I am pleased to be here today to hear from colleagues across the chamber about how we harness the opportunities and rise to the challenges of place-based cultural provision. I pay tribute to all members of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee for their report. One of our ambitions in the Scottish Government is to meet communities’ economic, physical and social needs, ensuring sustainability and supporting wellbeing. Culture and creativity are a vital part of that, and our ambition for everyone to experience the transformative potential of culture is one of the key pillars of our culture strategy.

We are very much alive to the fact that this is an incredibly challenging time for the sector. The enduring shocks of Brexit fallout, the pandemic, the energy crisis and the mismanagement of the economy by the United Kingdom Government have sent prices spiralling, and we have had to make incredibly difficult decisions in the light of those financial challenges.

However, we have prioritised support for culture, and I was delighted to report yesterday that the Scottish Government has released £6.68 million of funding to the culture sector for the rest of this financial year. That funding comprises £1.5 million to the Culture Collective programme, about which we have heard so much already, £2 million to Screen Scotland, £250,000 to the platforms for creative excellence—PLACE—programme, £130,000 to the national performing companies touring fund and £2.8 million to fund public sector pay policy uplifts.

That funding will support individuals and communities across Scotland via our funding to the Culture Collective programme, and it is a demonstration of our continued investment in screen and in festivals. In addition, we have now released £2.6 million to Sistema Scotland, delivering on our commitment to ensure that the organisation has the funding that it needs this year to continue to deliver its big noise programmes in communities across the country.

Separately, and in light of the challenging context that we are in, we have been reviewing the actions that support the culture strategy. Although we recognise that the aims and ambitions of the strategy are still very relevant, we will publish a refreshed action plan later this year, setting out what we will do to respond to the challenges. That will include actions on how we will support culture and creativity in our communities. I have already mentioned that one of the ways that we do that is through our support for programmes such as the Cultural Collective and Sistema Scotland. We also do that through the youth music initiative, support to independent museums, and the funding of our national bodies, performing companies and Edinburgh international festival.

We are proud that, in spite of on-going challenges, our funding for culture reaches grass-roots, local, regional, national and international communities. We cannot understate the value that we place on our cultural and creative organisations and the contribution that they make to the wellbeing of individuals and communities across Scotland.

Last month, the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government will increase our investment in Scotland’s art and culture by £100 million over the next five years. That is a huge vote of confidence in our culture sector, and it will help to protect the sector and the impact that it makes on people’s lives.

As was set out in our 2023-24 budget, around £90 million was allocated to budget lines for Creative Scotland and other arts, for national performing companies, for royal and ceremonial events, and for culture and major events staffing. That amount seeks to more than double the funding for those areas by 2029.

Ministers will take decisions about where the funding is allocated in 2024-25 and future years, subject to the outcome of the Scottish budget process and associated approval by the Scottish Parliament. I have encouraged colleagues and parties across the chamber to let their views be known, please, in advance of that. The Scottish Government intends to present the draft budget for 2024-25 to Parliament on Tuesday 19 December.

I reiterate the words of the First Minister that we are making a choice

“to ensure that Scotland’s arts and culture are supported to grow at home, and be seen across the world.”

Working in collaboration with the culture sector around that will be vital. I have already begun meeting MSP colleagues and members of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee to discuss the culture funding model. I welcome ideas from all members and I encourage my colleagues to get in touch to share their thoughts on the culture funding model. I think that we are in agreement across the chamber that collaboration in that respect is key.

In October, I was lucky to attend a showcase for the Culture Collective programme and to see some of the inspiring work that is taking place across that network of 26 participatory arts projects, hearing from participants and practitioners about the impact that our investment has had on their lives through grass-roots, community-developed cultural provision.

For example, Street Level Photoworks offers a wide range of artistic residencies in the new Gorbals and Govanhill areas of Glasgow, connecting to communities via local community connector posts and housing associations. The artists were open to adapting their practice to meet the needs of the communities on which they are based. In the Gorbals alone, residency locations range from the local primary school, youth centre and local community arts clubs to a hair salon, a barber shop and even the local chippy.

An Lanntair took a completely different approach, developing an intergenerational project with a local museum and a youth club. It was a multi-art form and heritage project in which participants explored local stories, geography, history and culture, resulting in the creation of new artwork based on that heritage material. That led to the development of a collective intergenerational picture of the community, detailing what is special to the community about its own area and highlighting the similarities and differences in the community over time and over the generations.

I am proud that we have protected our investment in the programme. Communities have the opportunity to contribute to what they would like to see in their local area in regard to culture. That brings to life our culture strategy ambition, which is that everyone should be able to experience and take part in culture.

