The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-12958, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on the contribution of culture, visitor attractions and events to Scotland’s economy and society. I would be grateful if members changed seats as quickly as possible, because we have no extra time available for the debate.
14:57
I am pleased to open this debate on the role that culture, visitor attractions and events play in Scotland’s society and economy. We in Scotland have an incredibly rich and diverse culture and a calendar of events that we treasure and celebrate. Culture is key to our quality of life and wellbeing. It roots us in place, shapes how we think of ourselves and how others see us, challenges the way that we think and expands our horizons. Culture makes a vital contribution to Scotland’s economy—it supports recovery and increases sustainable economic growth—and it is part of the fabric of our society.
All that means that culture is a key contributor in delivering the First Minister’s one Scotland approach to government. The strategic priorities that are set out in the new programme for government are based on three key themes of creating more, better-paid jobs in a strong, sustainable economy; building a fairer Scotland and tackling inequalities; and passing power to our people and communities.
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Let me continue.
The cultural sector has a significant role to play in taking forward all three of those priorities.
Engaging with culture is life enhancing in its own right, but it is also known to have a positive impact on our wellbeing and quality of life. Evidence shows a significant association between cultural engagement and good health and life satisfaction. Analysis of the Scottish household survey data found that those who attended a cultural or historic place or event were almost 60 per cent more likely to report good health than those who did not attend, and they were also more than 50 per cent more likely to report high life satisfaction. That connection with place is key to the sense of wellbeing in our community.
The Scottish household survey data demonstrates the high value that people in Scotland place on our culture and heritage. It shows that, in 2013, 91 per cent of adults engaged in cultural activities, with 89 per cent agreeing with the statement:
“It is important to me that heritage buildings and places are well looked after”.
However, there is no room for complacency. We must continue to widen access and participation so that all Scotland’s people can benefit from all that culture has to offer.
We have a wealth of examples that demonstrate the sector’s achievements. “Our Place in Time: the Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland” makes increasing participation in heritage a priority, and a dedicated group has been established to take that forward. Our work under the umbrella of Scotland’s youth arts strategy, time to shine, is similarly designed to ensure that no one’s background is a barrier to taking part in cultural life. It is supported by initiatives including the youth music initiative and cashback for creativity.
Aspire Dundee is an innovative project that is taking place in nine Dundee primary schools in areas of high deprivation and is enabling 2,000 young people to take part in music, dance or drama. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Sidlaw View primary school to see the project in action and was deeply impressed by the impact that it is having on young people’s lives.
At GalGael in Glasgow, the journey on programme uses traditional building skills as a practical focus for people who have suffered such hardships as unemployment, depression or addiction. It helps them to pick up new skills as well as build greater personal capacity and resilience.
Through those projects and many more, the Scottish Government is working with the sector to ensure that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity to access, enjoy and benefit from our culture and heritage.
In addition to those inspiring projects, Scotland’s local museums, galleries and libraries are all cornerstones of our communities. They provide places to tell our stories locally and contribute to health and wellbeing, education and community engagement. Local museums can provide a valuable lifeline for the communities that they serve by providing opportunities to connect with others and to address social deprivation and mental health issues that are facing the community. The festival of museums on 15 to 17 May this year will be an opportunity to celebrate what our museums have to offer and will include activities throughout Scotland.
I absolutely agree with what the cabinet secretary says about our museums, but they are good only if they are open. Last week, the national museum of Scotland was closed for two days because of an industrial dispute that has been going on for 18 months. When will she get a grip on that situation?
Clearly, any closure of a museum is to be regretted. I have encouraged the unions to co-operate with the management and vice versa.
Neil Findlay must be aware that National Museum Wales—of course, Wales is run by a Labour Government—is looking to remove the weekend working allowance from existing staff. Existing staff in the national museum of Scotland still retain a weekend working allowance. However, he is right to pay tribute to the staff, as I have always done in the chamber.
It is important that we recognise the role that museums play. Despite the difficulty in the public finances, I am proud and pleased that, through a period of recession, we have managed to keep our museums free for the public to access. I want that to remain the case as we progress and would not want anything to put that in jeopardy.
I recognise how important our libraries are. They have a crucial role to play in helping to tackle inequalities and empower communities.
Our cultural and creative industries make a substantial contribution to the economy and sustainable economic growth. They attract tourism, support employment and skills development and are a driving force for regeneration.
Scotland is well established as a leading events destination. That attracts significant numbers of visitors and yields benefits for the economy while enhancing the country’s international profile and reputation.
Our heritage and visitor attractions are the life-blood of our vibrant tourism industry—43 per cent of first-time visitors to Scotland state that they chose to come here to learn more about Scotland’s history and culture. The historic environment is estimated to contribute in excess of £2.3 billion to Scotland’s national gross value added economic growth and to account for 2.5 per cent of Scotland’s total employment.
Investing in our cultural heritage infrastructure can deliver a wide range of economic and social benefits. Let us take New Lanark as an example. In the early 1970s, much of the village lay redundant, and demolition of many of the buildings was a genuine possibility. The decision was taken to invest in and revive the village with the intention of maximising its potential to generate income in the long term from housing as well as visitors.
Forty years on, New Lanark is a flourishing United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization world heritage site and a living, working community, with the majority of its buildings restored and a community of 65 households. It is also a centre for renewable energy production and provides an award-winning education and access programme. It attracts more than 20,000 visitors each year and provides direct employment for more than 150 people through a hotel, a hostel, a visitor centre and the manufacture and sale of woollen textiles. It contributes £7 million annually to the region’s economy.
Looking back, we should reflect that 2014 was a momentous year for Scotland and our cultural sector, with hundreds of events across the country celebrating the best of Scotland’s culture and creativity. The Commonwealth games had a highly successful cultural programme, we hosted the Ryder cup and we held the second year of homecoming and the second international culture summit. It was also the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn. That is not to mention the many diverse festivals and cultural events that took place all over the country, cementing Scotland’s position as a world-leading events destination.
The Glasgow 2014 cultural programme, which the motion refers to, was the most ambitious national cultural celebration ever to take place in this country and provided a wonderful opportunity for us to share our great cultural traditions and our contemporary creativity with visitors from all over the Commonwealth. The final evaluation will be launched in the near future, and I will keep members fully informed of that. We already have headline figures that show that more than 2,000 events took place, involving thousands of artists, performers and participants across hundreds of locations and venues the length and breadth of Scotland. More than 750,000 people attended the festival 2014 live zones at Glasgow green, Kelvingrove bandstand, the merchant city and BBC at the quay.
The programme included Generation—a landmark series of exhibitions celebrating 25 years of contemporary art in Scotland that featured the work of more than 100 artists at over 60 venues and attracted 1.3 million visitors. I was lucky enough to see exhibitions in Edinburgh, Orkney and Thurso. That was a huge statement about the continuing dynamism of art in Scotland and its place in the world as it inspires audiences.
I agree whole-heartedly with the very complimentary speech that the cabinet secretary is making about Scotland’s culture. However, will she admit that the increase in enjoyment of our culture and the greater participation in it are putting considerable pressure on the funding of it, which the Government will have to address, particularly if there is to be free access to our best facilities?
I mentioned that our galleries and museums are an important part of our experience, and Liz Smith is right to say that, in difficult times, across different Governments, there can be pressures on the culture budget. To date, in local government and national Government, there has been no disproportionate reduction in the budget for culture, but I would welcome any support that I can get from across the chamber in recognition of the increased demand arising from our appreciation of culture through the experiences that I have talked about and through curriculum for excellence, the youth music initiative and our youth arts strategy creating more demand and interest. The point is well made.
The experiences of the past year and the other measures that I have mentioned show that we are really upping our game on audience participation and access. Whether our festivals are small or big and international in outlook or community focused, they are a hugely important aspect of our culture that celebrates and showcases our culture and creativity. From the St Magnus international festival in Orkney to Linlithgow’s party in the palace, there are examples from across the range of experiences.
We must acknowledge that the Edinburgh festivals continue to provide a gateway for the Scottish population to share new and exciting cultural experiences. It is interesting to note the number of local people who attend the Edinburgh festivals, which is counter to people’s understanding. Record attendances and box office figures were achieved during the summer of the Commonwealth games, which was a fantastic achievement. In contributing to our tourism businesses, our festivals generate £261 million for the Scottish economy, £41 million of which is spent on accommodation and £37 million of which is spent in our cafes and bars.
A phenomenal number of people attended our festivals and cultural events in 2014, when Scotland outperformed the rest of the United Kingdom with a 10 per cent increase in the number of visitors to attractions. Many of the 600,000 people who attended the Commonwealth games also enjoyed the wealth of attractions in Glasgow. Glasgow’s Riverside transport museum saw an incredible 41.8 per cent increase in visitor numbers, while the Scottish national gallery saw a 39 per cent increase, much of which was to do with the Generation programme. There was also a 6 per cent increase in visitor numbers at Urquhart castle and a 7 per cent increase at Stirling castle. Total visits to Scotland from overseas between January and September 2014 increased by 12 per cent.
Our national and international successes clearly demonstrate how important Scotland’s thriving culture is to making Scotland a greater place to live in, work in, study in and visit. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to continue to nurture and develop our artists and our cultural life by investing in our cultural infrastructure, encouraging skills development and creating further opportunities.
We look forward to the coming years. We have a number of events to commemorate the first world war, and this year will see the presentation of the 2015 Turner prize at Glasgow’s Tramway.
The Edinburgh festivals continue to go from strength to strength. We have seen a 25 per cent increase in ticket sales in the space of just two years. Of course, we send Fergus Linehan best wishes for this, his first Edinburgh international festival as director.
Our festivals, events and heritage and our vibrant cultural life do so much more for our society and our economy. They provide windows for transformation—personally and for our communities—and bring understanding and appreciation of other cultures and other experiences. They challenge and celebrate the human spirit and tell our stories. That is why I am proud that the Government continues to invest in and nurture these important assets.
I move,
That the Parliament acknowledges the great contribution that Scotland’s rich and diverse culture, events and visitor attractions make to Scotland’s society and economy; applauds the role that Culture 2014 and Festival 2014 played in the success of the Commonwealth Games; notes that Edinburgh’s festivals continued to achieve record attendances and box office figures during the Games; welcomes the 10% increase in visitor numbers to Scottish attractions in 2014, which outperformed the rest of the UK, and recognises the key role that Scotland’s festivals, cultural events and attractions play in making the country a great place to live, work, study and visit and in enhancing its international reputation.
