6. To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £97 million in United Kingdom Government consequentials announced on 5 July has been allocated as packages of support for the arts, culture and heritage sectors, and when a decision will be made on allocation of the remaining funding. (S5O-04514)

The decision on the remaining funding will be made imminently.

To date, we have allocated £22.5 million from the £97 million in support packages, including £10 million for event organisers; £2.5 million for performing arts venues, on top of the additional funding that I announced earlier for performing arts and theatres; £2.2 million for grass-roots music venues; £3.8 million to save jobs at the National Trust for Scotland; and £4 million to support independent museums.

We have also agreed to provide additional funding to national culture and heritage bodies that are severely affected by the crisis, and we will continue to work with the sector to ensure the full distribution of the funding so that it reaches those who need it most.

It is seven weeks since the fund was announced, but 75 per cent of the money is still to be allocated. I have two questions. First, once the plans for distribution of the money are announced, when will the money actually reach the recipients? Secondly, I note that, so far, money has been allocated to some specific sectors. Will there be further support for freelancers and self-employed artists who have not yet returned to work?

On the latter question, there absolutely will. That is why we want to make sure that we are working with all sectors and not just some. On freelancers and artists, if we were to restrict our funding to small packages for specific sectors, we might not reach everybody whom we need to reach.

On the questions of whom and when, we have had, and continue to have, discussions with a variety of the representative organisations of artists and the various sectors. With my Government officials and Creative Scotland, I am finalising decisions on how we can best act. I am very keen to make announcements as soon as possible, because we need to get those funds up and running.

As Claire Baker will be aware, we have moved rapidly. For example, the events fund has opened in the past few days; recipients will receive funds quickly. Speed is of the essence. Many of the freelancers that she mentioned will have benefited from the original bridging bursaries, which Creative Scotland set up very swiftly.

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

I apologise to Jamie Halcro Johnston, whose question has not been reached, and to members who had supplementary questions. That concludes portfolio questions on the economy, fair work and culture. I suspend the meeting until 2.30.

14:24 Meeting suspended.

14:30 On resuming—