to conclude that very few people on the eastern seaboard were spared a meeting with him. Does he have any independent evidence from the American end of the impact of the annual visit? Does he propose to make available details of American media coverage of the visit?
More specifically, last week I learned an interesting fact about New York, which I did not have to travel 3,000 miles to find out. While the First Minister was away, a report published in Scotland by Reform Scotland informed us that there is now more violent crime per head of population in Glasgow than there is in New York. When he was in New York, what steps did he take to find out why New York is so much better at dealing with violent crime than we are? What feature of the criminal justice system there most impressed him?
First, I will help Annabel Goldie out with her query about media coverage. Apart from doing good, solid work on behalf of this Parliament, her predecessor, David McLetchie, seemed to enjoy himself greatly over the course of the week's events in both the United States and Canada. I fear that Annabel Goldie might have been slightly led astray by an article in The Herald, which I read when I came back, in which Alf Young suggested that the American coverage had not reached newspapers such as The Boston Globe or The New York Times. I was slightly surprised by the article, because tartan day is officially on 6 April and the article was written on 4 April.
Nevertheless, I am delighted to be able to tell Annabel Goldie that the media coverage for Scotland week in North America was seen by more than 230 million North Americans—more than double the number in previous years—which I am assured is equivalent to an advertising spend of more than $10 million. I undertook not one but two major broadcast interviews in New York with Bloomberg television—so good that they invited me back to do it all again the next day—and was interviewed on Fox television, by the BBC in Washington and on many occasions locally. We even appeared this week on the Professional Golfers Association's own television station, to celebrate the Scottish input into the heritage classic in North Carolina.
I am sure that members are aware that the world reach of the National Geographic Society and its television stations and websites is more than 600 million people. Linda Fabiani appeared on Canadian Television.
On the print press, I am delighted to report that if Alf Young gets back to his computer he will find articles in The Boston Globe, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, the Toronto Star, the Metro Toronto, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Houston Chronicle, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and the News and Sentinel, as well as pick-up and coverage throughout the continental United States of America.
At every opportunity, I told people of this Government's absolute determination to put 1,000 additional officers on the streets of Scotland, to tackle the problems that Annabel Goldie is concerned about.
I see that the First Minister has impressed—especially himself—with his global profile. [Laughter.]
Order.
I echo Annabel Goldie when I say that the First Minister has also achieved a remarkable feat in managing to congratulate himself in his Jefferson lecture for what he called
"the first ever Scotland Week",
and then five days later celebrating with Trent Lott the 10th anniversary of the event.
I very much welcome the various company deals and initiatives. I know how hard Scottish Development International works to make such deals happen, particularly given its growing presence in the US, and I am pleased that SDI has the new Government's support. Will SDI continue to have a budget that matches those of previous years from the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise? What plans does the Government have to support SDI in the future? What discussions has the Government had with Continental Airlines—representatives of which the First Minister met—about the implications for links between Scotland and the USA of cuts to the route development fund? What estimate has the First Minister made of the level of inward investment from the USA next year, compared with this year and previous years? What assessment has the Government made of the impact of the current exchange rate on tourist visitors from the US to Scotland and the implications of that for the homecoming Scotland project?
I welcome the announcement of support for marine renewables. I welcomed the four previous announcements of such support, too. In February 2007, when I was Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, I awarded £13 million of grants to nine companies to develop ideas for marine energy in Scotland. In addition to the saltire prize, is there any intention to extend the marine development support fund to a wider range of companies, or is the door currently shut on new American companies that want to develop wave and tidal power projects in Scotland? Will the First Minister agree to meet US renewable energy companies, in particular in the US marine renewable energy sector, the next time he visits North America, to help to develop new technologies in Scotland?
I congratulate the former Deputy First Minister on congratulating himself on his initiatives on renewable technology when he was Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.
I am delighted to say that there were more than 300 people at the National Geographic Society lecture, many of whom represented the renewables sector in North America. The association with the National Geographic Society, which is one of the world's foremost educational institutions, is a significant new development in terms of pioneering and developing the saltire prize, which will bring £10 million—or $20 million—for projects that will be demonstrated in Scotland. I am sure that Nicol Stephen realises that the announcement of the world's largest prize for marine renewables is exciting a huge amount of international interest.
