I should declare an interest as the owner of three dogs. Were it to be the case that I could take my dogs to the library, I am sure that it would make any visit all the more welcome.

Libraries and library managers across Scotland are looking at new ways of making libraries open and welcoming and of providing online support in addition to their fantastic range of books. Being imaginative about how one can provide the services that are required by communities, families and individuals in 2024 will be the best way of assuring the provision of library services across the country.

George Adam is correct: the UK Government has cut revenue funding to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for culture and the arts in England. By contrast, Scottish ministers have this financial year increased culture sector funding as a first step to achieving the First Minister’s commitment to investing at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by 2028-29. That means that programmes such as the YMI, Sistema Scotland and the youth arts open fund, which I have just spoken about, are able to operate and ensure that Scotland’s young people have access to the arts and culture. Details of the 2025-26 budget will be published later this year.

In response to the deteriorating situation in the middle east, the Scottish Government has committed £250,000 for Gaza from our humanitarian emergency fund, which includes £200,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s humanitarian appeal. That money will provide food, water, medical assistance and shelter to displaced people in the region.

As the crisis in Gaza enters its second year and hostilities spread into Lebanon, the Scottish Government reiterates calls for a ceasefire, the immediate provision of humanitarian aid and progress towards a two-state solution through which all people in the middle east can live in peace and security.

I will have to write to Ash Regan about the second part of her question.

In answer to the first part, Creative Scotland senior managers gave detailed evidence to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee about Government procedures in relation to the case that she has raised. I know that she is not a member of that committee, but I invite her to look closely at that evidence. I have looked closely at the assurances that Creative Scotland has given. The issue matters to me, and I am sure that it matters to her.

This is particularly important because we look forward to the rolling out of multiyear funding across the culture sector next year, which will be a step change in supporting culture and the arts. Ash Regan is right to highlight the fact that it is important that we have governance procedures that are fit for purpose. Creative Scotland has given me and the relevant committee in the Scottish Parliament those guarantees.

Public libraries are devolved to local authorities, which have a statutory duty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities in their area.

We encourage library usage through our support for the Scottish Library and Information Council. That includes £450,000 for the public library improvement fund. The funding supports creative, sustainable and innovative public library projects throughout Scotland and is on top of our general revenue funding to local authorities.

Examples of that work in the Mid Scotland and Fife region include the evidencing the social impact of libraries in Stirling project and the sustainable communities project in Perth and Kinross.

As Roz McCall knows, I used to represent a rural constituency, so I very much understand the point that she makes about local services. The community hub role that libraries serve in many rural areas is changing and developing and is hugely important. I watch with great concern wherever there are local authority decisions in relation to library closures.

The member obviously feels strongly about that, too, so I have no doubt that she will have taken part in the consultation that was conducted by Perth and Kinross Council. If she is happy to share the details with me, I will look closely at them.

As for the budget process, I am delighted that the member is looking for a rise in provision for culture and the arts in Scotland, and I look forward to her voting for the Scottish National Party budget in due course.

I respectfully and generously accept the point that has been made across the chamber about the importance of libraries—there is cross-party agreement on that. The point that Mark Ruskell makes about the provision of services through local libraries to communities is one that I discussed with the Scottish Library and Information Council only last week, so I am up to speed on the case that it is making for the protection of the provision of local libraries.

It is the case that the provision of funding will determine the future of those local libraries. The Scottish Government is very committed to the preservation of those services, but at the end of the day, the decision is for local councils to take. I will add my voice to the call from colleagues across the parties for the maintenance of library services. Through the Scottish Library and Information Council, the public library improvement fund and the provision of funding for local government, we will do as much as we can to make sure that that is the case.

Our humanitarian emergency fund is activated on the advice of a panel of eight non-governmental organisations. Through that mechanism, and in collaboration with their partners in country, expert guidance is provided on how best to respond to communities in urgent need. That includes building resilience to future humanitarian crises.

We will continue to seek the sector’s views on how we can improve the fund’s responsiveness and resilience through the upcoming HEF review, which is due to begin in early 2025.

Details of the 2025-26 budget will be published later this year. However, Scottish ministers have already increased culture sector funding in this financial year as the first step to achieving the First Minister’s commitment to invest at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by 2028-29. The Scottish Government wants to ensure that the public money that is invested in the arts and culture benefits those right across Scotland and, as part of that, the Government continues to provide support to Glasgow’s arts and culture sector.

The additional funding that was announced in the UK autumn statement is welcome and, along with the savings that were announced in the fiscal statement on 3 September, it will support the cost of pay deals and other pressures. However, the budget still leaves us facing significant cost pressures. We are now considering the full implications of the UK budget.

I appreciate that the culture sector needs certainty regarding future funding in order to fulfil its potential, and I look forward to providing that certainty when the Scottish Government budget is published on 4 December.