15:11
I very much welcome this afternoon’s debate. Scotland has a rich and diverse cultural and artistic life, which is built on centuries of traditional music and storytelling but which is now expansive, multicultural, innovative and world leading. Our cultural experiences embrace our past while telling the story of today and of the future.
We are very fortunate to have a rich historic environment, a wide selection of collections at our museums and galleries, a growing creative sector with a focus on new media, internationally recognised festivals and a network of artistic and creative groups across Scotland, which are encouraging and supporting participation. All of those contribute significantly to Scotland being a great place to live in, work in, and visit.
It is right that we use some of this afternoon’s time to celebrate, recognise and value what Scotland’s culture, visitor attractions and events give us. We have national companies that are growing in stature; the new developments at the National Theatre of Scotland have been exciting; Scottish Ballet is touring its production of “A Streetcar Named Desire”; and the opening sales weekend for the Edinburgh festival was the busiest yet.
As well as providing a way to bring history to life and tell our own story, our historic environment has been a long-time attraction for visitors to Scotland and has a vital part to play in promoting the country, particularly in the film and television sector.
Historic Scotland has seen year-on-year growth in visitors, with the recent winter months recording a record-breaking number of visitors, up 10 per cent on the previous year.
Stirling castle saw a remarkable increase of 63 per cent on the previous year when it hosted the “Great Tapestry of Scotland” exhibition—I am looking forward to it coming to the Kirkcaldy galleries this summer. The tapestry is the perfect example of the coming together of history, craft, community storytelling, cultural inclusiveness and identity. Alexander McCall Smith, Andrew Crummy and Alistair Moffat are to be thanked for their initiative and leadership on the project.
The cabinet secretary talked about the success of the Commonwealth games cultural programme. Last year the whole of the Commonwealth was able to enjoy not just the sport on offer in Glasgow but our thriving cultural community across the country.
Scotland is rightly proud of both our rich history and our multiculturalism. Our arts sector is a great example of how we can marry the two together. The Commonwealth games afforded us the perfect opportunity to showcase that to the world. Events such as the Glasgow mela, which were already established, were able to promote and play a prominent role in the year of celebration. I hope that this year, which is the 25th anniversary of the mela in Glasgow, will be the biggest and best yet.
Scotland’s festival programme is wide ranging and exciting. At the start of the year we all debated the winter festivals and recognised the contribution that they make to our economy and cultural life. The festivals programme continues to grow from established city festivals to an increasing number of regional festivals, bringing variety to local programmes, as Liz Smith’s amendment highlights. Along with everything else that Scotland has to offer, our festivals enhance our international reputation.
One the biggest festivals in Scotland and the UK is T in the Park, which generates £15.4 million for the Scottish economy and some £2.7 million at local level. It attracts international acts to Scotland, ensuring that Scotland is a vibrant part of the festival circuit. Having been based at Balado for many years, it is in the process of currently moving site. Clearly, that is at a planning stage with Perth and Kinross Council, with a decision due to be made next month. It is up to the council to make the decision based on the facts before it, but we should today recognise the social, cultural and economic importance of the festival. As a Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, I recognise the festival’s previous good environmental record at the Balado site, where it was the only UK festival to be awarded the greener festival award for seven years running.
As Labour’s amendment recognises, alongside commercial activity there is a wide range of cultural activity supported by volunteers, with which people of all ages across Scotland engage. There are multiple benefits of cultural engagement. As we progress through life, we increasingly become the audience rather than creators, but there should be more encouragement and opportunity to do both.
In May, voluntary arts week will encourage people across the UK to try something new. More than half the UK adult population is involved in some kind of regular voluntary arts activity, from choirs and ceramics to dance and drawing. We do not tend to think of that as a crucial part of Scotland’s economy, but those activities often support smaller venues and small local businesses, and they help to support viable local economies. Those opportunities can transform community engagement and generate good mental health and self-confidence.
All those activities and more, which I am sure that other members will talk about, support our growing confidence as a country. Its creative expression is a key ingredient of a healthy, productive, vibrant and modern country, and I am proud of what we achieve here in Scotland.
We need to better understand the engagement that is happening. The cabinet secretary commented on the recent household survey, which raises some interesting issues about engagement, attendance and participation in culture. We have a range of activities. Last year, Creative Scotland’s regularly funded organisations alone delivered some 62,000 performances, more than 9,000 exhibitions and almost 15,000 screenings. How deep and wide is that reach? There are positive figures—91 per cent of adults engaged in culture through attendance at or participation in a cultural event—but some interesting figures make it clear that there is much more to do if we are to get the greatest benefit from Scottish cultural activity.
An individual’s level of education and income are key. Attendance at cultural events is highest among those from the most prosperous areas and those with the highest level of qualifications. The percentage of people with the highest level of qualifications who attended a cultural event is 93 per cent, compared with 53 per cent of those with no qualifications. There is a gap of 18 percentage points between the most prosperous 20 per cent and the most deprived 20 per cent, and there are similar indications of exclusion for people who have long-term physical or mental health conditions, who are less likely to attend cultural events. Participation in cultural events tells the same story: it is lowest among those in the most deprived areas, those with the lowest qualifications and people with a long-term health condition.
There are significant differences among age profiles. Attendance at cultural events decreases with age, with the decline starting to accelerate in the over-45s. That is concerning, because artistic and cultural experiences bring meaning, enjoyment and social interaction to our lives, and that is important for all ages.
That is all significant. We all recognise the value of cultural activity, yet too many people appear to be excluded. Do we understand fully the reasons for that? What steps are we taking to address it? Where should public policy and funding be directed if we want to see greater, more equitable engagement in culture?
We must recognise and address the fact that much cultural activity is done at local level by our local authorities and cultural trusts and we need to support that. There is a lot going on in Scotland. I will briefly mention Glasgow Life, which is doing a lot of work to engage with some of Scotland’s most deprived communities. In a time of financial constraint, the arts can come under pressure, with no statutory protection, so we need to recognise and promote the value that they bring to individuals and our communities.
Our amendment highlights the welcome culture counts campaign, which since 2011 has played a role in articulating the importance of our cultural lives. It provides a platform for discussion of future policy and is an advocate for the value of culture in its widest sense.
Our amendment also talks about people who work in the sector, about whom I will make a few points. Although the focus is often on performers, there is a host of technicians, support staff and engineers who work across the sector. Recently I visited Pitlochry theatre—I know that the cabinet secretary was there last year—where people talked to me about the skills gaps among theatre technicians and the difficulty that there can be in Scotland in getting people with appropriate training and experience. The creative industries are a growth sector and are increasingly important to our national economy, as well as an important tool for regeneration of regions and communities, and we need to ensure that we have the right skills coming through.
Will the member give way?
I am afraid that the member has to close.
In addition, there are infrastructure needs. There is a need for venue viability. The cabinet secretary is well aware of the recent journey of the Byre theatre and the support needed by the Beacon Arts Centre. Such venues are important for delivering cultural experiences outside our cities. We need to ensure that we have a strong regional network.
There are issues to do with low pay and in some cases no pay across the sector. The cabinet secretary is well aware of the on-going dispute at National Museums Scotland, which is leading to strike action at some our most well-known and visited museums. That dispute needs to be resolved. As the direct funder of the national museums, the cabinet secretary has a responsibility.
There is also the Musicians Union’s work not play campaign, which challenges practices of no pay or very little pay for performances. If we are to have a vibrant, varied and exciting cultural sector, we need to support artists to make a living.
I welcome the opportunity to argue for the importance of Scotland’s cultural and artistic community.
I move amendment S4M-12958.2, to insert at end:
“; welcomes the Culture Counts campaign, which promotes the value of culture in Scotland, including culture’s contribution toward improving learning, health, wellbeing, confidence and quality of life; looks forward to Voluntary Arts Week in May 2015, which highlights the positive contribution to Scotland’s vibrant cultural sector made by voluntary arts, including encouraging people to engage with arts and culture in their community, and acknowledges the dedication and hard work of staff and volunteers throughout Scotland in ensuring that venues, creative hubs and organisations are accessible and welcoming to all”.
15:20
We are very happy to support the Scottish Government’s motion and the Labour Party’s amendment.
As the cabinet secretary rightly said, it is very hard to overstate the enormous contribution that Scotland’s culture and associated events and visitor attractions make to our economy and society. On the one hand, the very positive economic impact in relation to job creation and economic growth is unmistakable, but just as important is the enriching nature of such a vibrant and evolving culture, with so many wonderful things to do and see. That cannot be overlooked.
There were nearly 15 million visitors to Scotland in 2013, and tourism remains one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the economy. Although the majority of Scotland’s tourists come from within the UK, our attractiveness to international visitors is considerable and is probably on the way to increasing. In fact, the US news channel CNN named Scotland as the number 1 destination for US tourists in 2013. That was a very welcome accolade for us.
I have just returned from the US. Will Liz Smith acknowledge that the showing of “Outlander” in the US will undoubtedly add to the impetus for US visitors to come to Scotland?
I could not possibly dispute that. I hope that the cabinet secretary enjoyed her time across the Atlantic.
The reasons behind Scotland’s international popularity are probably easy to understand. Some say that it is because of our long and exciting history of epic battles; some say that it is because of our colourful historical personalities; and some say that it is because of our royal intrigues. Obviously, our rich culture and traditions have very much helped to shape the world in almost every conceivable way. The French philosopher Voltaire famously captured that sentiment in the middle of the 18th century when he noted:
“We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.”
From Scotland’s scientists, inventors, architects and philosophers to its writers, sports stars, musicians and artists of all sorts, our culture continues to exert a marked influence in the furthest corners of the globe.
Scotland’s events and attractions range from the world-class arts festivals that the cabinet secretary has described and our sporting events, museums and galleries, to all sorts of things that take us to every part of the world to attract our visitors.
The economic benefits of that tourism are striking. Figures that VisitScotland released highlight the fundamental importance of the growth in the tourism sector to the Scottish economy in relation to job creation and economic growth. There is as much as £220 million each year just from golf tourism alone. VisitScotland has estimated that, in 2013, visitor expenditure totalled nearly £5 billion. That is a considerable achievement. Moreover, it supports nearly 300,000 jobs, which equates to almost 11 per cent of the Scottish workforce.
The cabinet secretary mentioned last summer. We can all be very proud of events such as the Commonwealth games and the Ryder cup, and we should congratulate all the people who took part in them and really put Scotland on the international stage.
