Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-20856

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support grassroots music venues in the Highlands and Islands region.

Performance venues throughout Scotland make an important contribution to the cultural, social and economic life of Scotland. We have regular contact with Creative Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and representatives of the music industry, as part of our on-going work to ensure that we understand the challenges and opportunities that the industry in the Highlands and Islands region, as well as across Scotland, face.

Many grassroots venues in the Highlands and Islands received support through the Scottish Government COVID-19 Emergency Funds, including Gellions Bar, Hootenanny, The Tooth & Claw, Aros Centre and The Sound Archive through the Grassroots Music Venue Stabilisation Fund.

HIE has supported a number of venues in the region and has directly supported venues to look at how they collaborate. HIE also support organisations, such as the Touring Network, a collaborative membership organisation that supports promoters in the region. HIE is also considering how digital tools and changing business models can support venues by generating new revenue streams.

More generally, grassroots music venues in Scotland can apply to Creative Scotland funds for specific projects and programmes of creative work.

Question reference: S6W-20859

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage larger music venues to invest in grassroots venues.

The Scottish Government fully values the important contributions that both grassroots and large-scale music venues provide to Scotland. We recognise the role venues play in skills development and the talent pipeline.

It remains crucial that we continue to engage with live music venues of all sizes, and experts from all areas of the music industry, to hear directly the views and experiences from the sector first hand.

I will be meeting with the Music Venture Trust later this month to better understand how we can further support the music sector and grassroots venues.

Question reference: S6O-02489

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its Programme for Government 2023-24 did not include a commitment to a Crofting Bill.

Question reference: S6W-20214

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the organisations that received funding from the Hate Crime Security Fund in 2021-22, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-20782

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve Scotland’s international reputation regarding exports, as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, and by what date it aims to move Scotland into the top 20 countries surveyed for exports.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on exports and would like to draw the member’s attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

A Trading Nation (ATN) is our national export growth strategy, which takes an evidence-based approach to maximising our efforts in priority markets and sectors that can yield the greatest opportunities for trade and help us achieve our target of an increase in Scotland’s GDP from 20% to 25% over ten years. As well as targeting the economic benefits of export growth, ATN aligns with the key guiding principles of our Vision for Trade strategy. The Vision for Trade focuses on specific actions we are taking to achieve broader economic, social, and environmental ambitions by ensuring that the decisions we make in terms of where, how, and who we trade with align with those key principles and will enhance our global trade reputation.

Question reference: S6W-20781

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will be subscribing to the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM in 2023, and on what date it will publish the survey’s results.

The Scottish Government has subscribed to the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index? (NBI) survey since 2008 and biennially since 2010.

The Scottish Government has used the NBI to assess and monitor how Scotland is perceived around the world. Data from the NBI is used to update one of the Scottish Government’s 81 National Performance Framework (NPF) indicators on ‘Scotland’s reputation’.

The NBI examines the image of 60 nations by looking at a country’s reputation along six dimensions of national competence: Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism, Immigration and Investment. Together these provide an overall indication of a nation’s reputation.

The data supplied through the NBI should be viewed as a snapshot of people’s attitudes and perceptions of Scotland, which is useful in helping us understand more about Scotland’s international reputation. By subscribing biennially, Scotland can track its reputation in the long term. This data can also be used to compare Scotland’s reputation with that of other countries and to monitor how Scotland sees itself. We do not set target rankings.

The most recent NBI publication reports on findings from the 2022 data. Scotland is expected to be included in the sample of the 60 measured countries in 2023, as it is every year; however, we did not subscribe to the survey in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-20784

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve Scotland’s international reputation on exports, and particularly its "contribution to innovation and science", as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, in the countries that gave Scotland the lowest score, such as India.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on "contribution to innovation and science", and would like to draw the members attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

Scottish Government-funded initiatives such as the Scotland Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research (SAPHIRE) Fund, have helped to build connections and grow our reputation in research and innovation with key priority countries, such as India.

SAPHIRE is now in its third year and has supported 29 partnerships with ASEAN nations, including Australia, India, Japan, Pakistan, and South Korea, across all disciplines, including key Scottish Government priorities from Net Zero to Health. SAPHIRE has launched its fourth cohort in 2023–24, and eligibility has expanded to New Zealand.

Question reference: S6W-20783

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve Scotland’s international reputation regarding its "contribution to innovation and science", as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, which ranked Scotland 26th out of 60 countries surveyed, and what the target ranking is for the next survey.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on "contribution to innovation and science", and would like to draw the members attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

Scotland’s world-class university research and its key outputs of new knowledge and insights are fundamental to green economic recovery and growth. The most recent Research Excellence Framework found that there is world-leading (4*) research in every one of our universities in Scotland, and almost 90% of its impact was judged as outstanding or very considerable.

Scotland's National Innovation Strategy sets out a vision for Scotland to become one of the most innovative small countries in the world over the next decade.

Scotland’s research sector is highly regarded in the international community, with publications related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals research being cited twice as often as the global average and over half of this research carried out with international partners.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-20780

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking regarding Scotland’s international reputation as a country known for its "excellence at sports", as set out in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2022, which ranked Scotland 25th out of 60 countries, and by what date it aims to move Scotland into the top 20 countries surveyed for "excellence at sports".

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranking on "excellence at sport ", and would like to draw the members attention to response to S6W-20781 on 4 September 2023.

In terms of performance sports, sportscotland and Scottish sports often punch above their weight. There are currently 144 Scottish athletes on UK Sport/sportscotland Podium and Podium Potential World-Class Programmes. Over the past four Commonwealth Games, Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and Summer Olympics and Paralympics cycles, Team Scotland has achieved a series of "best ever" results.

In addition, sportscotland recently announced record annual investment figures to support the delivery of sport and physical activity. Across 2023–2024, sportscotland will invest up to £36.7 million of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding into Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport (SGBs), local authorities, and wider national partners. This includes significant investment and support for grassroots sport in Scotland, supporting local authority partners in the delivery of community and school sport through Community Sport Hubs (CSHs) and the Active Schools Network.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-20408

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 31 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19712 by Jamie Hepburn on 31 July 2023, whether it can confirm on how many occasions it has taken legal advice when preparing its Building a New Scotland series of papers.

Chamber and committees