Chamber and committees

Alison Turnbull, I am conscious that there has been a lot of interest in the internal workings of HES. You will be more than aware that there is also a lot of interest in the outcomes in communities from the money that is being spent. Specifically, people are keen to see much-loved historic buildings in their communities reopen. I am conscious that there has been a high-level masonry survey and all sorts of other things going on, but there is an awful lot of interest in finding out what the outputs are and whether those buildings are reopening to the public.

What I am driving at is this: how many buildings that were open pre-pandemic are still to reopen?

I want to pick up on the point that was made about mainstreaming and the point that was made about health by Anne Lyden, who anticipated my question. In the past, the committee has taken an interest in what more we can do to more fully mainstream funding in the sector, so that we reap not only the health benefits but the benefits relating to people being actively involved in their communities, volunteering and so on.

In Norway, there is a word for the moral sense of responsibility to volunteer that all Norwegians feel: dugnad. I am not sure that we have quite reached that point in Scotland, but are we making progress in that direction? I am thinking about big public agencies, such as the national health service, remembering culture in the way that they structure what they do. I address that question to anyone who feels that it is relevant, but the point was first mentioned by Anne Lyden.

I want to pick up on what Tony Lankester said about the economic and tourism benefits of arts events. I hasten to add that I do not believe those to be the only benefits that culture provides. I will also pick up on Anne Lyden’s point about 97 per cent of collections not being on display. I offer no criticism of that, because I understand that that is how museums and galleries have to work.

I am curious to know whether you all feel that the financial or budgeting climate in which you operate promotes loans of art, whether it be of art works or objects in museum collections on loan around the country, or on tour around the country, in a way that brings cultural benefits, and the economic benefit that you described, to other bits of the country.

You mentioned exhibitions, but I was also thinking about the long-term loan of objects and artwork around the country.

I thank Sarah Boyack for bringing this important debate to the chamber, and I congratulate the Scottish Youth Parliament on its work. The local representatives for the Western Isles, Ellie Denehy and Alannah Logue, are each at their respective ends of my constituency.

As I am the MSP for an island constituency, issues such as flights from island airports, ferry services and rural bus services are often raised with me, but the debate reminds us that issues of connectivity have a specific impact on Scotland’s young islanders. I express my thanks to the Scottish Youth Parliament, especially the rural and island representatives, for their hard work in producing the 2026 to 2031 manifesto, which sets out, inter alia, the Scottish Youth Parliament’s transport priorities on behalf of all young Scots.

I am certainly encouraged by the fact that many of the Scottish Government’s transport policies have been welcomed by the Youth Parliament. In my constituency, policies such as the introduction of free interisland ferry travel and two free round-trip ferry crossings a year to the mainland for under-22s have been welcomed. I realise that the Youth Parliament would like to see that entitlement grow and develop, and perhaps the minister, in summing up, will respond to the asks made by the Youth Parliament on that.

Improving connectivity and tackling island depopulation are closely interlinked challenges. Understanding the challenges that young people face is essential not only to improving our current transport network in the islands, but to building a future transport network that will help to encourage younger islanders to stay in or return to their island communities. Getting our transport infrastructure right can make the islands a more attractive place for young people once they finish university or college, and it can help them to think about entering the workforce or starting a business. I hope that today’s debate will encourage young islanders to get involved in local conversations and debates about transport services at national and local levels.

Later this month, HITRANS will launch its rural transport strategy in Holyrood, and I hope that members will find ways to bring the Scottish Youth Parliament’s views on transport issues into our discussions. In my constituency, the Western Isles ferries group meets monthly to find solutions and to work constructively to sustain and improve ferry connectivity. Following recent conversations and its attendance at this debate, I hope that the group will share my view that inviting a young representative to a forthcoming meeting would be a good way to kick off the conversation.

To summarise, young islanders require good connectivity links. Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament can provide us with unique insights into how we can continue to improve our transport network and make our islands, as well as the whole of Scotland, a more attractive place for young people in the future.

I agree entirely with what the member has said about the need to tackle antisocial behaviour and the problem that it causes on transport. However, I am sure that she would wish to put on the record that antisocial behaviour on public transport is not restricted to people who are under the age of 22.

My constituency is prone to significant flooding, and at the weekend alerts were again issued for Stornoway and Baleshare. The minister might be aware that the Baleshare causeway was built in the 1960s. Given that, since the original construction, upgrades have been limited, and given that the community in Baleshare is now frequently cut off from the rest of North Uist due to flooding, what avenues might be available to support that vital work?

As the minister has said, every drug death is a tragedy, although I note the decrease in drug deaths last year, which is to be welcomed.

Although substance abuse is sometimes characterised as an urban issue, drugs clearly affect rural communities acutely as well. Indeed, I must commend the work of the police in their operation last week in Barra, where £10,000-worth of cocaine was seized. Can the minister outline how the Scottish Government is continuing to support agencies across rural and island areas to continue to make progress in that area?

Thank you, convener. I will do that, but I will first make an observation on something that Vicki Swales and others have said. It is interesting that people talk about the contradictions that are probably not there and about the tensions that are there in some of those questions. It occurred to me, when people were talking about that issue, that there is a lot of consensus, too. It is interesting, for instance, that Scotland is the only country in the UK that still recognises production through basic payments. It is interesting that there is a recognition by all parties that agriculture is a biological process and that there will be some emissions from it. It is also interesting to have a conversation like this, which can build on some of the areas where there is consensus.

My question is about indicators, and my interest is in less favoured areas, given how much of Scotland is less favoured areas. People will not be surprised to hear that I am specifically interested in the issues that have been raised by crofters. For instance, are the indicators that we have flexible enough to cope with the different land types in Scotland? I am talking about those people who work in less favoured areas who might be crofters and certainly those who are working in the production of store animals.