Part of Europe, External Affairs and Culture – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:15 pm on 22 May 2008.
The minister will be aware that James McAvoy recently drew attention to the importance of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in providing drama courses of the highest quality, which he emphasised was particularly important for young people from deprived backgrounds. She has dropped cultural co-ordinators, who assist the most excluded, and she says that the Government listens to experts and expertise. I ask her to listen to James McAvoy and others who have called for direct intervention in the RSAMD to ensure that the opportunity that it offers young people in Scotland continues to exist.