2. To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it is having with the cultural sector regarding the impact of Brexit on the arts. (S5O-00162)

The Scottish Government is discussing Brexit with Scotland’s key cultural bodies and it is engaging with sectoral initiatives. I have asked the culture and historic environment bodies that are sponsored and funded by the Scottish Government to assess the range of potential impacts and, in particular, to be sensitive to the impact on their own employees who come from other European Union member states. Freedom of movement is of key importance for the cultural sector in particular. Creative Scotland has conducted a survey of the cultural sector seeking information on potential impacts and has submitted the results of that survey to the European and External Relations Committee’s call for evidence.

Is the cabinet secretary aware of concerns, as outlined by the group known as culture counts, that cultural organisations elsewhere in the European Union might be reluctant to partner United Kingdom and Scottish cultural organisations in funding applications?

Yes, and that is of deep concern. We have not even started Brexit—we are examining the processes—and we do not know what form Brexit will take. Currently, there are 21 organisations involved in projects worth £8.2 million under the creative Europe programme. It is important to remember that, until the UK leaves the EU, it is still within the EU, and those networks and relationships must continue. We can measure exports and imports but—this is an area of concern—how can we measure opportunities lost because of concerns about relationships?

The cabinet secretary will be aware of the importance to the Scottish arts and culture sector of the audiovisual services directive, which provides shared regulation not just among European Union countries but among member states of the European Economic Area that are outwith the EU. Is the Scottish Government engaging with the sector to identify how to protect those advantages, particularly given that that directive is in the process of being reviewed?

I have already spoken to the Creative Industries Federation on precisely that point. I have previously attended—and led for the UK—discussions on the digital single market and on audiovisual regulations. The relationship will change because the UK will not be part of those discussions, so the issue will be about what the opportunities for Scotland are. More important—as the UK and Scotland would have been the chief beneficiaries of the move to a digital single market—the impact is not just what has been lost now but what might be lost in the future.