Okay—fine.

Through our support of the Culture Collective programme, run by Creative Scotland, we supported Reeltime Music, which is based in Motherwell. Reeltime Music was awarded more than £270,000 to deliver a project that included working with communities in Motherwell, Glenboig, Airdrie and Bellshill, and to deliver region-wide projects with partners including Lanarkshire Deaf Club. Our youth music initiative access to music making fund also provided support for a music project in Wishaw, through Glencassels Community Development Project.

The loss of access to the creative Europe programme has indeed had a major impact on young artists. The programme played a vital role in facilitating international cultural collaboration, which helped young artists to develop cross-border networks, to share knowledge and to learn from their peers.

The Scottish Government is calling on the United Kingdom Conservative Government and any incoming Labour Government to rejoin creative Europe as a priority. We also urge the UK Government to engage positively with the European Commission’s proposal to open negotiations with it on youth mobility and to constructively negotiate a deep and generous agreement with the European Union.

As a Government, we engage closely with stakeholders from across the culture sector to assess the full impact of Brexit. We have repeatedly heard of creative professionals leaving the sector because of barriers to international opportunities, as well as hearing of international artists facing difficulties coming here.

We recently held a consultation on our international culture strategy, in which a wide range of stakeholders detailed the impact of leaving the European Union on Scotland’s culture sector. A good first step to turning all that around would be for the United Kingdom to rejoin creative Europe.

Like Brian Whittle, I had the good fortune to go to a school in which music and the arts were central to teaching. I learned a musical instrument and even reached the giddy heights of the Edinburgh secondary schools orchestra.

I agree with him that it is important that pupils right across Scotland get opportunities to take part in culture and the arts. In my initial answer to Mr Whittle’s question, I outlined the ways in which that works extremely successfully. If Brian Whittle has any specific examples of where there are deficiencies, I would be happy to hear from him.

Through the Barnett formula, the Scottish Government receives block funding based on the total changes in United Kingdom departmental allocations for areas of devolved competence. The changes in spending by a UK Government department do not necessarily reflect an increase or decrease in that UK department’s budget allocation, so they may not directly impact the Barnett consequentials. However, I note that, although the UK Tory Government and the Welsh Labour Government have both cut culture spending, we, in Scotland, are increasing it.

So far this year, the local and national delivery group has helped to shape the development of a collaborative event that was jointly hosted by the Scottish Government and COSLA. The event was held on 20 May and explored the value of culture in delivering a wealth of local outcomes, with a view to developing partnership working across boundaries at local and national levels. The Scottish Government will work with the local and national delivery group to consider tangible next steps based on the themes raised at the event.

That is a curious intervention from a party that is cutting culture spending in the rest of the United Kingdom, when the Scottish Government is increasing it. I know that, deep in his heart, Alexander Stewart supports the Scottish Government’s efforts to raise spending on culture. I hope that I can continue to have his support, his party’s support and support from across the chamber in increasing spending on culture.

The Scottish Government has committed to a £100 million boost to culture spending in Scotland, which is in stark contrast to the United Kingdom Government’s cuts to culture in England and, indeed, to the Labour Government’s cuts to culture in Wales.

“No” is the short answer to Mr Hoy’s question, but I encourage him to actually read the paper. I am not sure whether he has read it. [Interruption.] He is shaking his head, so he clearly has not read it. If he had, I am sure that he would have found the detail very convincing and hugely encouraging for Scotland.

We look forward to having the opportunity to live in a democracy and having a democratic say in a referendum about the country’s future. Looking at all our neighbouring countries, which all outperform the United Kingdom, I think that it is a prize worth joining together for, across the chamber, although I suspect that that is not likely in the case of Mr Hoy.

The United Kingdom Government’s decision to leave the European Union has ended freedom of movement. Along with the UK Government’s failure to negotiate with the EU a mobility agreement for creative professionals, that is making vital international activities such as touring in Europe far more difficult. Creative professionals now face barriers including visa and customs requirements, and restrictions on haulage. The loss of the creative Europe programme, which plays a unique and vital role in facilitating international cultural collaboration and developing cross-border networks, has meant that the opportunities for people in the sector to work and build relationships internationally are, sadly, more limited.