I did not meet Continental Airlines. Its meeting was with Jim Mather and, obviously, Scottish connections were very much under discussion. As the former Deputy First Minister is well aware, European regulations mean that the route development fund does not apply to Glasgow or Edinburgh airports. As he knows, we cannot make them do that. I am confident that we will see significant announcements in terms of connections between Scotland and America, in particular in looking forward to the year of homecoming.
Nicol Stephen is right to draw attention to the fact that movements in exchange rates present challenges, particularly for the visitor industry in Scotland. Of course, such movements also present opportunities for Scottish exporters to North America. Instead of talking about their impact on the year of homecoming, surely he should see that they are all the more reason to develop that significant initiative at this time. The year of homecoming will help to bolster visitor numbers into Scotland.
I turn to support for SDI. We intend to support it to the fullest extent. Nicol Stephen must not be misled into believing that it is only the size of a budget that counts in terms of its effectiveness. I point out to him that all the events in Scotland week—"Scotland week" for the first time, or "tartan day" for the 10th time—were carried out on a budget of £400,000. By any examination of the budgets, we gained double the coverage in the United States media. The previous weeks cost £700,000. I am not sure how to put it, so I will use an Americanism: we got a bigger bang for our buck this year under this Government than was achieved under the previous Government.
We move to questions from back benchers. Eleven members have questions to put for answer in 18 minutes. I ask for brevity in questions and answers.
Presiding Officer, I draw the First Minister's attention to the successful cross-party parliamentary delegation to the United States and Canada, which you led. In particular, I draw his attention to our key findings from Canada—from Toronto and Ottawa in particular. Enormous business opportunities are open to Scottish business in energy and life sciences, particularly in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. However, given that our inheritance from the former Deputy First Minister was only one full-time person in SDI in Canada, will the First Minister consider resourcing SDI in Canada to ensure that we exploit all the huge business opportunities for Scotland there?
I assure Alex Neil that we will always look carefully at matching our staff resources with the extent of opportunity. I agree that the opportunities in Canada are significant.
Earlier, I mentioned David McLetchie by name. Alex Neil's question gives me the opportunity to say that David McLetchie, Alex Neil, Frank McAveety and Iain Smith—in addition to you as our leader, Presiding Officer—were all worthy representatives of the Scottish Parliament. They behaved impeccably on every occasion and put forward the view of Parliament on a multi-party and cross-party basis.
I thank the First Minister for that commendation. I will make sure that my mother receives that note from him.
In his statement, the First Minister took a curious year-zero approach. He claimed that May 07 has suddenly come up with new economic development ideas for Scotland in America and Canada. Does he agree that the previous Executive made a substantial commitment to those issues? I have in the chamber a memento from the SDI office in Boston. We opened that office almost six years ago to make a commitment that SDI would compete effectively in the US economy.
Given that global success is a key theme, does the First Minister agree that, although he referred to Burt Bacharach, who asked,
"Do you know the way to San Jose?",
perhaps what he was peddling in the United States related to two other great songs by Burt Bacharach: "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "Promises, Promises"? Perhaps we can look forward to the First Minister's next presentation, in Vanity Fair, to be called, "Hail, Fair King of Scotia, Alex Salmond".
I would prefer to call it "Scotland—The Case for Optimism". I know that, despite everything, Frank McAveety actually shares that view in his heart of hearts. It was Nicol Stephen who pursued the year-zero approach. The change was to identify the week as Scotland week, rather than tartan week, which it was called in previous years. I earnestly hope for all concerned that Frank McAveety has remembered to declare, in the register of his interests, the piece of Government property that he held up.
I am delighted that the First Minister used Scotland week as a platform, through the saltire prize, to firmly stamp Scotland's place as an international leader in promotion of clean energy technology. Will he detail what impact he envisages the prize will have on advancing the speed at which renewable energy technologies come online, particularly in Scotland, to ensure that the country remains at the forefront of the green energy revolution?