Obviously, there will be issues. Claire Baker is quite right when she talks about the sustainability of some aspects of tourism.
I come to my amendment. Obviously, there is a very positive impact in our rural communities, and that brings a bit of a dilemma. The number of jobs per head of the population is really quite high, but some of our rural areas currently have difficulties with sustainability. Many have lost their library, local school, police counter or various other local services such as the post office for the local community.
Rural festivals and events obviously help to bind a community together, which leads to the enrichment of culture that the cabinet secretary spoke about. However, there is a potential dilemma there. If we want people to access events as freely as possible, but also to ensure that those events can be sustained, that obviously takes much greater resource from the Scottish Government.
We want to be proud that demand is increasing and that the sector is healthy because it has become much more diverse—indeed, that is good news. However, the sustainability of our rural communities is part of our society’s fabric, and we must look for that in future.
The economic benefits are absolutely clear, as is the social enrichment of our culture. More important is how we envisage society moving forward and passing on a lot of Scotland’s best assets to future generations.
Winston Churchill observed that
“perhaps only the ancient Greeks surpass the Scots in their contribution to mankind.”
That makes us all immensely proud to be Scottish. The “contribution to mankind” stems from a deep cultural heritage from which so many superb visitor attractions and events have stemmed. Those not only benefit us economically but enrich us as human beings in our society and in our local communities. I bring my amendment to the chamber on that basis. As I say, we are very happy to support the Government’s motion and the Labour amendment.
I move amendment S4M-12958.1, to insert at end:
“; and believes that smaller cultural events and festivals have a crucial role to play in sustaining more fragile, remote rural communities”.
I ask members who hope to contribute to the debate to press their request-to-speak button, please. We are very tight for time. Speeches should be of six minutes, although that may have to change.
15:26
I am sure that no one in the chamber underestimates the importance of Scottish culture to Scotland’s economic wellbeing. For example, in 2011-12, there were 1,314,974 visitors to Edinburgh castle alone. Edinburgh castle is Historic Scotland’s top visitor attraction, and although it is situated in the capital city, the economic benefits of visitors coming to Scotland to see the castle benefit our country’s wider economy. Those benefits to all parts of our economy cannot be overstated.
It is not just the capital or other big cities that benefit. In 2011-12, Skara Brae, which is one of my favourite places to visit, was Historic Scotland’s fourth most popular site, attracting 68,852 visitors. All those visitors to Orkney needed transportation, accommodation and refreshments—and, of course, they spent money and took back souvenirs of their visit.
In West Scotland, Historic Scotland’s most visited attraction is Dumbarton castle, which is well worth a visit—to which, I am sure, the cabinet secretary can attest. In 2011-2012, it attracted 14,623 visitors. It should attract many more visitors than that because it is a fascinating place to visit and, indeed, a great stop-off point on the way to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
It is not just our interesting history that makes a contribution to our economy. In 2011, filming boosted Glasgow’s economy to the tune of some £20 million. I think that we can all remember George Square’s transformation for a dramatic scene from “World War Z”. However, it is not just the big stars and productions that are important—smaller productions with only one-day or two-day shoots also contribute to the economy.
In 2012, the Edinburgh festivals made an economic impact of £261 million, and sustained 5,242 full-time jobs in Edinburgh alone. It is easy to overlook the boost to the economy that is made by more recent and more youthful events. The Herald reported that a study of T in the Park 2014 showed that the festival’s economic impact was almost £15.4 million. In 2010, the Celtic Connections event was held in Glasgow. The festival, which started only in 1994, generated more than £10 million to the city and £12 million to the wider Scottish economy.
Innovation through the introduction of modern showcases for Scotland’s cultural heritage—a heritage that has gone around the world with Scottish emigrants—has proved to be popular and successful.
Our economy is boosted not just from within, but from without, because Scotland has a strong brand that is recognised and admired the world over. For example, VisitScotland noted that after the Disney film “Brave” was released, Dunnottar castle, which was the inspiration for Dunbroch castle in the film, and the Callanish standing stones reported significant increases in visitors in the summer of 2013 of around 16 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, with the interest in “Brave” being the principal reason behind the rise in visitor numbers.
There is no doubt that our culture boosts our economy and creates jobs; in that particular sense, our culture is good for our country. However, our vibrant cultural scene is good for Scotland and for everyone who lives here in a much wider and more profound sense.
A Norwegian study, published in the Journal of Epidim—I knew that I would fall over that word—the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health—
Say it again.
No, I will not say it again.
On 23 May 2011, The Daily Telegraph reported the finding of the study that
“Simply observing culture improves the physical health and mental wellbeing of men”
and that
“in men all ‘receptive cultural activities’ were linked to better health.”
The academics behind the report concluded that
“This population-based study suggests gender-dependent associations between cultural participation and physical health, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life.”
In 2013 there were, sadly, 795 suicides in Scotland, of which 611—nearly 77 per cent—were men. Culture is life enhancing and men stand to benefit enormously from cultural participation.
In an article in the Canadian Journal of Communication in 2006, there was a report of the findings of a workshop of experts who had met to discuss the question, “What are the social effects of participation in arts and heritage?” According to the article,
“The participants at the workshop identified six social effects of culture, arts, and heritage”,
among which was the finding that culture builds social cohesion and increased citizenship capacity. Social cohesion was defined as
“the willingness of people in a society to cooperate with each other in common enterprises to achieve collective goals”.
The report also noted that
“Increased civic participation is a consequence of a dynamic and diverse cultural scene in the community.”
Given all of the above, I was pleased to note that the Scottish household survey 2013, which was mentioned earlier, found that 91 per cent of adults engaged in culture of some sort, 80 per cent of adults had attended a cultural event or a place of culture, and 78 per cent had participated in a cultural activity in the previous 12 months. Sadly, however, there is still in Scotland, through deprivation, a divide when it comes to participation—just as there is with education, health, longevity and every other indicator.
The Scottish household survey 2013 found that 33 per cent of people in Scotland’s most-deprived areas were more likely to agree that culture and the arts are
“not really for people like me”,
compared to only 16 per cent in the least-deprived areas.
It is now a well-known fact that social inequalities and deprivation lead to poorer outcomes in all aspects of people’s lives. Successive Scottish Governments have worked hard through many initiatives to counter the effects of deprivation on the lives of the poorest people in Scotland. Have a heart Paisley, the Cranhill community project, and childsmile—the nursery toothbrushing project, which has proved to be extremely successful—are just a few examples of the efforts that have been made. However, there is a case to be made for building culture into the strategies for improving Scotland’s physical and mental health.
When the Scottish Government ministerial task force on health inequalities next meets, perhaps it will take into account the tremendous impact for good that culture has, and make some attempt to build increased access to cultural events and cultural participation into its considerations on the best way of improving the lives of the people of Scotland.
I am afraid that I need to make it clear that there is absolutely no spare time in the debate. Members must stop before six minutes.
15:33
I thank Fiona Hyslop for the motion and Claire Baker for her amendment.
Regardless of its constitutional status, Scotland is a proud nation. Our unique culture makes Scotland unlike any other place in the world. There is clear evidence from the previous year that proves that Scotland’s cultural identity is valuable, not only to our society but to our economy. As a nation, we have much to offer the world, as is seen in last year’s impressive increase in tourism.
The international reputation of Scotland can be immensely beneficial for our economic growth. With 12 world-famous international festivals, Scotland has a platform for connecting with the rest of the world, which brings money, resources and a brand that can prove to be invaluable.
I have seen the effects that the latest Commonwealth games had on the city of Glasgow. Millions of pounds re-energised the Clyde waterfront and much of the east end of Glasgow. The games were not only about sports, though; the cultural events of the Commonwealth games festival were an amazing success that brought crowds and recognition to Glasgow, as well as the rest of Scotland.
In terms of a legacy, those events have proven to offer not only a temporary benefit but substantial long-term promise. I join many of my MSP colleagues in welcoming those promising results, but I urge the Scottish Government not to allow complacency. The international recognition that we seek is not inherited but must be earned and nurtured. We in Scotland must always keep our culture close, but when we share it with the world amazing things happen. Let us continue to foster our identity so that we can share it with more and more people around the world. To do that, we must continue to fund festivals and to broaden international awareness, and we must always improve how we brand our nation to the outside world.
To give an example, I believe that the Glasgow mela should be in the Scottish Government’s funding pool; such an important event should be under a national banner. I know that Glasgow City Council would not want to give up such a successful event, which started with small events around the city and culminated in their coming together for one to two days, and now for three days, to create a successful event. This year is the mela’s 25th anniversary, and I call on the Scottish Government to play its role in ensuring that it is a successful event not only in this 25th anniversary year, but as an event that continues in the Scottish calendar. I believe that multicultural events such as the Glasgow mela need that recognition, so I look forward to Fiona Hyslop’s comments and to her drawing up a list of events including the mela that can develop ideas for representing all Scotland’s communities.
Recently, the focus seems to have been taken off what minorities contribute to our culture and history, and they have been let down. Organisations such as those that organise the Edinburgh and Glasgow melas go a long way in supporting and rekindling such activity. Having been a local councillor in Glasgow for 17 years, I know for a fact that it took a lot of time, effort, energy and dedication by a small number of people to establish the Glasgow mela and to see it become a successful Scottish event. The participants come not only from all over Scotland and from all over the United Kingdom but from all over the world, and that makes me really proud, because when we celebrate the mela in Glasgow it is not only about the minority communities but about minority communities engaging with the rest of the communities in Scotland while at the same time selling the brand of Scotland around the world. That is something that, as a Glaswegian, I am proud of. I therefore call on the Scottish Government to look at some of the minority organisations that bring so much to our culture and diversity that we can be proud of.
15:38
I am lucky to represent the constituency of Aberdeenshire West, so it will come as no surprise to the cabinet secretary that I want to mention Huntly. In Huntly, they say that “The town is the venue”, because people there engage with the community. They take arts to the community, whether it be walking, painting or engagement with local folk music and dance, but that is the story in only one area, because Deveron Arts promotes that activity in the Huntly area. I also have 12 castles in my constituency. I have not been to all of them, but—
Have you not?
Not yet, but I can assure members that we have 12 castles and one palace, at Balmoral.
Does my constituency sell itself? In some ways, it does. People come back to the area because of their clan origins. The other week, I was in Finzean—which is a name that I love saying in this chamber—at the Finzean estate. I was reminded that the Farquharsons have been there for only 400 years and was told that perhaps they could soon become local. I discovered that that estate is a breeding place for the capercaillie.
