Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting the arts sector. (S6O-02830)

I thank Kenneth Gibson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Today’s debate is an opportunity for me to step into old shoes from the years that I spent as my party’s spokesperson on older people, which was a role that I took great pride in. As I turn 61 today, I am a proud older person. [Applause.]

The debate also gives me an opportunity to discuss some of the biggest challenges that face older people across Scotland, some of which I have spoken about before in the chamber. Age Scotland’s second big survey provides a detailed snapshot of the challenges that older people face in Scotland in 2023. The survey—to which more than 4,100 people over the age of 50 contributed—highlighted on-going issues with older people’s mental health, which some respondents felt were long-lasting effects of the Covid-19 situation.

Loneliness is often an issue that comes up when the mental health challenges that older people face are discussed, and the survey confirms that it is still very much a live issue. Nearly half of the respondents to the survey said that they sometimes felt lonely, and 10 per cent said that they felt lonely either most or all of the time. Age Scotland supports 400 organisations and community groups with their vitally important work to prevent and tackle loneliness, but many of those groups are struggling to keep their doors open and keep the lights on. In recent years, at least 30 groups have been forced to close. Looking forward, it is important that those groups are supported to continue to provide support for individuals. They are a lifeline across communities, and I commend and congratulate all of them.

The First Minister was entering office when Age Scotland’s big survey was carried out, and respondents were asked about what priorities the Government should have. Unsurprisingly, social care and the national health service ranked highly among their priorities. Respondents suggested that the importance of reducing waiting lists and maintaining a seamless and joined-up approach in social care should be highlighted. Only 4 per cent of respondents thought that issues such as independence should be classed as priorities.

In looking at the findings, one of the biggest concerns is the fact that just 13 per cent of the older people who responded said that they felt valued for their contribution to society. That is even lower than the figure of 21 per cent that was recorded in the 2021 survey.

Along with the many other pieces of research carried out by Age Scotland, the big survey has provided an important spotlight on older people’s priorities, and on the challenges that they face in their communities. That is very important at a time when the views of older people are rarely given the attention that they deserve, and I thank Age Scotland for doing that work and giving those people a voice.

Today’s debate gives members the chance to reflect on the fantastic work that Age Scotland has done over the last 80 years, which has supported countless older people across communities. I know that in my region of Mid Scotland and Fife, numerous organisations and individuals have benefited from Age Scotland’s support, and other organisations and charities have supported individuals who are lonely. Kenneth Gibson talked about men’s sheds. I have visited fantastic men’s sheds in my region, where men come together to support one another, which provides a real benefit.

I know that Kenneth Gibson wishes the chief executive, Katherine Crawford, the best success going forward. I also do that, because it is vitally important that individuals in communities in our constituencies are supported, and that the voice of older people is truly heard.

Residents are exhausted by the continued disturbances. The new facility continues to fail the inmates and residents, who cannot wait months for mitigation measures to be implemented. They need action, and they need it now. It is quite clear from what was said at the public meeting that residents were not in any way considered through the design and planning processes for the facility. What urgent action can we put in place to resolve the situation for the exhausted residents?

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants worked on the production of the latest “Building a New Scotland” paper on immigration and European Union policy. (S6O-02775)

The minister has just related that 21 civil servants may have spent their time working on a policy that will never be implemented. Does he think that civil servants’ time is better spent on dealing with national health service backlogs, for example, or on writing this latest piece of literature in the Scottish National Party’s taxpayer-funded independence campaign?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I do not think that my app worked. It says that I have not voted, so I do not think that my vote was recorded. I would have voted no.

The debate provides a welcome opportunity for the Parliament to set out its vision for embedding culture in our communities. An effective place-based approach should empower communities to create cultural projects that meet their own needs. In a culturally diverse place such as Scotland, that raises the question of how we can best meet such needs.

On that question, there was broad consensus on what good practice should look like. Dumfries and Galloway Council perhaps put it best when it highlighted that effective cultural participation means allowing cultural projects to develop from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. In essence, it should be for communities to decide which cultural initiatives they would like to see, instead of governing bodies deciding that for them.

Community-based cultural organisations are a key part of achieving that objective. Throughout its inquiry, our committee heard evidence that organisations that are embedded in communities in the long term are far more effective at engaging. Ultimately, cultural engagement is a long-term project, and the way in which we engage with communities should reflect that.

