Chamber and committees

There are no plans to purchase artwork in 2023.

The Scottish Government does not have an art collection. A number of artworks are owned by Scottish Government, the majority have been gifted to Ministers over time. Approximately 100 art works, prints and maps of varying individual values with an overall insurance value of approximately £62,000. This valuation excludes the portrait of the Earl of Bute on loan to National Gallery of Scotland.

Some of the significant artworks owned by Scottish Government are.

• Ramsay original John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, 1713 - 1792. Prime Minister on loan to National Gallery of Scotland £2.2million on loan to National Gallery of Scotland
• Bellany original un-named artwork showing unidentified fishing boat. On display in Bute House
• Bellany original artwork fishing scene, normally on display in Victoria Quay conference room, temporarily in storage due to building maintenance works
• An original tapestry by Jo Barker on display in Victoria Quay reception
• Watershed by Will Maclean on display in Victoria Quay ground floor rotunda
• Female Face by Jenna Davidson in designated St Andrew’s House storage room
• I Went Fishing by Karen Bauld in designated St Andrew’s House storage room

Scottish Government buildings also have a series of lower value originals, prints and maps on display. This includes a small number of prints and artworks gifted to Ministers over time.

Information on entrants to Scottish universities and colleges from deprived areas is published by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in the annual ‘Report on Widening Access’ statistics publication.

It provides the proportion of undergraduate entrants to Higher Education at either college or university. 2021-22 data will be published in Spring 2023.

Scottish Government does not have an art collection and SG records show there have been no purchase of original artwork by SG since 2007.

While the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, the Scottish Government recognises and shares the music sector’s disappointment with the decision to decommission some cultural music programming on Radio Scotland.

We acknowledge the challenging financial position the BBC is in, which has been exacerbated by the UK Government’s decision to freeze the licence fee, and shift responsibility for funding free licences for over-75s onto the BBC’s shoulders.

However, any reduction in the breadth of BBC Scotland’s offering, including its cultural music content, is a matter of concern. Certain musical forms, such as piping or jazz, are not traditionally thought of as mainstream musical offerings so the BBC coverage is essential to ensure people are able to access them.

It’s important that the BBC listens to these concerns. We engage with BBC Scotland on a regular basis, and will continue to do so, to ensure that the music sector’s concerns are fully recognised. We will also continue to press the BBC to deliver on its commitments to commission high-quality, distinctive Scottish output for audiences.

Most SG owned artwork is on display in Government buildings, with access limited to SG staff and contractors and accompanied visitors. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14450 on 9 February 2023. 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

This Government firmly believes that every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.

To date we have made progress on work to support fair access to higher education. The number of full-time first degree students entering university from the most deprived areas in Scotland is at a record high; latest Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) statistics show that 5,595 Scots entered university in the academic year 2021-22 (an increase of 80 students on the previous year). This is a 41% increase since the establishment of the Commission on Widening Access by this Government.

We have exceeded the Commission on Widening Access target to have 16% of full-time first degree entrants from the most deprived areas at university by 2021, with 16.5% of the 2021-22 cohort coming from the most deprived areas in Scotland. In his final report published on 31 May 2022, the previous Commissioner for Fair Access stated that Scotland continues to “set the pace in terms of fair access to higher education among the UK nations” and that it has been “an unambiguous success.”

We know we have more to do, however, and that is why we have recently appointed a new Commissioner for Fair Access, Professor John McKendrick. Professor McKendrick brings to the role a wealth of experience related to tackling poverty and inequality in Scotland, including work supporting children and young people in education. This appointment will help drive forward progress towards the 2030 target, and towards ensuring students from deprived areas receive opportunities to achieve their potential by having fair access to higher education.

Architecture and Design Scotland operates in line with an agreed Framework Document which sets out the basis within which the organisation operates. The Framework Document requires the organisation to produce an Annual Report on its activities and submit accounts to the Scottish Parliament each year. The Framework Document for Architecture and Design Scotland and Annual Reports can be accessed at https://www.ads.org.uk/our-corporate-documents

The relevant Scottish Government Minister meets the Chair of Architecture and Design Scotland annually to discuss the efficacy and operations of the NDPB. Monitoring of the efficacy of the organisation also takes place via regular meetings between Scottish Government officials and the senior leadership of Architecture and Design Scotland. Scottish Government’s Chief Planner meets annually with the Chair and Chief Executive of Architecture and Design Scotland and the Scottish Government’s Chief Architect meets with the Chief Executive on a 6 weekly basis. Scottish Government officials conduct monitoring and liaison meetings with Architecture and Design Scotland on a monthly basis to discuss the operations and efficacy of the NDPB.

Following the PCS ballot results, Scottish Government officials held regular meetings in the run up to the strike action with Chief Executives of those employers in the Scottish Administration where PCS had a mandate for strike action, including with the Keeper of Registers of Scotland. All employers provided business continuity plans ahead of the strike action, considering the impact of any action on the operation of their services. Registers of Scotland confirmed they had robust contingency plans in place to keep all customer-facing services running, and they would continue to accept applications to the registers they manage and provide a customer support service. Services continued to operate at Registers of Scotland during 1 February 2023.

In the last five years NatureScot have taken regulatory action under section 10(2) of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 five times. Prior to this, notice of section 10 emergency measures have been issued on at least three occasions.