I am immensely proud of the community spirit in the area. In the community hall, older and younger people are brought together and mix well, whether in putting on performances to raise money for the estate or in exploring the area’s fine woodlands. They have developed their own community spirit.
Liz Smith mentioned that Scotland’s rural areas are in danger of missing out, but I think that the opposite is true: some of our rural areas are thriving. The members of the community in Logie Coldstone in my constituency have embraced one another. They work with the local school and with young people to look at their history and their culture. In rural communities, there is a great sense of wellbeing, which is extremely important—
I do not deny that some rural communities are doing a fantastic job, but in other rural communities the situation is much more difficult, not least because the sustainability of some services has been threatened. That is where support needs to be provided.
I fully appreciate and understand what Liz Smith says, but people in the communities that I am talking about have seen that not as a barrier but as a challenge and an opportunity to move forward using the limited resources that are available in those communities. Instead of looking to the local council or the Government, they are asking what they can do to embrace their own heritage. We should encourage more of that in our communities.
I talk about Aberdeenshire West with great pride. When it comes to health and wellbeing, people in many of our small towns and villages are doing extremely well. They are going out walking and exploring their heritage and, during the winter, they are getting people to come and talk about the past—the poetry, the folk music and the folklore. That is exciting for many of our people—especially people in the Alzheimer groups, who are given an opportunity to embrace their past and to talk about it with passion and, indeed, happiness.
We also have Westhill Men’s Shed, which brings together men who can relate to some of our older industries. Working with old tools, they have restored steam engines. They ask what they can do for their community. Westhill Men’s Shed allows a group of men to talk quite fondly about the past—not the distant past, although when I hear some of the stories, it makes me wonder.
I am very fortunate to have been to many of the places in my constituency that I have mentioned. Recently, I met Paul Anderson, who is one of Scotland’s world-renowned fiddlers. He graciously wrote a tune called “Mr Q”. Within communities, young people are learning about the older traditions, such as the music that keeps us alive. That expectation is there.
My constituency is a great place for tourism. We have distilleries, Lochnagar, the palace at Balmoral and the fishing. The fishing needs to be sustainable so that if the tourists come, the fish are there—perhaps the cabinet secretary can speak to other ministers about that.
To conclude: isn’t it nice to be the MSP for Aberdeenshire West?
15:44
I welcome the opportunity to participate in this afternoon’s debate on Scotland’s culture and the benefits that it brings to our economy and wider Scottish society. Like other members from across the chamber, I am proud to be Scottish, proud of our history, culture and heritage, and proud of what our nation has achieved and continues to achieve. From Robert Burns to Disney’s “Brave”, from whisky to Stornoway black pudding, from the Highland games to golf at St Andrews, from tartan week in the United States to the tartan army travelling the globe and—every once in a while—being left disappointed, Scotland’s culture, heritage and people make us all proud to be Scots and are all tremendous ambassadors for Scotland.
Scotland attracts millions of domestic and overseas visitors each year, with more than 12 million people having attended Scotland’s tourist attractions last year. Many of those attractions saw a 10 per cent increase on the 2013 figures. The Commonwealth games and the Ryder cup played an important role in attracting visitors to our shores, and their benefits to our economy are clear. I was delighted that Strathclyde country park in my region hosted the first competitive event of the Commonwealth games—the triathlon—with thousands of athletes and visitors from across the globe making their way to North Lanarkshire. In addition to that, the cycling time trial took place along the A80 corridor, showcasing the villages in the Muirhead and Moodiesburn area.
The games’ legacy was always of utmost importance so it is excellent to see that more than 3,000 Commonwealth apprenticeships have been secured, more than £198 million has been spent on new and improved sports facilities, and more than £145 million-worth of conferences and events was secured in Glasgow and the wider area due to its having host-city status. All that contributed massively to Scotland’s economy and has attracted visitors to see our sights.
There can be no doubt that the talents of the people of Scotland have strengthened Scottish culture, from Edwin Morgan’s fascinating “Sonnets of Scotland” to the bizarre imaginative world of lain Banks’s “The Wasp Factory” and the humour and desperation of Irvine Welsh’s “Trainspotting”. Scotland’s literary leaders have helped to take Scotland to the world. Similarly, we have artists such as Andy Scott, whose now world-famous sculptures attract thousands of people to locations across my region of Central Scotland, and we have thousands of talented actors, directors and producers who entertain audiences here and across the globe.
We also have the benefit of many excellent visitor attractions, from Edinburgh castle in the east to the more modern Glasgow science centre in the west. Across the length and breadth of Scotland, locals and foreign visitors alike flock to those attractions. I am delighted that in my area, in Cumbernauld, we have the fantastic Palacerigg country park. Established in the early 1970s, Palacerigg has developed into a hub of conservation, countryside recreation and environmental education. Over the years, more than 40 hectares have been transformed from farmland, and hundreds and thousands of native trees and shrubs have been planted. Palacerigg is also home to a unique rare-breed collection, including Eriskay ponies, Tamworth pigs and Scots Dumpy poultry among an extensive collection of other rare farm animals. That collection and the wider natural beauty of Palacerigg attract thousands of people, free of charge, every year.
Not too far from Palacerigg is Summerlee, which is Scotland’s leading industrial heritage museum and is set around the 19th century Summerlee ironworks in Coatbridge. The museum has many attractions, including Scotland’s only operational heritage tramway and a re-created mine, along with miners’ cottages. It is open all year round and is free to visit. Central Scotland has excellent cultural venues, which attract local people and international visitors year on year and contribute greatly to Scottish society and our wider economy. That is replicated right across Scotland.
Through the success of international events such as the Commonwealth games and its legacy; through UK-wide events such as the British transplant games, which will be hosted by North Lanarkshire in 2017; through international venues such as the Hydro attracting world-famous performers; through Scotland’s natural beauty and historical sites; and through our food, our drink and—most important—our people, I am confident that Scotland will continue to welcome the world to our shores and that we will continue to enhance our international reputation.
15:50
I say to Dennis Robertson that he should just forget Aberdeenshire West—welcome to Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. The next train leaving Edinburgh Waverley is the train for the Borders, calling at Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank. The date is 6 September 2015, and the fare will be less than £10 end to end, with arrival at the final destination in 55 minutes every half hour at peak times and hourly off peak. The first train, for those who are up with the lark, is at 5.20 am from Tweedbank. People can get the last train back from Edinburgh at 11.54—not a minute later.
We have come a long way in 16 years, from the Campaign for Borders Rail, the petition to the Parliament in 1999, the cross-party group on Borders rail and the Parliament’s vote to restore the line on 2 June 2000. The line is on budget and on time. It is the most significant economic development for Midlothian and the Scottish Borders in decades, not just for commuters but for opening up the entire area to a substantial increase in tourism. There is plenty to see, such as the Scottish mining museum, which is housed in the restored Lady Victoria colliery at Newtongrange. The museum is already predicted to hit 63,000 visitors this year and is the only Scottish visitor attraction to have won the best visitor award. It is currently graded as a five-star attraction.
There is also the purpose-built mining village around Newtongrange, with rows of identical cottages on First Street, Second Street, Third Street, Fourth Street and so on. It is not easy to get lost there. For the opening of the railway, people in Newtongrange have got together with VisitScotland, Midlothian Council and the local tourism forum to create tourism packages, joint ticketing and special events. That example shows how opportunities around the railway line are opening up.
It is proposed to have a customised building at Tweedbank for the great tapestry of Scotland. That is not my choice of location—and this is where I get controversial. I think that it was the trustees who decided to have a business park. It is a mystery to me why a tourist attraction is being sited at a business park. Even more worrying is the comment from the leader of Scottish Borders Council on the project, which is costing millions of pounds:
“What we’ve done is design the building very carefully so that it’s a multi-purpose building, so that in years to come, if the tapestry didn’t work then we could do something with the building and still get a return for our public purse.”
That is hardly an optimistic proposal. The tapestry will be at Tweedbank, although I think that it should have been in Galashiels.
A stone’s throw away from Tweedbank is Abbotsford—the eclectic home of Sir Walter Scott. It is now restored and it is an absolutely wonderful place. The gardens have been restored and there is a rather splendid visitor centre. That is all part funded and supported by the Government. The house had more than 40,000 visitors last year.
There are parts of the Borders that the train will not reach. The plan is to use the line beyond its tracks and to extend the Borders and Midlothian experience.
I support the Conservative amendment, which, importantly, mentions how local festivals and issues bring so much to the economy. It marries well with the Labour amendment, which mentions the role of the volunteers who keep those festivals going.
The recent Melrose sevens brought £2 million into the economy in Melrose and the area. The two-week TweedLove biking events festival is the biggest bike festival and involves more than 40 bike events in the Tweed valley. It is 100 per cent organised by volunteers, who give it their all.
The Traquair fair is held by the Maxwell Stuarts in August in the grounds of the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland. It is an excellent festival, with speeches and books and, of course, its own brew of beer. People cannot drink it now, of course, given the higher standard of tests for driving but, if people can take it and get the bus, they will be able to get the bus to the train and then the train back to Edinburgh.
Throughout the summer months, there are all the ridings and local festivals: the braw lads and lasses of Gala, Beltane at Peebles, the whipman at West Linton and the Penicuik hunter and lass. At that time of year, all those places are full of different colours, with bunting strewn over the streets and hanging from the windows of houses. Local people make the towns jolly, attractive and exciting, and that brings business to the communities.
I return to the railway and the opportunities to bring international visitors to Midlothian and the Borders during the festival, away from the overheated and overpriced city of Edinburgh. Think of that late-night train—people could stay in the Borders or Midlothian at half the price of staying in the city of Edinburgh. People could go to a show, get on the train and get up in the morning to see lovely scenery. I should get commission for that.
If I sound excited about the railway line—well, I am. I hope that there will be a seat on the train for me and, if Dennis Robertson is really nice to me, I will have a seat for him and Mr Q too.
15:55
Like my colleague Dennis Robertson, I will return to the area where everything takes place: the north-east of Scotland and Aberdeenshire. The contribution of culture, visitor attractions and events to Scotland’s economy and society is great in north-east Scotland. I agree that festival 2014 was a huge success: the Glasgow cultural programme was the most ambitious national culture celebration to have taken place in Scotland.
