To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the constitution secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the delivery of its commitment to invest at least £100 million more in culture and the arts by the financial year 2028-29. (S6O-03427)

As I said a moment ago in response to Ms Boyack’s question, we are increasing funding to the culture sector in this financial year by £15.8 million to £196.6 million, which is the first step on the route to investing at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by the financial year 2028-29. I think that there is support for that across the chamber.

I will continue to hold discussions with ministerial colleagues about how best to support the culture sector to deliver on our programme for government and culture strategy commitments on engaging across the Government to harness the transformational power of culture.

As I have said repeatedly in the chamber, if any member has views on particular areas that need support and feels that the situation has not been well understood by the Government or funding organisations, I make the offer that I made to Sarah Boyack. I give that undertaking to Liam Kerr, too—perhaps he has an example that he wishes to share now.

I am grateful to the Cabinet secretary for that answer, but I will press him on it, because I take his offer in the spirit in which it was made.

Certainty is key to allowing Scotland’s brilliant culture sector to continue to invest, innovate and deliver on the world stage. With reference to Sarah Boyack’s point about the pledged £100 million, how much will be available to sustain the Scottish culture sector right now, and how much of the total allocation will the sector receive in each year up to 2028-29?

Liam Kerr understands enough about the budget process to know that £15.8 million has already been identified and committed to in the current budget and that £25 million has been committed to in the next financial year. I see that he is taking notes, so he will probably be able to work out that that leaves about another £60 million. This is an aggregate increase, so there will be a rise and then the £100 million rise in culture funding will be sustained annually. It is a very considerable increase.

I appreciate that Liam Kerr and other colleagues wish the funding to ramp up as quickly as possible, and it is no secret that I do, too. If he and colleagues across the chamber want to highlight areas that need funding to help the sector to recover, especially from what has happened since Covid, I assure them that such issues are at the forefront of my mind. If he would like to raise with me the cases of particular venues, organisations or parts of the culture and arts sector, my door is open to him and to all other colleagues.

I have had four requests for supplementary questions. I would like to take them all, but I will need questions and answers to be succinct.

I am due to meet with the Cabinet secretary shortly, but I want to bring his attention to the closure of Motherwell concert hall in my region, because it is a well-loved facility that has entertained many in Lanarkshire for decades. I want to emphasise the detrimental impact on local economies and the restriction of the growth of talent who rely on smaller venues to get their big break. How will the cabinet secretary work with local councils to save these much-loved music venues, which are of substantial cultural importance and represent a substantial cultural heritage, given the announcement of investment in the sector?

I thank Meghan Gallacher for asking that question, which is perhaps a preview of the conversation that we are going to have and that I very much look forward to. These challenges are issues that I discussed with the Music Venue Trust only a few weeks ago, and we are very aware of the fact that a significant number of venues have been suffering distress. It is also the case that, in some parts of the country, local authorities are no longer supporting local venues. Therefore, we will need to work together—parliamentarians, colleagues in local government, the Scottish Government and our arm’s-length funding organisations—to maintain the infrastructure of venues right across the country.

I undertake to look at the example that Meghan Gallacher has raised so that I have more information at my fingertips to discuss when we meet shortly. That is a very good example of areas where we can work constructively together.

The Cabinet secretary may claim today that the Scottish Government is acting to protect the arts and culture sector, but the situation on the ground tells a different story, with cancelled festivals and cultural organisations calling out for greater support from the Scottish Government. It is clear that our culture sector is under enormous pressure, so will the cabinet secretary heed Labour’s call for a crisis summit on festival funding?

As I have said already to Foysol Choudhury and other colleagues on the Labour benches, we are engaged in a dialogue with festivals. We are discussing their funding and how they can emerge from the current financial distress in the sector. I regularly—weekly—talk with colleagues in the festival sector. Across the chamber, we are all committed to ensuring that our major cultural events are sustainable. I am sure that he will join me in welcoming the record number of participants in the Edinburgh festival fringe this year.

There is a lot of good news that we should be highlighting. At the same time, we recognise that, where there is financial distress, we need to do everything that we can to ensure that our festivals, venues and cultural organisations are able not only to survive but to thrive in the years to come.

The culture sector has had to endure the shock of the Brexit fallout, the pandemic, the energy crisis and mismanagement of the economy by the United Kingdom Government. How will this fund ensure vital support for the sector at this critical juncture and ensure that it can respond fully to those pressures?

That is exactly what the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland are trying to do. We are trying to ensure that, where there is financial distress, there are interventions in place to enable venues and organisations to continue to trade and to turn around their circumstances. A significant number of interventions have done just that, and I put on record my appreciation of colleagues in the culture directorate of the Scottish Government, in Creative Scotland and in Screen Scotland who have ensured that well-known and loved events will continue into the future.

However, we need to think in the medium and long term instead of dealing only with the immediate crisis. We need to make sure that multiyear funding—which I think everyone supports—is rolled out successfully and that the increase of funding that this Government has committed to and is delivering, in contrast to both the UK Government in England—

Thank you, Cabinet secretary—

—and the Labour Government in Wales—

Thank you. I am keen to call Mark Ruskell to ask a supplementary question.

Last week, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee at Westminster urged the UK Government to press ahead with a UK-wide arena ticket levy preceded by an interim voluntary scheme that is led by industry. That approach is essential if we are to prevent grass-roots music venues from closing. They absolutely need that investment. I know that the Cabinet secretary has been supportive of a ticket levy in the past. When might a stadium tax be introduced in Scotland?

I have discussed that issue in detail with the Music Venue Trust. The member probably met delegates from MVT when they were here last week, when they were also attending the Wide Days music showcase in Edinburgh.

As the member knows, a number of models are being proposed. I raised the issue directly with the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport because, as I think Mark Ruskell understands, not all of that falls within our devolved powers. As I have said to him, I am very interested in learning about deliverable and workable ways in which extra funding can be leveraged into the culture and arts sector.

In summary, it is a work in progress and I very much hope that the UK Government is listening to us and to the Music Venue Trust.