There are three aspects to seizing the opportunity on marine renewables. The saltire prize gives us a substantial profile and helps us to advertise new marine technology, not just from Scotland, but from anywhere on the planet, but demonstrated in Scotland. We should not underrate the importance of people appreciating, as Fortune magazine recently did, that Scotland has perhaps 25 per cent of the tidal energy potential and more than 10 per cent of the wave energy potential, not of the United Kingdom, but of Europe. It is important to get that message across.
Secondly, we should ensure that we have a comparative advantage—as we do and shall continue to do—in the development of marine technology through support from the Government. Finally, and crucially, I cannot overemphasise how important it is that electricity generators, whether they generate from renewables or other sources in Scotland, are not placed at a disadvantage because of connection charges to the national grid. Given that the potential that we are talking about in the next generation is not only for the 6GW of Scotland's consumption, but for 10, 20, 30 or perhaps even 40GW, we must adopt mechanisms to transfer that power from where it is produced in Scotland to where it will be bought and consumed. That means that we must develop new transmission systems, which I presume will be by sea, on the west and east coasts. It also means that Scotland must have a fair deal on transmission charges and access to the grid of onshore transmission lines.
I fear that the First Minister may, uncharacteristically, have underplayed the agreements that were reached in the United States. His Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change has a blog that I found this morning, in which he describes his location as:
"Banffshire: Scotland: United States Minor Outlying Islands".
Nonetheless, visitors from the rest of the United States will still, we hope, come here and visit these "minor" islands for next year's year of homecoming.
The First Minister simply did not explain how ending training programmes in hospitality, tourism and travel, at the very time when he is promoting the tourism industry in the United States—which we support—will ensure that those visitors get the welcome that they deserve and which we hope they will have. Will he explain that now?
Iain Gray should have been listening. I told Wendy Alexander that she should welcome the expansion of training places in the engineering and construction industries because they have been identified as key areas of shortage in which we need substantially more skilled labour. All I can say in answer to the first part of Iain Gray's question is that I advise him very strongly to change his scriptwriter, or not to use the same scriptwriter as his political leader uses.
The First Minister spoke about the lessons to draw from his Scotland week visit. Does he agree that the true historical lesson for Scots to draw from the United States is not about the desirability of a declaration of independence, but about the dangers of secession from a union?
The Scottish National Party Government has used the Commonwealth of Virginia as a model for improvements in the delivery of public services. The Scottish Parliament delegation had a useful and constructive meeting on that subject with the governor of Virginia and key officials. Richmond, Virginia, which was the capital of the breakaway confederacy, now prospers as part of the United States—one nation indivisible. Will the First Minister bear that in mind when considering the policies of his Government?
If David McLetchie had been around 200 years ago, I am sure that he would have been an ardent supporter of King George III of the United States of America and, after the declaration of independence, would no doubt have fled to Canada or returned to these shores.
Rather than make strange historical comparisons, we should make the historical links that are being made by our friends in the United States of America. For David McLetchie's memory, I point out that 6 April was chosen as tartan day, not by people in Scotland but by people in the Senate, because it is the anniversary of the declaration of independence. Mr McLetchie should note that it was not a declaration of devolution, nor was it a declaration of one country indivisible. It was a declaration of independence.
It was a pleasure to be part of the Scottish Parliament cross-party delegation to the US and Canada—led so ably by the Presiding Officer—which was determined to put the interests of Scotland first. I welcome the confirmation by the First Minister in his statement that his Government is building on the work of the previous Administration, particularly the previous enterprise ministers Jim Wallace and Nicol Stephen, in developing links with business in the US, particularly in the life sciences, financial services and renewable energy.
For once, I agree with the First Minister. To succeed internationally, we in Parliament must come together. Does the First Minister accept that at future events, it is the role of the Scottish Government to promote the interests of Scotland rather than the interests of the Scottish National Party?