Scotland’s historic environment is a vital resource in cultural, social and economic terms. It can and should deliver greater benefits to all communities, and in particular the communities that I represent in North East Scotland. One well-known event is the Portsoy boat festival, which will take place on 4 and 5 July this year and will—importantly—celebrate the year of food and drink. We will celebrate Scotland’s fantastic natural larder and exceptional natural produce as well as the landscape. More important, given that the debate is about culture, we will celebrate the people and culture that make our food heritage so unique.
Stewart Maxwell spoke about Scotland the brand, and we are unique in having food linked to our culture in a way that makes it part of our economic growth. Economic growth locally is linked closely with the celebration of that culture. The 2015 festival promises a programme packed with music, song and dance and children’s entertainment—it will be a grand day out for all the family. This year’s Friday showcase concert will start with Banff academy’s traditional band, led by Sharon Hassan, whom we know from her visit to the Parliament with the north east folk collective. She empowers young people through the learning of Scottish traditional music, very much following in the footsteps of our Tarland fiddler, Paul Anderson, whom my colleague Dennis Robertson spoke about. Since its formation in 2009, the north east folk collective has performed at a number of festivals and venues throughout the UK and elsewhere, from the Stonehaven folk festival in the north-east to Derry.
Scottish people place great value on culture and heritage. I know that, as I have been part of my local heritage society, Skene Heritage Society. It is open to everybody: people do not need to be born in Scotland to enjoy our culture or to become a guardian of our heritage. Those local groups are fantastic; they are full of local volunteers, and we share our culture and heritage.
The Skene Heritage Society will be at the 12th BA Events vintage country fair on the weekend of 16 and 17 May in Lyne of Skene and in June at the Bon Accord steam festival, which is held at Castle Fraser. As members can see, I have found plenty for them all to do during the summer.
The Scottish household survey 2013, which has been mentioned, found that 89 per cent of adults agreed with the following statement:
“It is important to me that heritage buildings and places are well looked after.”
In Aberdeen we have Marischal college, which has, as the new headquarters of Aberdeen City Council, quickly become a fantastic tourist attraction. In May 2011, an 18ft-high sculpture of King Robert the Bruce was unveiled outside Marischal college. The statue, which was created by the sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot, was commissioned following the lodging of a motion by the then councillor—and now MSP for Aberdeen Central—Kevin Stewart.
There was the political will to recognise the importance of the statue, which is now very much an iconic piece of the city and is cherished by all Aberdonians and admired by all visitors to the city. It has become a magnet for tourists.
The Scottish household survey found that 72 per cent of people agreed that the heritage in their local area is well looked after. Unfortunately, the current administration of Aberdeen City Council is not getting that right yet.
The survey told us that 57 per cent of the population agree that there are lots of opportunities to get involved in culture and the arts. The Scottish Government is providing funding for Sistema Scotland’s big noise orchestra. In Aberdeen, big noise Torry will be officially launched with a community concert at the end of term in June. El Sistema is very much thriving in the north-east of Scotland. The aim is that, as these children grow up, they will do better in school, they will be healthier and happier and their lives will have been transformed by being involved in music.
It is important to understand how much such activities contribute to our society and to the economic growth of the north-east of Scotland. One place that Dennis Robertson did not mention is Woodend Barn in Banchory, which is a creative hub that welcomes all and is a great asset to the north-east. It is no surprise that Creative Scotland has shortlisted Banchory as one of the communities that could win £125,000 in the creative place awards 2015.
As the Aberdeen city region project progresses, it is important that culture and the arts are not forgotten by the Scottish Government, the two local authorities and everyone who is involved in the project, and that they are seen as very much part of the growth of the north-east of Scotland.
16:02
Many people have referred to Scotland’s rich and diverse cultural landscape. Across the arts, the music scene and sport we see exciting developments taking place. For spectators or participants in any of those cultural activities, their enjoyment is determined not just by the talent and ability of the performers, artists or sporting stars but by the often unseen contribution of the staff who make those great events happen. The organisers, the administrators, the fundraisers, the committee men and women, the trustees, the security staff and so on all play a huge role in ensuring that the events happen and that people are safe and can enjoy all that is on offer.
With that in mind, and as chair of the Public and Commercial Services Union’s parliamentary group, I will raise the issue that I mentioned when I intervened on the cabinet secretary, which is the long-running dispute at the national museum of Scotland. Last Thursday and Friday, PCS staff at the museum walked out, resulting in the closure of what should be a place of huge national pride. The museum is our most visited attraction, with around 1.7 million people going through its doors each year. That success has been achieved because of the staff who work there.
However, the lowest-paid members of that staff team see their wages and conditions under attack. The museum’s management—with, I presume, the then cabinet secretary’s approval—broke an Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service agreement and imposed a two-tier system on museum staff, with the result that any staff member who has been employed since 1 January 2011 and who works weekends as part of their duties does not receive a weekend allowance, while those who were working prior to that date do.
That allowance was previously negotiated and agreed to recognise that working weekends, when children are off school or family members are off work and when people want to visit tourist attractions such as the museum, impacts on people and their family life. That unsocial element of the staff’s shift rota was recognised in their pay. However, now, we can have two low-paid workers on the same shift, doing the same job for the same employer, but one will be paid much less than his or her colleague.
We are not talking about a small amount of money. It is up to 20 per cent of those workers’ salaries—up to £3,000 a year in hard cash. For someone who earns around £18,000 and lives in the city that Christine Grahame noted is expensive, £3,000 is a significant amount of money. It might not be significant for the chief executive, who earns more than £110,000, but it most certainly is for the low-paid staff who run the place, some of whom take home almost less than £1,000 a month, while the chief executive takes home nearer £2,000 a week.
What about the Government’s role? The responsibility for resolving this year-and-a-half-long dispute lies fairly and squarely with the cabinet secretary, who, as far as I can see, has done zero to bring it to an end. Only two weeks ago, her colleague John Swinney said:
“Fair work will play a key role in making Scotland the fairer, more equal society everyone wants to see—which is why it is a principle which the SNP will be putting at the heart of our election campaign for the next four weeks.”
How does that statement square with ripping off those staff to the tune of £3,000 a year?
Will the member confirm that no one at the national museum of Scotland has had their take-home pay cut? Will he also confirm that National Museum Wales is planning to take away the weekend allowance from existing staff, which is not the case in Scotland? Will he further confirm that seven-day working in the tourism and heritage sector is the norm and that the following organisations—
Briefly, please.
—do not pay weekend working allowances: Historic Scotland, the National Trust, VisitScotland, Our Dynamic Earth—
That is enough. I call Neil Findlay.
The minister is responsible for culture in Scotland, not Wales, so she should take her responsibilities seriously. If seven-day working is the norm, let us have a race to the top on terms and conditions—not a race to the bottom, which she wants. Why is it that the Government, in a desperate bid to prevent strikes in the Prison Service in the run-up to the UK and Scottish elections, can find money to give prison officers £2,000 each—and good luck to the Prison Officers Association for negotiating an increase—but cannot find the cash to pay the museum staff what they deserve?
The cabinet secretary cannot blame anyone else for the situation—no amount of deflection will work this time. None of the usual bogeymen can be rolled out as part of another diversionary tactic. It is not the UK Government’s fault; it is not the Labour Party’s fault; it is not any Labour council’s fault; it is not because of European law; and it is not even because of a lack of powers, so all the old chestnuts cannot be rolled out—it is simply because of the cabinet secretary’s lack of political will and desperately poor leadership. She and the museum management could sort this out with about £200,000—a tiny proportion of the £414 million Government underspend—yet the cabinet secretary has sat by for 18 months and done nothing. Once again, the Government has been found out, as it has been on so many other things when it comes to people in the workplace.
16:08
As we have just heard, this is a wide-ranging debate that covers a lot of issues. Although “culture” is the first key word in the debate’s title, visitor attractions and events are also mentioned, which makes the debate even wider. Sport is not specifically mentioned in the title, but the Commonwealth games are mentioned in the motion, and I presume that “events” cover all events, including sport.
Events such as the Commonwealth games attract visitors in the year when they happen, and the same is true for the cultural events surrounding the games that happened in 2014. However, the other side of the coin is that such events raise the profile of the host city and country, and some people come not in the year of the event but later. It is harder to measure and pin down exactly why visitors come to Glasgow or Scotland in a particular year, but the fact that it is harder to measure does not mean that it is less important.
Venues built for the Commonwealth games continue to hold events that should encourage visitors—for example, visitors can watch Scotland’s only professional basketball team, Glasgow Rocks, at the Emirates arena. Cycling, swimming and hockey all now have world-class facilities, so we can look forward to regularly holding major events in the future and not least to Glasgow co-hosting the first European sports championships with Berlin in 2018.
Culture clearly includes Scottish culture in all its various forms, and I want us to unashamedly celebrate Scottish culture, be it Burns, bagpipes or Scottish films, such as one of my favourites from a few years ago, “Shallow Grave”, which was one of the first Scottish films that I saw with no cringe factor.
However, as Hanzala Malik reminded us, Scotland has become increasingly diverse and international, so we need and should want to celebrate other cultures that have found a home in Scotland. In the east end of Glasgow, that certainly includes Irish culture, which clearly includes Celtic Football Club. To say that Celtic are just a football team is to miss a lot of points. Here, culture and sport very much overlap. Hibernian Football Club in Edinburgh and Celtic in Glasgow grew out of the Irish experience in Scotland, and we all need to be a bit more relaxed about that and welcome it. Visitors to all European cities want to see sports stadia as part of their city experience, but I am not sure that we have fully tapped into that potential in Glasgow.
I see Scotland and our culture largely as part of the Celtic family of nations, and I would like that traditional link to be strengthened. Celtic Connections has been a huge success in more ways than one and has helped us to draw together the many strands of our Celtic heritage. The main venue for Celtic Connections in my constituency is St Andrew’s in the Square, which is now the centre for traditional Scottish music, song and dance. If members have never visited the building, I certainly encourage them to do so. It is a superb building, which was being built when Bonnie Prince Charlie visited the city. This year, I have been at three events there. I particularly enjoyed St Roch’s Ceili Band, which comes from an Irish background.
There are many ways in which we can tackle serious subjects such as sectarianism and anti-Irish racism, but cultural events such as music events are among the best. I understand that, this evening, Joan McAlpine is hosting the anti-sectarian play “Freedom Square” by Ryan Youth Theatre. That is welcome and I look forward to being at it.
Theatre and music can often help us to think through issues at a deeper level, which is harder to do in a debate in this place or on social media. As the Labour amendment says, culture can contribute towards
“improving learning, health, wellbeing, confidence and quality of life”.
I echo that.
