Chamber and committees

Is there a possibility that the report was commissioned to neutralise objections, given that the committee was going to be looking at the landscape?

Good morning and thank you for joining us. I have a couple of quick questions. Your report states that the Scottish Government commissioned you. Can I check whether the directorate that commissioned you is the same one that is now looking at introducing a new commissioner for learning disability, autism and neurodiversity?

In other words, it is potentially in the team’s interests to limit the scope of what your research would evaluate. Let us imagine for a minute that the team is keen on introducing a new commissioner for its area of interest. It would make sense to limit the scope of what you were asked to evaluate in terms of the wider landscape, as you set out today in your evidence. Is that a fair assessment?

What reception did you get for your research? Have you met the team subsequently and have you taken any feedback from it? If so, what was that?

Thank you very much. That is all, convener.

However, as you set out in your statement, the team wants there to be a new commissioner—that is a statement of fact. You have found out some other incidental stuff but, as Ms Smith pointed out at the start of our session, we are looking at the wider landscape including independence, governance, accountability, costs, budget lines and overlap, which are underpinned by strategic positioning and—critically—outcomes. It sounds very much as though you were given a different brief, to look more gently at the concept of introducing a further commissioner, by the directorate that wants to do so.

Thank you. You mentioned human rights earlier. In any discussions about the concept of a number of commissions or commissioners looking at human rights and the complexity around that, was there any recognition that creating a hierarchy of rights could be problematic, or did the discussion not go to that depth? In the Parliament, we have seen challenges with recognising different sets of rights, and we see that in the wider environment, too.

I, too, made that trip, and I found it most illuminating. I was struck by the innovation that Scottish Opera is carrying out as a company in renting out its sets, costumes and so on. Does the member agree with that?

Will the member take an intervention?

I welcome the publication of “Inspiring Connections: Scotland’s International Culture Strategy 2024-30”, and I encourage everyone in the sector to read it. I also welcome the breadth, quality and depth of Scotland’s cultural offering—we punch well above our weight around the world.

Today, I will make a few comments on music, as a graduate of the world-leading Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which I again congratulate on being ranked sixth in the world. I am also a former professional musician and convener of the cross-party group on music.

We cannot get away from the Brexit question, no matter how much people want to avoid it, and I stress the urgency and importance of rejoining the EU, which is fundamental to the sector. No sector has been more damaged by Brexit than the culture sector—so much so that, as has been mentioned, I have, in conjunction with the European Movement in Scotland, arranged a busk against Brexit day today. To that end, I apologise to members in advance that—as I notified, Presiding Officer—I will need to pop out of the chamber for a short while to welcome the buskers outside the Parliament.

I am also hosting a round-table event tonight with prominent individuals in the music sector, to hear in more detail about their challenges and their ideas to make matters better. Such is the concern that I anticipate that the event will be well attended.

The fact that the UK Government refused concessions by the EU and the fact that the Labour Party continues to support Brexit are noted. I will briefly examine some of the issues.

As has been mentioned, for many musicians, touring is imperative. They are performers first and foremost, and taking their product to other locations and cultures is emotionally fulfilling and builds their audience and brand, yet the additional costs, paperwork and red tape, such as carnets for each country, now act as a real blocker. I have met with bands and larger organisations who are either cutting their touring or stopping it altogether.

There are multiple issues, not just with musicians touring but with trying to welcome them here, as a result of immigration being reserved. How many examples can we cite of musicians having their visas declined, with an outcry ensuing before a change of heart? That damages the profession and our international brand.

We should never forget that our brilliant artists take not just themselves but Scotland to the world. They take to the world Scotland’s brand, which—as I know from primary research that I undertook a few years back—is strong and filled with integrity and quality, and its provenance and authenticity opens doors. Our sense of fairness, ethics and capacity for innovation resonate, too, and all of that shines through in the culture strategy. The Scottish Government has previously noted our egalitarian social values in relation to culture, which is written in our DNA and is another part of Scotland’s story.

Another point to make—I do not know whether it has come through clearly enough in the debate yet—is that musicians, bands and orchestras are all small businesses. We do not often hear them talk about their margins, their cost base and so on, but that is the fact of the matter. In addition to Brexit, therefore, the cost of living crisis—which, of course, has a relationship with Brexit—has affected them hugely. Our music infrastructure is struggling, and I know, given my music contacts, that that is the case across the UK. For example, many of the music venues that operate as small businesses are closing. If, at a local level, musicians cannot perform or tour, how do they sell their product aside from through streaming, which is subject to multiple issues? Thank goodness, therefore, that the SNP has worked so hard to protect the arts.

I openly admit that I can be critical of the Scottish Government on occasion, but I have seen at first hand the determined attempts to protect our music infrastructure via the likes of the youth music initiatives including Sistema Scotland to keep instrumental instruction available and free—I cannot overstate just how important that is—and, of course, to keep our funding commitments.

Some people might not like this, but independence and rejoining the EU are the answer. That is because it is normal to be able to set immigration policies that allow the best and brightest talent to visit our country. It is normal to create embassies that act as a focal point for all our cultural assets and our diaspora. It is normal to take one’s place in the world. When a country has such a strong brand as Scotland has, it is positively abnormal to want to diminish that by clouding it under something else.

More important, and related to what I said about business, it is normal to have the power to create funds—to create hypothecated taxes, for example—and to create tax incentives. That is a really important point. When people claim that we could be doing something, they do not give examples related to the limited powers that this Parliament has.

It is normal for a country to decide how much money it spends in what ways and on what priorities. I would love to hear someone in this debate who is saying that we should spend more money on this area set out what they would propose cutting to get that increase in spend. I very rarely hear that from the Opposition.

It is normal and highly desirable to encourage and support diversity in music and the arts. I will never forget the difference that it made when musicians, many of whom were from the EU, joined our Scottish orchestras. The new sounds, especially in the strings but across many sections of the orchestras, made a huge difference.

Given the limitations on budget, macroeconomic powers and immigration, and given the madness of Brexit, it is a miracle that our arts and culture and creative sectors thrive in the way that they do. I salute them all and encourage them to read the strategy and to imagine what could be.