Chamber and committees

In this government’s first 100 days, we established six pilot schemes to provide free bikes for school age children who cannot afford one. A further four pilots were then established by the end of 2021. These pilots will run for up to 12 months, testing different approaches and delivery models to help inform a national rollout. There are currently 12 local authorities, including East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire which are not covered by a pilot.

The following table shows how many devices have been distributed by councils to school aged children using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21.

Local authorities across Scotland have a range of approaches to provision of technology in schools, including some councils who have undertaken to provide cohorts of their school population with devices using their own budgets. We do not hold information centrally on those approaches, therefore, the table only shows devices distributed through the funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21.

The Scottish Government are committed to providing a device for every school aged child by the end of this Parliament.

Funding for devices was provided to local authorities by the Scottish Government. As such, local authorities undertook their own procurement exercises and devices purchased became assets of, and are managed by individual local authorities. Decisions on their use, are taken locally. We do not hold information on how devices are used and monitored.

The Scottish Government has provided funding of £22.5m for the five National Performing Companies for 2021-22, and maintained their International Touring Fund of £350,000. The same amount of funding is in the 2022-23 budget.

The breakdown of funding is below:

The Scottish Government is aware of the increased production costs faced by independent publishers and their impact across the publishing sector. It is providing a range of business support through activities delivered by our enterprise and creative agencies. This includes: regular business surveys; support accessed through the FindBusinessSupport website; and XpoNorth, the year-round support programme for the Highlands and Islands.

Independent publishers may be eligible for financial support from Creative Scotland through the new Recovery Fund for Cultural Organisations; and Creative Scotland’s Open Fund. Further information about these funds can be found on Creative Scotland’s website.

The four nations arts councils and agencies are working alongside each other to share information and collaborate on more activity and projects, including international work.

This includes Arts Infopoint UK, led by Wales Arts International in collaboration with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and Arts Council Northern Ireland, which is a pilot initiative aiming to provide clear information and support to artists seeking to travel to the UK.

The pilot Four Nations International Fund, led by Creative Scotland, was launched in October 2021, with 38 projects across many art forms receiving funding. Each project requires a partner in at least one other of the four nations of the UK, in addition to an international partner. Projects include partnerships between Scotland and Northern Ireland based organisations.

Other activity undertaken together with Northern Ireland, England and Wales includes the Cultural Bridge Pilot Programme which aims to promote more sustainable approaches to international exchange and collaboration opportunities for the cultural sector, and further engagement on FLUXUS, a Franco-British programme for contemporary art run by the Institut Français.

There are also joint conversations around maximising the impact of bilateral funds such as the Cultural Bridge Pilot Programme with German partners Fonds SozioKultur. Creative Scotland’s Cultural Bridge programme supports organisations in the UK and Germany to both deliver programmes of activity in partnership with an organisation in at least one other country, and to develop partnerships as a network across the five countries involved, with the organisations and their communities.

Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtual work sector meeting on 17 November 2021, and Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister and Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy attended the Summit on 19 November, when Ms Forbes gave her update on economic recovery to the pandemic in Gaelic.

Scottish Ministers have taken part in a number of ‘Exit Operations’ meetings with their counterparts across the UK. These meetings have focused on measures to prepare for and address the impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU. The meetings have dealt with a range of issues relevant to the culture and creative sectors, including the international mobility of artists, international trade and exports, and funding.

Scottish Ministers engage with their counterparts across the UK through Four Nations Ministerial Meetings, which have addressed issues of shared concern such as sectoral recovery from the pandemic and the challenges to the culture sector presented by Brexit.

Michael Russell, the then Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs met with Simon Coveney, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs on 14 January 2021 to discuss the Scotland Bilateral Review. Culture was one element of this meeting.

Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture met with Catherine Martin, Irish Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on 8 March 2022.

Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtual work sector meeting on 17 November 2021, and Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister and Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy attended the Summit on 19 November, when Ms Forbes gave her update on economic recovery to the pandemic in Gaelic.

An application from ScottishPower Renewables was submitted to the Scottish Ministers on 23 December 2021 for the proposed Carrick Windfarm development. Adverts were placed in the local newspapers Ayrshire Post, Ayr Advertiser, Carrick Herald, and national newspapers The Scotsman and Edinburgh Gazette between 25 January and 8 February 2022 to provide notice that the application has been submitted. A consultation was issued to Barr Community Council, Crosshill, Straiton and Kirkmichael Community Council and Dailly Community Council dated 25 January 2022, requesting comments be provided to the Scottish Ministers by 28 February 2022, unless an extension to this date has been agreed. The consultation is currently ongoing and the public can make representations to Scottish Ministers.

The four-nations arts councils and agencies are working alongside each other to share information and collaborate on more activity and projects, including international work.

This includes Arts Infopoint UK, led by Wales Arts International in collaboration with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and Arts Council Northern Ireland, which is a pilot initiative aiming to provide clear information and support to artists seeking to travel to the UK.

The pilot Four Nations International Fund, led by Creative Scotland, was launched in October 2021, with 38 projects across many art forms receiving funding. Each project requires a partner in at least one other of the four nations of the UK, in addition to an international partner. Projects include partnerships between Scotland and Wales based organisations.

Other activity undertaken together with Northern Ireland, England and Wales includes conversations around bilateral funds such as the Cultural Bridge Pilot Programme with German partners Fonds SozioKultur and looking towards further collaboration on FLUXUS, a Franco-British programme for contemporary art run by the Institut Français. Creative Scotland’s Cultural Bridge programme supports organisations in the UK and Germany to both deliver programmes of activity in partnership with an organisation in at least one other country, and to develop partnerships as a network across the five countries involved, with the organisations and their communities.