I would welcome any initiatives that help in the traditional skills area to ensure that we have the next generation of stone carvers, stonemasons and those with all the other skills that are required to maintain and repair our historic sites. I will look closely at the developments that the member has updated Parliament on, and if he or other colleagues have suggestions on how skills can be developed in the heritage sector or how that could be speeded up, I will be happy to look closely at them.

As I mentioned to Sue Webber, I am optimistic that there will be announcements in the near future, and I think that they will give Foysol Choudhury, Sue Webber and me assurance and confidence about the future in this area.

In 2024, the Scottish Government, as part of the “Building a New Scotland” series, published a further four papers covering the topics of culture, our place and role in the world, education and lifelong learning, and justice. In 2025, we will publish a final overview independence paper to complete the prospectus series.

I cannot give the member the answer that he asks for. However, I regularly update Parliament and colleagues—perhaps even him—on that in answers to written questions, and I will be happy to update him on it.

I think that Liam Kerr appreciates that this Government was elected with a mandate to inform the public about Scottish independence, and that that policy position is supported by the majority of MSPs. It is absolutely right and proper that we do the necessary work. I will be happy to update the member on the work that is done to inform the public about independence, which is, of course, the normal status of countries in the international community.

I repeat the point that I made a moment ago. I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to write directly to the member with a full answer to her question. I think that she and other colleagues appreciate that it is important that arm’s-length organisations, whether that is Historic Environment Scotland, Creative Scotland or others, answer such operational questions.

I would be grateful to Rachael Hamilton if she could share the correspondence with me, and I give her an undertaking that I will look at that. I expect Historic Environment Scotland to reply to her directly.

No, but I take the opportunity to agree with the member that a trade war has no winners, which is why it is incumbent on all of us, across all parties, to use the good offices that we have to communicate that point to those who choose to introduce trade tariffs.

Let us take the example of the Scotch whisky sector in which American companies own Scottish distilleries, American barrels are imported to Scotland to produce Scotch whisky and French or Italian-headquartered companies own significant parts of the sector. We are not immune to tariff decisions, whether we are in the European Union or not. For all of us, the key issue at hand is to persuade decision makers that tariffs are not the best way to ensure economic success, whether that is in the European Union, Scotland and the UK outside the European Union, or the United States of America.

Campaigners are raising concerns that global debt is at its worst level in 30 years, with 34 countries in Africa in debt distress. The Scottish Government remains committed to equitable partnerships with our partner countries to tackle shared global challenges. Our international development fund has been led by our partners to ensure that our portfolio is aligned with their national priorities in order to maximise impact. That has resulted in our programmes focusing on areas that are often neglected and underfunded, such as inclusive education, non-communicable diseases and tackling gender-based violence, with the money delivered through grants rather than loans. We remain committed to global equity and justice.

I assure Neil Bibby that we keep everything in this policy area under constant review, but I will refer his question to officials to ensure that I provide him with the most up-to-date information. I would be content to meet him, or the organisation that he referred to, to discuss any outstanding issues. There is cross-party consensus on the good work that the Scottish Government is able to deliver in that area, and I want to ensure that it continues to be held in the high regard that it has been thus far.

I thank Pam Duncan-Glancy for her question. The Scottish Government has a long-standing history of supporting youth arts programmes, such as the youth music initiative and Sistema Scotland. YMI and Sistema will receive a 3 per cent uplift in 2025-26, which takes our annual investment for those YMI to £9.79 million and for Sistema to £2.68 million.

In 2024-25, Glasgow City Council received £540,644 through the YMI formula fund, ensuring that every primary school child has access to a year’s free music tuition. A further 28 youth arts projects received YMI funding in the city. Sistema runs Big Noise Govanhill, which works with more than 1,000 local children to provide high-quality music education.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK Government in order to set out Scotland’s priorities for its future relationship with the European Union, which includes a return to the single market.

Modelling by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research shows that the UK economy is now 2.5 per cent smaller than it would have been in the European Union. The hard Brexit that was negotiated by the previous Conservative UK Government took the UK out of the EU, the single market and the customs union, and it brought an end to freedom of movement. With independence, Scotland can rejoin the European Union.

Stuart McMillan is right to identify the importance of working together with the European Union, its member states and neighbouring countries such as Norway and Iceland that are not part of the EU, as they are all countries that have an important security dimension around our shores.

Defence is a reserved matter, but notwithstanding that, in the areas in which the Scottish Government has responsibilities, such as the marine sphere and energy sector, it is legitimate to make sure that we have the appropriate levels of security in place. I note, with some concern, that the Royal Navy does not have a single ocean-going conventional patrol craft that is based in Scotland.