On the international stage, we have the world pipe band championship at Glasgow Green in my constituency, which has been held in the city every year since 1986. That involves about 7,000 musicians and an audience of around 30,000 and is reckoned to generate perhaps £10 million for the local economy.
As members probably know, Glasgow Green is just east of the city centre, as is St Andrew’s in the Square. I, too, have a palace, although it is slightly different from Dennis Robertson’s and is called the People’s Palace. It is close to the merchant city, which has been a huge success in many ways, but it is also close to areas that have been struggling, such as the Barras, Calton, Bridgeton and Dalmarnock.
The Barras market was a major visitor attraction in the past, but it has struggled in recent times. We do not seem to have been able to help it to fulfil its potential in the way that markets in other cities have. All of that brings home to me in a particularly clear way how culture, visitor attractions and events can play a key role in boosting the economy and regeneration. However, that does not mean that it is all plain sailing or that there is an easy fix. All the area around Glasgow Green still faces big challenges, and changes will take time. The merchant city regeneration has not spread east as rapidly as many of us might have hoped.
I realise that I have focused on my constituency, so I will finish by mentioning a few things further away. The Edinburgh festival is a fabulous event that is only 40 miles from Glasgow, yet traditionally very few Glaswegians have attended it. There have been moves to change that, but we need to do more.
Another example is that many folk from the central belt do not travel north. I meet many people in Glasgow who have never been to Inverness, let alone the islands. We need to put more emphasis on getting our own people to visit our attractions.
16:14
Stewart Maxwell is not in the chamber at present, but I commend him on his speech, which was on inequalities. I want to focus on that issue, too.
El Sistema involves half a million children across Venezuela. It has produced some of the finest classical musicians in the world, but behind those musical achievements is an even more exciting story, because El Sistema uses the symphony orchestra to benefit society. It produces not only musicians but happy and well-equipped citizens, often from the poorest and most vulnerable backgrounds.
Nowadays, visitors to Raploch in Stirling will often be met by a small voice asking, “What do you play?”, because the children there just assume that everyone has an instrument and that everyone plays something. The Raploch is home to the UK’s first flowering of the remarkable El Sistema movement. The development was seen as integral to the environmental improvements in the Raploch in Stirling, which the Labour council has fostered over many years.
I had the pleasure of being in the Caracas opera house to see El Sistema a few years back when I was on a deputation to Venezuela. I strongly encourage Richard Simpson to go to see where El Sistema originated because it was absolutely amazing.
I might visit Venezuela when I retire. I hope to do that.
The Raploch is quite a tiny place, but more than 450 children from babes in arms through to 14-year-olds are involved in the big noise orchestra programme, which was launched in 2008, and 75 per cent of primary school children in the estate are involved at any given time. The big noise orchestra will grow with that new generation through to adulthood.
That is all happening in only a couple of square miles that are tucked into a meander on the River Forth. That area was once lumbered with a negative image; the community is now becoming famous for its young maestros instead. More than that, the children have become role models and the community has become an inspiration. Govanhill is now copying it.
Although the El Sistema approach is not an inexpensive option, it can help to improve health, wellbeing, aspiration and achievement in a way that no previous programme has done. It fulfils through art many of the principles of the policy that is outlined in Sir John Elvidge’s papers for the Carnegie UK Trust entitled “The Enabling State”, which I have recommended to colleagues before and have no hesitation in recommending again.
The approach is about doing things with communities and fulfilling their aspirations. However, musical instrument education is under great pressure and is one of the potential longer-term casualties of the cuts. The Government’s role is traditionally seen as funding the big events such as the Commonwealth games. Those are certainly important for our brand on the world stage, but working with the communities and supporting the programmes that they support provides a much better approach.
I will give three further examples. First, spinning out from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra—of which I had been a supporter for 20 years—is the east neuk festival. It is unique because it has a high level of private sponsorship and for its use of multiple local venues, mainly churches. We should recognise and complement the level of private sponsorship. Communities should be encouraged to help to fund themselves.
I also commend the paper by Lyn Tett on a project supported by Creative Scotland involving five national organisations that worked with offenders. There are clear findings from research from north Africa, New Zealand and the UK that arts participation can encourage the development of better relationships between prisoners, with prison staff and between the offenders and their families. Participating in arts projects often improves self-esteem and self-confidence. It helps communication and social skills, enables people to work together and help each other as peers, and results in prisoners taking part in other education courses after completing an arts project.
The finding of the Creative Scotland-sponsored paper makes it clear that international research, which I have mentioned, is replicated in the projects. It works when traditional pedagogy has failed. That culture-based approach has much to commend it. Artlink Central, which is based in Stirling, has made effective contributions to Cornton Vale and Polmont and engaged young men who would otherwise not engage.
I strongly recommend to the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs that she talk to her justice and health colleagues about continuing and supporting those projects.
In 2001, as the Deputy Minister for Justice, I was happy to support the business plan from the registrar general for Scotland to integrate the register of births, deaths and marriages and the register of sasines. I supported it because I believed that genealogy would become much more important. The modest investment that we made has paid off in the substantial growth of genealogical tourism.
We have a diaspora of 60 million plus. We need a more comprehensive and integrated approach beyond the years of homecoming to encourage even greater growth in genealogical tourism. I hope that the Government is ready to do that.
16:19
Presiding Officer,
Fit like loon?
Chavin doon!
Far ye ging?
Aff te sing!
Foo’s te hear?
Aw foo’s aer!
Fan’s it ower?
Ae see a glower!
That is my imperfect attempt at poetry, which is not something that we have heard anything of in the debate thus far. It is also poetry that uses the language of the north-east, the Doric.
Poetry is something for which Scotland is known worldwide, through the great poems of Robert Burns. Outside the Canongate kirk, however, there is a nice new statute of Robert Fergusson, who was the fellow Robert Burns wrote an obituary of in which he referred to Fergusson as his elder brother in the muse. We see tourists being photographed alongside the statue of Robert Fergusson without, I suspect, any great sense of who he was except for the fact, which is inscribed beneath the statue, that he died in Bedlam—which was not the best place to die if one was going to die in Edinburgh.
I thank the member for raising the issue of Robert Fergusson. Does he agree that the poet would perhaps be better known among Scots if the national portrait gallery had not hidden his portrait away in the vaults instead of putting it on permanent display?
You may answer as a poet, Mr Stevenson.
I find extemporising poetry even more difficult than putting words on a bit of paper, Presiding Officer, so I will resist that temptation.
What I have just heard is news to me, and I am minded to agree with what the member says.
Words, literature and poetry are an important part of our connection with the world and our gift to the world. We are fortunate that our neighbours to the south of us in this island have given us one of the richest languages on the earth, English, with a huge vocabulary, great opportunities to write and many things for us to read. I hope that that becomes an important part of what we do. The Wigtown book festival is a good example of a small town having created a niche in cultural and tourist terms that can be copied elsewhere. I also feel that there is room for a food town in the north-east of Scotland, and I would like to think that we might do something about that. Joan McAlpine has secured a debate on food on Thursday.
We have lots of locations that people visit because of family connections. Richard Simpson mentioned genealogy. I have been studying the genealogy of my family for over 50 years, and it helps me to connect with history. My grandfather was born when Abraham Lincoln was the President, and all my grandparents were born before the first secret ballot in a parliamentary election—that took place in Pontefract on 15 August 1872. When we study our family, we connect with our history, our antecedents and the diaspora of 40 million or 50 million Scots around the world.
I meet those people when they come here to study their family history. Members of my wife’s family recently came across from New Zealand. Their forebears had travelled from Scotland to Canada and had eventually ended up in New Zealand. We did not know that they existed, but they came specifically to study their family history. The Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society has thousands of members and a huge building full of information that people come to see. I am never in there but I hear the voices of people who have travelled halfway round the globe to research their family history.
We also have many places from today’s literature and films that attract tourists. Pennan, in my constituency, has a year-round population of some 24. Yet, more than 30 years after “Local Hero” was filmed there, people still come to Pennan to look at the phone box. It needs a bit of TLC at the moment—my colleague Eilidh Whiteford is on that particular case—but the mark of a film more than three decades old is still there. The Oxford bar, in Edinburgh, is home to the fictional Detective Inspector Rebus. Ian Rankin chose it as the locale for his drinking because he could not make it up—real life is even better—and it is a place that tourists visit on the back of that.
When I first came to Edinburgh more than 40 years ago, the publican there was a guy called Willie Ross, who was so antipathetic to the Edinburgh festival that he used to shut the bar for three weeks during the festival and put up a notice in the window saying, “Shut due to festival”—that was very much the exception.
Last week I had a coffee in the Elephant House on George IV Bridge, where the Harry Potter novels had their genesis. We have a huge amount in all our cities and areas of Scotland that drags people from across the world.
We have heard talk of the national museum, laying the foundation stone of which was the very last public act of Prince Albert before he died in the 1860s. I went there when I was a youngster. I can still remember things that I saw there. Let us hope that the cultural heritage for those who come to Scotland today is as rich as I feel that mine is.
16:25
I thank the cabinet secretary for her motion and the opportunity to debate these interesting issues around Scotland’s many different cultures.
I endorse both amendments. Claire Baker’s amendment refers to the culture counts campaign. I lodged a motion on that, which was supported. More than 50 different cultural organisations in Scotland are calling for recognition in the national performance framework so that we begin to look at the kind of outcomes that we might like to see, whereby culture really is at the heart of much of what we do. The campaign has the membership of over 50 of Scotland’s organisations and is driven to continue to make the case for recognition for the arts and arts for all in every aspect, whether that involves art going into prisons in connection with work on reform or poets going into old folk’s homes—things that really make a difference to people’s lives.
I thank Liz Smith for highlighting the case for smaller cultural events and festivals. It is almost easy to celebrate the success of Edinburgh’s international festivals—all of them—but perhaps that sometimes overshadows the importance of the much smaller festivals that are happening. I know that the cabinet secretary enjoys those festivals just as much, but I want to make the case for them.
Some time ago in this chamber the tourism minister, when announcing extra funding for promoting events through EventScotland, reassured me that smaller and more rural events should be recognised as important. I reinforce that case again.
The book festivals in Stornoway, Coll, Ullapool or Lerwick do attract international visitors, but they might not meet the 27 or 30 per cent threshold for funding that is asked for by EventScotland. I ask the cabinet secretary to check some of the figures, because I sometimes wonder whether the bigger festivals or events that are given funding do any better in that regard.