We know that funding for such organisations is crucial. The culture collective programme has provided important funding for numerous arts projects across Scotland, which is to be welcomed. As of last month, that funding has ended, so a key recommendation of our committee’s report is that the Scottish Government should set out whether any further funding will be provided. I note the cabinet secretary’s comments, made over the past few days, on how such funding will be approached, and I have no doubt that the sector will embrace that. However, we must consider what we will do for the future. Following the Scottish Government’s recent U-turns on cultural funding, now is not the time for even more financial uncertainty for the sector.

Our committee also called for a more innovative approach to the funding of the culture sector in general. Although the evidence on whether community-led culture projects should be funded separately from professional arts organisations was inconclusive, it was clear that more flexibility in the funding system is needed. On that issue, the Stove Network highlighted that the current system forces community-based culture projects to compete for funding against differently structured projects, which sometimes causes conflict. Creative Lives described how cultural funding streams are most effective when there is scope for flexibility between different projects. Several stakeholders were clear that multiyear funding settlements could play an important part in any potential funding reforms.

The Scottish Government should listen to what the sector is telling it on the issue, because it understands how things should be managed. It wants the Government to take its concerns on board. It is time for the Government to come good on its talk about potential reforms. The sector has reformed itself, and continues to do so, but it wants the Scottish Government to be supportive of the reforms that it has suggested and which could be worked on collectively. I look forward to seeing whether that will happen.

Another key theme of the committee’s work was on community assets. Potential cultural venues include many spaces such as village halls, libraries and churches in our communities. Throughout the inquiry, the committee heard about various potential threats to many of those cultural assets.

Sometimes, communities feel under pressure to rescue venues that are at risk, and many have taken on such venues. It is a large responsibility for community groups to acquire venues, but it is only right that they should be empowered to do so with an understanding of the circumstances.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill was passed back in 2015, and organisations have been working to ensure that it is applied. The power in relation to community asset transfers has been in effect since 2017, but there is still much to do to ensure that communities benefit from the potential of such transfers. Community groups are often fully aware of their legal right to acquire assets but, in practice, many groups are still finding it a little bureaucratic to take assets on board.

Some public bodies are still focused entirely on the monetary value of assets, and cultural shifts are still required to take full advantage of such assets. It is important for the Scottish Government to work together with councils to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.

Since the 2015 act came into force, there have been 225 successful asset transfers. There is great cultural potential, but we must look at how to maximise that in our communities.

It is clear that the Scottish cultural landscape faces many challenges. It is also clear that that landscape is of great importance to many individuals and communities the length and breadth of Scotland. The landscape has many potential benefits for communities to harness, and they want to be empowered to do what they can. It is important for the Scottish Government to understand the logistics of that and work closely with partners, organisations and councils in a collective way to embrace the community culture that is vital for many individuals and organisations.

I hope that the Government will approach in good faith the recommendations in our committee’s report and will commit to playing its part in protecting this vital sector and the vital assets that communities have, because our society depends on that. Scottish culture is recognised the world over. Communities have a part to play in that, but so does the Government.

More than a month ago, the Scottish Government promised Creative Scotland that it would not be left out of pocket by the reinstatement of a 10 per cent cut in core funding. Creative Scotland is desperately looking for assurances, and rightly so, as thousands of jobs are on the line. Will the cabinet secretary guarantee that his funding commitment to Creative Scotland will be met?

Not yet.

Time and again, the Scottish Government’s new paper talks about the problems and claims that they would all be fixed if only it had the powers that it does not yet possess. For example, the paper talks about the importance of seasonal workers. Indeed, it highlights some of the challenges that have been happening—we know that permanent UK residents make up about 11 per cent of seasonal agricultural workers. The UK Government is, and has been, tackling the issue by bringing in the seasonal agricultural workers scheme. That started as a pilot and it brought thousands of individuals to us. The scheme was then extended—

Eventually, Mr Swinney, but not yet.

The scheme was extended to 30,000 workers in 2021, and to 40,000 in 2022. For 2023 and 2024, the scheme has been extended to 55,000 workers, depending on the demand.

I give way to Mr Swinney.