I am sorry that Mr Kerr is trying to rewrite history. Those who supported Brexit gave all kinds of impressions that there were ways that the United Kingdom could continue to trade within the single European market, and the record is absolutely clear on that.

There are varying estimates of the damage of Brexit in relation to gross domestic product, lost economic growth and forgone tax revenue that would have been available to fund public services. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimates a 2.5 per cent hit to gross domestic product due to Brexit in 2023, which will increase to 5.7 per cent by 2035. As was debated here last week, consumers have been hit by higher food prices, which adds to the cost of living crisis.

It is clear that rejoining the European Union is the best future, not just for Scotland but for the United Kingdom as a whole. In the meantime, colleagues and I applaud the committee’s efforts to identify how the European Union-UK trading relationship could be improved. Those improvements are now urgent. As I and others made clear in providing evidence to the committee, the extent of non-tariff barriers to trade in goods has been a significantly harmful consequence of Brexit.

The committee’s report directly addresses the Scottish Government on three specific issues. I will touch on those points here and now. First, the report raises concerns regarding the border arrangements between the UK and Europe. Scottish ministers agreed to endorse the UK’s border target operating model in order that checks take place to protect our people, businesses and environment from possible biosecurity risks. That endorsement was contingent on the previous UK Government addressing a set of outstanding issues. Regrettably, that did not happen, and critical elements of the UK border model are still unfinished. The system is not yet live for inbound goods from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. The model’s interactions with the Windsor framework are still to be determined. Anti-avoidance schemes to deter illicit trade—and the underpinning legislation—remain in development.

It is such on-going uncertainty that is so damaging for business. Scottish ministers are ready to work collaboratively with the UK Government to deter illicit trade and to protect our biosecurity. We will continue to stress that minimising the burden on business and providing as much operating clarity as possible are paramount.

Secondly, the committee’s report notes that the regulatory requirements for businesses trading with the European Union have become significantly more complicated as a third country because of additional non-tariff barriers such as logistics, SPS controls, labelling and other regulatory requirements.

We will continue to work with Scottish Enterprise so that it can provide on-going support and advice through company-specific approaches, as well as a range of export digital tools, webinars and workshops to help companies to identify the right markets and latest export opportunities.

I will just get to my third point and then I will be happy to give way to Willie Rennie.

Thirdly, the committee noted issues around regulatory alignment arising from Brexit, and it has long expressed its concerns about the operation of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. Indeed, that piece of legislation, alongside the previous Government’s stop-start approach to imposing new border controls, its capricious approach to regulatory standards and checks and the passing of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 all caused further significant uncertainty.

No, I will not.

We are now outside the single market. We were told that we did not need to be. We are outside the customs union. We were told that we did not need to be. [Interruption.] To say that Brexit is done and that one cannot go back—

Scottish Government ministers have repeatedly called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire by all sides and for unimpeded humanitarian access. We have demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. We wrote to the UK Government asking it to ensure that all potential breaches of international law are investigated and that Israeli and Hamas leaders are held accountable. We have called for an end to UK arms sales to Israel and for the UK Government to recognise a sovereign Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to secure lasting peace in the region.

I do not recognise the decline that has been outlined, but I would share a concern if there were to be any reduction in the provision of music tuition and access to musical instruments. If Brian Whittle is aware of examples of that, I am keen to hear from him.

I benefited from an education that included music provision at Broughton high school, and it stood me and all my peers in good stead. It is important that children of all backgrounds have the opportunity to learn music. I make that offer to Brian Whittle, and I will look at what he sends to me with great interest.

The eight leading humanitarian organisations based in Scotland that form part of the humanitarian fund panel are the British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Tearfund and Save the Children. It is, however, excellent to hear about the work that is happening on the ground in communities. If Maggie Chapman wishes to highlight the good efforts of the organisation that she mentioned and to raise any specific elements of the important work that it is delivering on the ground, I will look very closely at that.

I do join Foysol Choudhury in condemning the decision. The role of the UNRWA, which I had the honour of covering when it was headquartered in Vienna, is absolutely critical to the provision of humanitarian supplies to people in Gaza. I call on the Israeli Government to revisit the decision that has been taken. We need to support the United Nations and the provision of humanitarian assistance. If Foysol Choudhury thinks that anything more needs to be done to persuade the United Kingdom Government to make that case at the United Nations, I would be happy to join him in doing so.

I very much agree with Paul Sweeney about the importance of the provision of culture and the arts in Glasgow. That was a subject of discussion that I had with Glasgow Life a number of months ago.

He is right to raise community-based projects. I would be grateful if he could forward the details of the situation that he has outlined. I will look at any way in which I can use my good offices to support the sort of local community arts projects that he has raised.

Michelle Thomson makes an important point. The Scottish Government is considering the implications for our public finances and the culture sector of the actions that were announced by the UK chancellor on 30 October.

Despite the challenging budget situation, the Scottish Government remains committed to providing £100 million additional funding for the culture sector by 2028-29. We are already increasing funding to the sector by £15.8 million this financial year, bringing it to £196.6 million. In 2025-26, we aim to provide additional funding to the sector and, in line with normal budgetary procedure, the Scottish Government will publish a draft budget for 2025-26 on 4 December. I invite members right across the chamber to support culture by voting for that budget.

Panto season would be making budgetary announcements before the budget, as Mr Bibby well knows.

The Scottish Government is already increasing culture spending while the member’s Government in the UK is cutting it. I stand on the record of this Government increasing spending while his Government is decreasing it. The revenue budget of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is going down. I look forward to Labour members listening intently to the budget at the beginning of December, when, I am confident, we will continue to increase culture spending in Scotland while the member’s party in government in England is cutting it.