It is really important, certainly in the area that I represent, to recognise that culture is about a way of life. Often that is what attracts visitors to our country. Maybe it is about going to a sheep shearing or sheepdog trials and then the ceilidh at night. Who would deny that the enjoyment of that could be greater than an evening at the theatre during the fringe? I would like those events to be given the prominence that they deserve, given the importance that they have in more rural areas.
Mention has been made of the Edinburgh mela and Glasgow mela—I do not know what the plural of “mela” is. We have acknowledged Scotland’s cultural diversity and I wonder whether we should start to look at how strong that is. Recently I read about the Scots taking their culture to Nova Scotia and the Gaelic community there. I wonder how much Scotland benefits from the cultures that make up our diverse populations. Are we engaging enough with the Polish, Lithuanian or Romanian communities in our midst, which I suspect would like to take part even more among smaller communities and more rural places? I look forward to the day when the traditional music awards include traditional Polish, Latvian, Spanish, French, Dutch or Swiss songs—songs from all the different communities that make up our cultural diversity.
I had occasion to entertain some Norwegian politicians in the Highlands and Islands. They were looking at population change and how to keep young people in the Highlands. They were impressed by organisations like Fèis Rois and others, which were giving people a sense of identity after a long time in which their culture was not recognised.
Draw to a close, please.
At one point I got a bit frustrated with them as they argued among themselves, and I asked them what Norway would look like in their ideal world. They immediately said, “Scotland.” When I asked them about that, they said, “What country would not want that?” Scotland’s culture is worldwide. We have a song that is sung in every country on hogmanay. I wonder whether we really enjoy knowledge of some of that.
I would be grateful if you could close, please.
My final plea is that we start to recognise the many cultures in our country and acknowledge that there is a great deal for us to learn about their wealth.
Many thanks. I now call Joan McAlpine, after whom we will move to closing speeches.
16:32
The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, of which I am a member, recently conducted an inquiry into the economic impact of the creative industries. What came across quite clearly during our early evidence gathering was the huge impact of the creative industries on the economy. The task of looking at all the creative industries in sufficient depth was too big, so we concentrated on the impact of computer games, film and television.
Film and television are a reflection of the cultural successes and vibrancy that many members have highlighted, so they are particularly important—the committee said in its report that there is room for growth in film and television in particular. The flourishing in culture that we have seen in Scotland through literature, visual arts, performing arts and the National Theatre has not necessarily been reflected on the small or large screens, and we need to look at viable ways to tackle that problem.
On television, on which I wish to concentrate, the committee heard that few independent Scottish producers are producing returnable television drama. That is a serious missed opportunity, given that it is a key tier for building successful businesses. The lift-and-shift tactic, used mainly by the BBC, was described as damaging to sustainable television production in Scotland. The term “lift and shift” describes the process of moving production of pre-existing shows to Scotland in order to meet quotas for Scotland-based output. Lift and shift provides short-term production employment in Scotland, but not sustainability.
When the production of a programme is complete and the cast and crew have gone back to London, the benefit of that work, such as the financial profits and the key relationships between the seller and the buyer, remain in the south-east with London-based producers. By contrast, Scotland-based producers are here for the long term, and they generate ideas and attract work into Scotland.
Independent producers who came before the committee were quite unequivocal that London-centric commissioners are a huge obstacle for Scotland’s television and film industry. There is a wider point in relation to the promotion of Scottish culture on television. If commissioning is always commercially driven, productions of cultural value are more likely to be overlooked, particularly by London-based commissioners who are unfamiliar with Scottish work. For example, STV’s Alan Clements told the committee that
“The commissioners are the gatekeepers of the cash”,
and
“the commissioning must be by people who are aware of the books or the movements”.
The producer Bob Last agreed. He stated:
“We are talking about a cultural reality that needs active balancing.”—[Official Report, Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, 21 January 2015; c 27, 46.]
Perhaps we need a new mechanism in which we promote material that is culturally important to Scotland, even if a commissioner in London does not think so.
Some witnesses pointed to confusion in the current devolved settlement as well as the failure of the Smith commission to devolve broadcasting. The independent producer Ken Hay advocated that the devolution of public service broadcasters’ production budgets along with commissioning powers was needed. At the very least, we need a commitment from broadcasters to scrap the lift-and-shift tactic in favour of proper investment in independent production companies with a permanent base in Scotland. The committee has called on the BBC and Channel 4 to adopt that new approach to commissioning by the end of 2016.
Culture extends beyond the screen industry, of course. I want to move away from the committee report to look at the importance of festivals, which other members have talked about. There are a number of successful festivals in my South Scotland region and across Scotland, and I want to draw attention to their cultural and economic importance.
Festival-goers who visit the South Scotland region this year will be spoiled for choice. For example, the 14th Moniaive folk festival will take place next month and has a great line-up scheduled, including Whirligig and this year’s Radio Scotland’s young traditional musician of the year, Claire Hastings. The Wickerman festival, which is also in its 14th year, will kick off in Dundrennan in July. In August, the smaller Rockerbie festival will take place in the town of Lockerbie. Members will not be surprised to hear that it will offer fun around rock bands.
T in the Park, which is the biggest festival in Scotland, is, of course, a national treasure. Now in its 22nd year, it is the second-largest festival in the UK. We know that it generates £15.4 million for the Scottish economy and well over £2 million at a local level. As members may be aware, plans to relocate the festival this year from its traditional home in Balado to a new venue at Strathallan castle were in doubt when rare birds were found nesting near the site. Happily, it now seems likely that the event will be able to go ahead, as the experienced team has made it clear that it will adhere to environmental conditions to ensure the safety of the birds. I very much hope that that is the case, and I am sure that members across the chamber hope that, too. That will be good news for the local economy and the Scottish economy, which benefit from that expenditure, and of course for the fans, who have a great time at that festival.
We now move to the closing speeches. Cameron Buchanan has up to six minutes. I would be grateful if all members who have taken part in the debate returned to the chamber now, please.
16:38
It is clear to all that culture, visitor attractions and events make a huge contribution to Scotland’s economy and society. Be they daily, annual or even one-off, the various activities that we have to offer have a valued impact on our lives. I hope that all of us in the chamber can agree to welcome the hosting of international events in all Scottish venues.
It is also important to have the chance to celebrate our culture, and to boast proudly about what the region that I represent has to offer. Although cultural activities, tourism and events are often conflated, it is important to shine a light on each aspect so that we can recognise their great economic and social value.
We recently discussed in the chamber the spectacular successes of the international sporting events that were hosted in Scotland last year, among them the Commonwealth games and the Ryder cup. It was evident that those international sporting occasions showcased Scotland to the world and provided a boost to many aspects of our tourism industry.
I mentioned back then that it is important to add to that legacy. I therefore welcome the recent announcement that Glasgow will be a host city for the multisport European sports championships that are taking place in July and August 2018—it will co-host the championships with Berlin. The combination of swimming, cycling, rowing and triathlon will showcase our capabilities internationally. I am particularly looking forward to Edinburgh playing its part.
It will come as little surprise to anyone in Scotland, the United Kingdom or even the world to hear that Edinburgh’s culture makes a substantial contribution to the local and national economy. Although the city is famed for its summer and winter festivals, which I will come on to, a person need only travel around Edinburgh—at any time—to know that we attract tourists throughout the year. They are attracted by the rich variety of cultural offerings, from whisky tasting and kilt tailoring to historic architecture and captivating ghost tours.
It is clear that our heritage accounts for a large proportion of that rich culture, which leads me to raise the interesting point that many visitors to Edinburgh come not only because they are interested in our heritage and diaspora, but because they share it. That was touched on when Dr Simpson mentioned genealogy. That shared appreciation of our culture truly enables locals to enjoy a great sense of pride in the city that they call home.
As for visitor attractions, Edinburgh offers many that make a marked contribution to both our economy and our culture. It would, of course, be very difficult to discuss Edinburgh’s attractions without mentioning the world-famous Edinburgh castle, which, as we have heard from other members, was recently voted the top UK heritage attraction in the British travel awards. Furthermore, its economic contribution as Scotland’s number 1 paid-for tourist attraction gives a sustained boost to the city’s economy. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to highlight the castle’s every detail, but I must say that I was delighted when Mons Meg was recently returned to its rightful place in pristine condition. I remember clambering all over it as a child and putting a footprint on it, which, fortunately, came off quickly.
To give another example, the national museum of Scotland provides an excellent cultural focus point for residents and visitors. When we have a thriving tourism industry, its success drives new investment into the city, as the recently renovated Scotch whisky experience demonstrates.
Although the term “events” could span all manner of occasions, I will focus on two forms: festivals and sports. The multiday hogmanay festival, which we know contributes around £32 million to the Scottish economy, is a shining example of an event that boosts the economy, particularly as it is repeated annually—for obvious reasons. In addition, Edinburgh’s international reputation as an ideal location to welcome in the new year underlines our status as a first-class destination for cultural tourism. I remember when, many years ago, everywhere was shut at new year—it was a desert. Fortunately, thanks to Pete Irvine of Unique Events, the tradition was revived.
Members will probably not be surprised to hear that I will also use this opportunity to focus on the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Edinburgh locals take great pride in multiple aspects of the Edinburgh festival and, for both economic and social reasons, we should all applaud the organisations and people whose commitment enables such successful shows to be delivered time and time again.
As for sports, our society benefits most when a legacy is secured after a high-profile sporting competition. In the Lothian region that I represent, an obvious example is the Royal Commonwealth pool. Undoubtedly, the ability to use a swimming pool for exercise or leisure or to teach children how to swim is a most welcome contribution to our society. With that in mind, I am rather intrigued to discover what events may be hosted in Edinburgh as part of the multisport European sports championships in 2018.
I welcome the chance to celebrate the economic and social contributions of Scotland’s culture, visitor attractions and events. They have all fostered our well-earned reputation as one of the best places in the world for the arts, tourism and sports to flourish. I hope that the economic impact of those sectors is monitored extensively and reported in the Scottish Parliament, so that we can be as informed as possible about that.
On another level, it is clear that prestigious events, festivals, shows and their legacies enrich Scotland’s society in a manner that we can all be proud of. I hope that the debate and the attention that it brings deliver some of the recognition that all the people involved deserve for their invaluable contribution to the economy, our prosperity, our society and our international reputation. All of us in this chamber should do everything that we can to support them.
I support the motion.
16:44
In closing the debate for the Scottish Labour Party, I must say how fantastic it is to have the opportunity to discuss the huge contribution that Scotland’s cultural and creative attractions make to our society, our economy and our diversity as a nation.