The Scottish Government represented Scotland and represented it well. The parliamentary delegation represented the Parliament and, in my view, represented it well. To make the connection with 6 April, we presented the Library of Congress with a copy of the declaration of Arbroath. I think I saw Iain Smith among those who signalled their approval. It was not a party-political gesture, but a gesture from Scotland to our friends in America.
The First Minister will be aware that there are more than 4.5 million people of full or partial Scots descent in Canada, while in Australia, there are about 1.5 million. Those figures come from the most recent censuses in those countries. What plans does the First Minister have to extend Scotland week to those nations, to tap into their undeniable good will and investment potential?
Christine Grahame is right to point to opportunities to extend the principle of Scotland week. In addition to our normal trading, economic, social, cultural and family contacts with many areas of the world, it is important to have the focus of Scotland week. To ensure its success, the Scottish organisations in those countries have to show the willingness that has been shown by the United States and Canada to host the many successful events in that week. There is considerable potential, and not just in the countries that were mentioned by Christine Grahame. We have recently held discussions with the Russian ambassador that indicate that there is substantial enthusiasm for such an event in Russia.
Many of Scotland's friends abroad look at the events and style of Scotland week and greet it with great enthusiasm—even more enthusiasm perhaps than do some members of the Scottish Parliament.
On his most recent visit to the US, the First Minister invoked the spirit of Ronald Reagan by telling The Wall Street Journal that he was a long-time advocate of supply-side economics. On his return from America this week, Jim Mather has been lauding the fact that Washington is one of the few states that has no personal or corporate income tax. Will the First Minister tell Parliament—and, more important, some of his back benchers—whether that is the language of a social democratic Government? More important, will he explain what type of companies he expects to attract to Scotland with his cut in business rates?
I do not think that any member of a political party that supports a Government at Westminster that intends to double taxation on some of the poorest members of the community should talk about social democracy. Social democracy means a contract between a successful, thriving economy and flourishing social services. That is the principle—the concordat—that this Government offers to Scotland and it is why we are the Government and John Park is part of the Opposition.
Is the First Minister confident that the new focus of Scotland week will deliver greater benefits to Scotland's businesses than the approach that was followed previously?
We have a more pronounced business focus, which is important, but we should not underrate the academic and cultural connections between Scotland and the United States of America. A few minutes ago, I mentioned—to Parliament's approval—the enormous success of "Black Watch", not as part of Scotland week but as part of the Government's promotions and the support that it was able to give to the National Theatre of Scotland. I will have the privilege of seeing the production in Glasgow tonight. We should always remember that academic and cultural links can have a profound and hugely more substantial impact than any publicity that we could attempt to buy in the United States of America. The business focus is important, but let us not underrate the strength of the connections in culture and academia.
The First Minister boasts of setting a higher bar and of having greater ambition, but will he give us the evidence for that in respect of culture? Does he not realise that the previous Administration established an international touring fund for the national companies—and, indeed, established the National Theatre of Scotland itself—leading to the great success of "Black Watch" in the USA, as well as visits by the Traverse Theatre, the Citizens Theatre and Stellar Quines? Does he also not realise that, last year, we funded tartan week events that were run by, for example, the Scottish Book Trust, the Scottish Museums Council, Scottish Screen and the Edinburgh festivals? What comparable initiatives can he tell us about?
There was a range of cultural and theatrical events throughout Scotland week. The significant thing is that, in any estimation, the news and print coverage of those events was approximately double what it had been previously and the cost to the Scottish Government was just over half what it had been. Malcolm Chisholm should look at the programme that the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture conducted in the United States of America. He should celebrate the fact that we support our national companies and the cultural impact that Scotland can have on a world reach.
I greatly enjoyed the First Minister's statement on his visit to the United States, but will he tell Parliament when we will get a statement from Fiona Hyslop on her visit to China?
Fiona Hyslop will write to the Presiding Officer. I am not certain whether George Foulkes is arguing that she should not have continued the partnership agreement that the previous Administration signed with the Chinese or what side he is coming from. However, I am always courteous to him, so I welcome him back to the Parliament in rude health.