I look forward to hearing the views of members from across the chamber. I will end where I started, by extending my appreciation to the convener and other members of the committee for their hard work in drawing up the report, and to fellow members of the chamber who have a close interest in cultural affairs.

It is important to appreciate the context of the end-year finance. Unfortunately, Rachael Findlay is not on the culture committee, where she would have heard—[Interruption.]

Sorry, I meant to say Rachael Hamilton—forgive me. I do not know whether that would be a promotion or a demotion. I will leave others to decide.

It is important to understand that we had pressures because of the UCI cycling world championships—the cost of which amounted to £8 million—£6.6 million for Creative Scotland, and a very significant list of cultural projects right across Scotland that were under threat unless we were able to manage the end-year finances differently. We have done that. The Government took the UCI cycling world championship costs out of the portfolio, and it has ensured that Creative Scotland uses its reserves so that there is no detriment to regularly funded organisations.

If I have an opportunity later during questions, I will be able to confirm the spending that we have been able to put forward—

I am happy to repeat what I have said, but I am sure that the member will appreciate that, on the announcement that I have just made on the provision of resources to the culture collective programme, £2 million to Screen Scotland and £250,000 to the platforms for creative excellence programme, those are all via Creative Scotland. Not only are we doing that, but we have given a commitment that the £6.6 million that Creative Scotland is using from its reserves now will be reimbursed next year. I am happy to repeat that.

We unequivocally condemn the abhorrent terrorist attacks committed by Hamas. However, in exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must abide by international humanitarian law. The civilian populations in Gaza and the West Bank cannot and must not be held responsible for crimes committed by a terrorist organisation.

Last week, we announced a further £250,000 contribution towards the United Nations flash appeal in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in addition to the £500,000 that we committed last month.

The First Minister has been clear that we stand ready to welcome refugees in Scotland, should that be required, and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice wrote to the former Home Secretary to request a meeting to discuss plans. I reiterated those calls in my recent appearances before the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. We wait to hear from the new Home Secretary what approach he plans to take.

I agree entirely with the question. Our main interlocutors in relation to aid in Gaza are the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is the UN agency that deals with the Palestinian authorities.

Of course, we believe that a ceasefire is absolutely key to being able to ensure that the humanitarian support manages to get in and to deal with the very specific challenges that the member has raised, as well as many others. Unfortunately, the civilian population is suffering grievously in Gaza. Everything needs to be done to help and support them, while acknowledging, as I have already, our condemnation—no doubt across the chamber—and our opposition to the terrorist atrocity that Hamas visited on innocent Israeli people in October.

I am pleased to report that the Scottish Government has released £6.68 million of funding to the culture sector for the rest of this financial year. That funding will benefit individuals and communities across Scotland through our support to programmes such as the culture collective and it demonstrates our continued investment in screen and festivals. In spite of the incredibly challenging picture, we have prioritised our investment in culture to support the sector, acknowledging its vital contribution to our economy, and to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to experience the transformative and empowering potential of culture.

First, I will deal with this year. Of the £6.68 million funding release to the culture sector that I have just announced, £1.5 million will go to the culture collective programme, £2 million to Screen Scotland, £250,000 to the platforms for creative excellence programme, £130,000 to the national performing arts companies touring fund and £2.8 million to fund public sector pay policy uplifts. On spending decisions for next year, the issues that Kaukab Stewart has raised will no doubt be considered. If members on all sides of the chamber have particular views on how the Scottish Government should invest the increase that we have committed to making for culture, I would encourage them to share them, as I would be very grateful to hear them.

The creative industries make an important contribution societally, culturally and economically to Scotland and we are proud to support a range of creative organisations in the Highlands and Islands. For example, through our culture collective programme, which I have just mentioned, we are supporting the creative islands network, which provides opportunities for creative practitioners in the region. Via our regular funding to Creative Scotland, we support organisations including ATLAS Arts on Skye, and the Highland Print Studio in Inverness.

Rhoda Grant makes an extremely important point. Different cultural organisations and events are funded in different ways—some are funded through Creative Scotland, whereas others are funded directly—so we must ensure that we reach the entire cultural and arts landscape in Scotland.

Rhoda Grant makes a very good point, and, as I said earlier, I encourage her and other members who have funding concerns relating to particular regional, local or sectoral areas to ensure that those concerns are sent to me.

We are going through the standard budget procedure, and we are in a positive situation in relation to culture and the arts, because a commitment from the Scottish Government has been secured—yes, I am aware of it, because I made the suggestion. I am keen to ensure that the funding delivers the changes that I am sure we all want to see so that the culture and arts sector can thrive the length and breadth of Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands.