I agree that the petitioner makes a lot of valid points, but I also agree with Alexander Stewart and Fergus Ewing that the petitioner needs to come up with some proposals on how she wants to see us proceed.

I thank Sharon Dowey for bringing this important issue to the chamber.

Earlier this year, I visited Linlithgow palace and met some of the Historic Environment Scotland team who work there. They told me about the restoration and preservation work that had been undertaken on the palace. I learned of the unique history of the palace and the important work that Historic Environment Scotland was doing to keep that history alive. Our historic environment is on the front line of climate change and some of our historic sites need specialised restoration and repair work. During my visit to Linlithgow palace, I learned about the work that needs to take place there, which requires skilled labourers and stonemasons to carry out.

I agree with the statement in Sharon Dowey’s motion that the Scottish Government must do more to ensure that there is not a shortage of skilled labourers who are able to do the necessary work. A modern apprenticeship in stonemasonry must be funded and made more readily available. College and further education courses should be fully funded to enable them to teach these important skills. Providing skills to labourers who can help to restore our historic sites is crucial to ensuring that we can reopen some of them.

It is good to hear that the Scottish Government is looking into that, and I also look forward to hearing an update on it.

Scotland’s historic environment provides huge support to Scotland’s tourism industry. Statistics show that, in 2019, the sector generated £4.4 billion, as well as supporting 68,000 full-time jobs. The towns and businesses around these historic sites benefit greatly from the increased footfall from tourists and visitors. Many businesses in areas such as Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders greatly rely on the revenue from tourism. However, at the beginning of 2023, those areas had some of the highest reported percentages of site closures or restricted access.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, we must ensure that our historic sites are able to remain open and to keep supporting local businesses and tourism in Scotland. That is not possible if 60 of them remain closed to the public. The Scottish Government’s most recent budget predicted an increase in commercial revenue for HES in the coming year. How will that happen if many of those important historic sites remain closed?

Scotland’s historic environment plays an important role in keeping Scotland’s culture alive. It tells a story of Scotland’s past and our cultural heritage. It supports the economy and thousands of jobs. The Covid-19 pandemic hit the arts and culture sector hard and investment and funding is still needed to help to rescue it. If many of those historic sites remain closed in the coming months, we cannot hope to revive that important part of our culture.

Thank you, convener. Good morning. How much involvement do the national performing companies have with third-sector organisations? As you probably know, the third-sector organisations work with different ethnic-minority organisations as well, bringing in ideas from different countries. What is your involvement in that, and how do you guys work with third-sector organisations?

Do you believe that there has been a drop in cultural participation from individuals from typical low-income backgrounds or deprived communities?

Good morning.

I will ask a question on what you have just said, but I also have another question. Are we using the spaces that we have in schools? You have mentioned the Filmhouse’s difficulties and that you always find it difficult to attract people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Are they adequately informed? Do they know where they can perform or participate?

I do not have any interests to declare.

I, too, congratulate the minister on her new role.

At the end of last year, the Scottish Government’s budget predicted a fourfold increase in commercial revenue for Historic Environment Scotland. However, at the beginning of this year, 60 Historic Environment Scotland sites remained closed or partially closed to the public. Can the minister advise how Historic Environment Scotland’s revenue will rise as predicted if so many of the sites remain closed throughout the summer?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am not sure whether my vote has been registered. My app is not refreshing.

My casework is currently inundated with constituents experiencing housing issues. Families are stuck on waiting lists for permanent homes. Individuals are stuck in unsuitable temporary accommodation, living with damp, mould, mice and rats. Students are presenting as homeless because they cannot find affordable accommodation where they study. With the appointment of a specific housing minister, it appears that the Scottish Government is beginning to take this homelessness and housing crisis seriously.

Scotland is experiencing a housing emergency, with a record number of children trapped in temporary accommodation. As of September 2022, 9,130 children were reported to be living in temporary accommodation, which is an increase of more than 100 per cent on the figure a decade ago. The number of families presenting as homeless has also increased massively, with 40 per cent more households in temporary accommodation than was the case in 2014.

The City of Edinburgh Council alone is facing a £65 million bill for tackling homelessness. Local authorities across Scotland will also be buckling under the weight of the overflowing housing sector. No local authority was able to meet its rapid rehousing aims within the projected five years. Without allocated resources from the Scottish Government, local authorities will continue to fall short of their housing aims.

The temporary accommodation task and finish group has made distinct recommendations about how to begin to solve the homelessness crisis, and the Scottish Government must take significant action now to address those recommendations. If it does not act now and provide resources to meaningfully implement the recommendations, they will not be worth the paper that they are written on.

Homelessness can affect any group. It is not just families that are suffering in the current housing crisis. Yesterday, I asked the Scottish Government what its response was to a recent report by NUS Scotland that said that a fifth of international students in Scotland had experienced homelessness during their studies. The report found that international students were almost twice as likely to find themselves homeless as home students were. That is unacceptable, and the Scottish Government must act now to ensure that international students are welcomed into Scotland and looked after during their studies.

In January this year, I hosted a student housing round-table event to address problems that students are having in sourcing accommodation. I was told a similar story of students being unable to source accommodation, with many having to sleep on friends’ couches or to source accommodation far outside the city that they were studying in.

The Scottish Government must also do more to hold universities accountable for the housing needs of their students. Further investment in overpriced purpose-built student accommodation will not solve the problem. The Scottish Government must act now to begin solving the multitude of problems in Scotland’s housing sector.