As we have heard, last year was an excellent one for Scottish cultural events. In culture 2014, with its branding designed by the superb Jim Lambie, we had brilliant events such as big big sing, blue block studio—which was a big hit across Scotland—and the amazing Tam Dean Burn and his Julia Donaldson cycling marathon, which I had the pleasure of seeing at Creative Scotland’s reception in Parliament a few weeks ago. World-leading artists and local communities working together across the country once again demonstrated the best of Scotland’s arts and culture. I am sure that we all agree that it showcased Scotland at its very best. Just as the Commonwealth games brought some of the best athletes in the world to Scotland, festival 2014 brought some of the world’s finest entertainment and culture to Glasgow.
The Edinburgh festival also had a bumper year during the games. It achieved record attendances and box-office figures, further cementing Scotland’s place internationally as a nation of culture and the arts that is unrivalled on the world stage.
We were able to share that great celebration with guests from around the world, as Scotland saw a 10 per cent increase in visitor numbers to Scottish attractions.
However, I am sure that we are all asking how we can top that. We all know that doing so will be challenging. The world’s eyes are always on Scotland’s cultural sector, as time and again it punches well above its weight in the world. This year promises to be no different. From the world of music, we have already had the amazing Celtic Connections festival, which, once again, showed why Scotland’s bands are among the most influential in the world.
Festivals, and music festivals in particular, have played a crucial role in Scotland’s cultural calendar for a number of years. This August, party at the palace is back at the stunning Linlithgow palace. There are the smaller music festivals, such as the Wickerman festival, which is perhaps one of Scotland’s best-loved independent music events, and larger ones, such as the Belladrum Tartan Heart festival and the peerless T in the Park. I am sure that we would all agree that, providing all relevant environmental safeguards are in place, T in the Park provides a great boost to Scotland’s economy.
In Glasgow, we once again welcome back to Glasgow Green the world pipe band championships, with more than 300 live performances. If I can just give a wee plug, my amazing nieces and nephews will be taking part again this year, as pipers and drummers in the East Kilbride pipe band.
All those events, and many more besides, will take place over the next year. They will allow Scots throughout the country to harness the energy, friendship and enjoyment gained from the Commonwealth games, continuing them into the next 12 months.
Even here in the Scottish Parliament, we are getting in on the act. Holyrood rocks has its launch event in Parliament on Wednesday 27 May, with the final taking place on Saturday 31 October. Holyrood rocks will be a great way to harness the hugely positive energy gained from the games and its related events and to ensure that our young people—particularly 16 and 17-year-olds, who will be voting in the Scottish Parliament elections for the first time next year—know the importance of using their vote.
Throughout the chamber, we feel proud of our country’s achievements last year. To watch a nation come together to celebrate the best that Scotland has to offer with friends from all over the world, and to do so with such vigour and good faith, made me truly proud to be Scottish. I look forward to events such as voluntary arts week in May 2015, which will highlight the positive contribution to Scotland’s vibrant cultural sector by voluntary arts staff and volunteers from throughout Scotland. Their contribution ensures that venues, creative hubs and organisations are accessible and welcoming to all. Neil Findlay mentioned their importance and asked us all to remedy and support the on-going dispute of some of our lowest-paid staff.
In conclusion, 2014 was indeed a momentous year for culture in Scotland, and not only because Dennis Robertson managed to get a fiddle tune written for Mr Q, because Mark Griffin highlighted the Commonwealth games cycle path route in my bonny home town of Moodiesburn, because we all rushed out to buy a train pass to Christine Grahame’s patch in the Borders, or even because Mr Maxwell showed us some of his literacy skills—I cannot even say that—by pronouncing—
You might wish to draw to a close now.
I think that the word was “repediology”—I hope that that is right. I am sorry, Presiding Officer. I will finish.
As members across the chamber can all agree, there are promising signs to suggest that 2014 was no fluke. Today’s debate has been interesting and has shown that there is real commitment to art and culture—and poetry, for Stewart Stevenson—across the chamber and across Scotland. Let us ensure that 2014 is the rule rather than the exception and that, with our continued support in this Parliament, Scotland continues to flourish creatively and culturally. I fully support the motion and the amendments lodged by Liz Smith and Claire Baker.
16:51
I do not know whether you knew that Holyrood rocks, Presiding Officer, but you do now, after Anne McTaggart’s contribution.
I welcome the contributions from all the members who have spoken. It is clear is that there is a shared appreciation of the contribution of culture and heritage, visitor attractions and events to Scotland’s economy, communities and sense of wellbeing. The Government will be supporting the amendments from the Labour and Conservative parties, which make important points about rural communities and volunteering, and marking voluntary arts week.
Although Scotland is steeped in stories and history, it is continually on the move, celebrating its past while seeking new and innovative ways to engage. The events of 2014 had a huge impact on Scotland’s visitor economy in terms of income generated, but, more importantly, events across Scotland enabled people to access, enjoy, participate in and benefit from a wide range of cultural activities. Creative Scotland funds and supports a broad range of individuals and organisations across the cultural sector, helping to build capacity and to deliver high-quality work in communities across Scotland.
Claire Baker, in a thoughtful speech, posed the question of how wide and deep support for cultural activity reaches. That is a central point and one that I hope the Parliament will continue to examine. There were other important contributions in that area. Stewart Maxwell talked about the role of culture and the opportunities that it provides for mental health, particularly for men, and he is right to say that we should look at the role of culture in tackling inequalities. Richard Simpson talked about the prison population, and I remember seeing a fantastic performance in Greenock prison, supported by the Citizens Theatre, where women had to examine their experiences in front of an audience. That shows how the power of culture can be transformative, and that is a point to which we should return.
Hanzala Malik talked about the need to focus on minority communities. I have tasked Creative Scotland with looking at what we can do better to help, support and identify provision in that area. Jean Urquhart quite rightly asked how we are looking at all the communities of Scotland. I can tell her that I spent my St Andrew’s night celebrating a multicultural homecoming with performances from members of the Polish, Irish and Indian communities in Scotland, but she is quite right to say that that should become more of a norm in our exposition of what culture means in Scotland in the modern day. John Mason talked about Celtic Connections and the importance of recognising and celebrating our Irish heritage. He might be keen to know that I will be attending the Celtic Media Festival this week, because the role of Gaelic culture and how it is demonstrated on our screens are important.
How we make an impact and how we transform people’s access is a key area, particularly for children and young people. That relates to the question posed by Claire Baker. We now have our first youth arts strategy “Time to Shine”, the youth music initiative and cashback for creativity, which have all been designed to ensure that no one’s background is a barrier to taking part in cultural life.
The “Time to Shine” strategy sets out a range of recommendations to support children and young people and to enable them to flourish in the arts. There is a £3.5 million youth arts development fund, which has supported nine youth arts hubs across Scotland. Those hubs, which have been developed through partnerships between local and national arts and youth service providers, aim to engage with 40,000 children and young people.
A real strength is the fact that many of the hubs are being driven by young people themselves. I recently had the pleasure of meeting those involved in the Highland youth arts hub at Eden Court to hear about their exciting plans, and I intend to visit all the youth arts hubs in the future.
The cabinet secretary has mentioned the hubs. Can she reassure us that as many venues as possible will be fully accessible, not just to people from poorer backgrounds but to people with disabilities? In my speech, I mentioned the importance of small local communities working together to ensure full inclusiveness.
I can indeed. I will make sure that I come back to the member with details on how the youth arts hubs in particular will operate.
Richard Simpson talked about the big noise project in Raploch. By increasing the confidence, the aspirations and the self-esteem of our children and young people, it has had a transformative and quite profound impact in providing social regeneration. That is why we have helped El Sistema to look at developing the big noise project in other areas—for example, we have supported it in Govanhill, and Christian Allard told us about the ambitions for big noise Torry, which is due to be launched formally at the end of June.
Much of the debate has been about the economic contribution that culture and visitor attractions make to Scotland. Claire Baker, Joan McAlpine and Stewart Maxwell talked about the economic contribution that T in the Park makes. In her amendment and in her speech, Liz Smith talked about rural sustainability and the virtuous circle of culture and local festivals in driving rural sustainability. She probably took a glass-half-empty view of the world, because we heard from Dennis Robertson about the vibrancy of Huntly and how its community is using culture, Richard Simpson mentioned the east neuk of Fife, and Christine Grahame talked about how the Borders rail link will open up the cultural offering in the Borders to those who live further afield.
There are opportunities, particularly for our rural communities, to grasp the opportunity that cultural festivals present to take things forward. The responsibility for funding such work does not lie just with the national cultural budget; local authorities have a responsibility in that area, too. There is also an important role for private investment to play. In my constituency, the Bathgate music festival was an initiative of the local business community, which recognised that the increased footfall would benefit the area.
We must invest in order to support our cultural provision. The refurbished Theatre Royal that is now open received a contribution from the Scottish Government, as did the Glasgow royal concert hall, which is the home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which made an important contribution to the Commonwealth games cultural programme.
As far as our national collections are concerned, there are significant projects at Causewayside, the Kelvin hall and the art conservation facility. Claire Baker mentioned the National Theatre of Scotland—the theatre without walls—which makes sure that its provision is seen by many across the country. The provision of a new creativity hub will help with what it can offer.
We want to bring culture to new audiences. I have empowered the national performing companies to ensure that they take their high-quality work across the country. I take the opportunity to congratulate Stuart Stratford, who was today appointed as Scottish Opera’s new music director. In addition, many of our national companies are performing overseas. David Greig’s play “Dunsinane” has been met with great acclaim in the US. Interestingly, it got an audience of 125,000 on Radio 3, which is the equivalent of selling out 200 consecutive performances at the Royal Lyceum theatre.
There is much to look forward to: 2015 is the year of food and drink, and we have the Orkney folk festival, the Glasgow science festival, the Borders book festival and cake fest Edinburgh. In addition, of course, we will have many more themed years in the years ahead.
To go back to the transformation theme, I finish by saying that culture can transform rural communities through festivals, and it can transform individuals’ lives, communities and the economy. I look forward to taking the agenda forward, and I thank all members who have spoken in what has been a lively and informed debate.
That concludes the debate on the contribution of culture, visitor attractions and events to Scotland’s economy and society. Before we move to decision time, I invite members to join me in welcoming to the gallery Her Excellency Teresita Vicente, the ambassador of the Republic of Cuba. [Applause.]
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