Chamber and committees

I am always pleased to respond.

Even US Administrations have pursued the normalisation of relations with Cuba over recent years, with the opening of trade and the ability for Cuban exiles to file remittances to relatives in Cuba. I am at the front of the queue to acknowledge the fact that the human rights record of the Cuban state, which a one-party Government runs, is not something that we would seek to support. However, I stand in support of improved relations with Cuba, while supporting the importance of human rights on that island.

Yes, I agree with my colleague. The member is entirely correct: the people of the north-east of Scotland and Scotland as a whole have a right to exercise a choice about independence.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting and facilitating a just transition. That is demonstrated by the just transition fund for the north-east and Moray: a 10-year, £500 million scheme that was announced earlier this year. We asked the UK Government to match that ambition, and to date it has not.

In October, the UK Government also failed to award the green light to the cluster led by the Acorn project at St Fergus. That is extremely disappointing for the north-east. Currently, the Scottish Government does not hold all the necessary legislative and regulatory levers to support the cluster, as they were retained by the UK Government. That decision jeopardises the opportunities to deliver a just transition in our energy sector and for Scotland to achieve our ambitions. It must be up to the people of Scotland to decide how Scotland is governed.

Our new offices in Copenhagen and Warsaw will promote Scotland’s interest and expertise in the Nordic and central European regions, attracting investment and supporting the exchange of knowledge and best practice. Our international presence creates domestic opportunities, broadens our horizons, attracts investment and ultimately benefits the people of Scotland. Our policies and actions abroad will be consistent with our focus on fairness and inclusion at home.

The programme for government emphasises our commitment to reviewing our approach to future policy and economic engagement, with a view to enhancing Scotland’s global reach and presence.

Since the culture strategy was published, in February 2020, we have launched three new innovative programmes: the culture collective, arts alive and creative communities. Together, those programmes are supported by more than £8.3 million of Scottish Government funding, and they are working to empower communities to develop cultural activities, to bring creative residencies to educational settings in areas of multiple deprivation and to use cultural projects as a positive diversion from criminal activity. We have also launched the national partnership for culture, which will be providing recommendations to ministers on the sector’s recovery and renewal by the end of this year.

We are having very positive discussions across Government on ensuring the embedding of culture and the arts right across Government policies. That is proceeding well. What is proceeding less well, however, is the funding that Scotland should be receiving for its cultural expenditure. Unfortunately, I need to confirm to the member that we have still received only £9 million from the United Kingdom Government out of the £40 million of consequentials that were announced for Scotland for this financial year. We are still seeking clarity from the Treasury on why the £40 million has not yet been passed on to us. We will continue to press the UK Government to deliver the remaining £31 million so that it can be passed on to the sector in full.

I agree entirely with my colleague. That is why we are committed, through the Scottish Government’s programme for government of this year, to increase our international development fund from £10 million to £15 million, and why the new climate change element is included in the 1325 fellowship programme.

The increase in international development funding will finance a new £500,000 women and girls empowerment fund for partner countries to take forward work to ensure that women and girls are safe, equal and respected. That will be launched next year.

Scottish ministers are concerned about the continuing lack of progress in the talks between the United Kingdom Government and the EU in respect of the Northern Ireland protocol. I, and fellow Scottish Government ministers, have repeatedly urged the UK Government to approach the on-going discussions with the EU seriously and constructively and to meaningfully include devolved Governments in that process.

If the UK Government were to trigger article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, that would have profound and deeply damaging consequences for every part of the UK and could result in a disastrous trade dispute with the EU. It is one of the most irresponsible things that could be done right now in the face of Covid and other Brexit implications.

I do not recognise the Conservative member’s characterisation. In my conversations with Lord Frost, I have repeatedly impressed on him the need for a positive relationship with the European Union. I very much welcome the comments made by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, about that issue.

The ball is in the UK Government’s court. As the member and her colleagues will remember, it was the UK Government that signed the Northern Ireland protocol and described the deal as “oven-ready”. It is they who are calling it into question. I urge the member to impress on her colleagues the need to find a resolution, because the impact on Scotland’s economy will be devastating if article 16 is triggered.

I agree with my colleague. The hard Brexit that the UK Government chose, which removes us from the single European market and from the customs union, is being pursued irresponsibly during a global pandemic. It is causing significant economic damage in Scotland. In the first half of 2021, Scotland’s food exports to the European Union were 14 per cent lower than in the equivalent period in 2019. That compares with a 3 per cent drop in food exports to non-EU countries over the same period. Scottish goods exports fell by 24 per cent in the latest year to June 2021, compared to the equivalent period in 2019.

The aims and ambitions of the culture strategy remain relevant—I hope that we agree on that. We have discussed that directly with the sector, which continues to support the strategy’s vision and guiding principles. However, we recognise the severe impact that the pandemic has had on the culture sector, and we now need new policies and actions to realise the strategy’s aims and ambitions in a post-Covid world—for example, on health and wellbeing, on education, on economic development and on the net zero economy. My officials are considering that as a key part of their work on sector recovery and renewal, and we will publish an update on that work early in 2022.