 Social Newrich sl Follow questions on infrastructure investment in cities. 1. Rob Gibson 50. Penniff a'r cangwys â'r ddiogel. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport baith yn y deffra, dec carbon emission figures, published in 2014, and the latest data, published by the rail delivery group. The Scottish Government estimates that for each ton transferred by rail freight rather than by road, CO2 emissions would be reduced by up to 75 per cent. The actual carbon savings may be dependent on loading figures. Will Gibson. I thank the minister very much for that answer. He should perhaps understand that 90 per cent of the supermarkets in the highlands are within a mile of the railway and that many supermarkets deliver provisions by van to the most far-flung doors in the country. Will the minister explore the possibility of a new means to deliver supermarkets stop, which can be unloaded from containers and picked up from rail sidings long route to supermarkets so that further reductions can be made in greenhouse gases? Yes, I will consider that. As we are currently refreshing our rail freight strategy, we will consult on that over the summer of this year. That will include steps that the rail industry can take to encourage and support innovation and growth in the rail freight sector. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on reducing journey times on the Highland mainline between Inverness and Edinburgh. Two additional train services were added to the Highland mainline in December 2011, increasing the number of trains from nine to eleven per day between Inverness and the central belt. In December 2012, following technical improvements between Perth and Inverness, journey times have been improved by up to 18 minutes in some services. Further journey time improvements averaging around 10 minutes, the introduction of an hourly service between Perth and Inverness, extended to either Glasgow or Edinburgh, and increased opportunities for freight will be delivered by 2019. I thank the minister for his response, but I am sure he will know that in 2007 the SNP and its manifesto promised to cut journey times from Inverness to Edinburgh by 45 minutes. The latest figures available show that the average journey time between Inverness and Edinburgh has reduced but by nine minutes, and the Monday to Friday service between Inverness and Edinburgh is actually taking longer than it did in 2007. When exactly are the Scottish Government going to deliver on its eight-year-old promise? Do we have to wait a generation? The Scottish Government is currently working on the next stages of investment strategy for future control periods, so we will continue to work on our manifesto commitments. We are making progress. We are modernising the railways and investing a significant sum of money, but I tell you that it will be aided by the proposals that the SNP has put before the people in this Westminster election that will mean more spending on infrastructure than would be the case if the Tories were re-elected in reducing infrastructure spending. We will come quicker with the SNP than it ever would have done with the Tories. I welcome any increase in the speed of journeys, particularly for freight between Inverness and the central bell. Will the minister share my view that one of the practical technical constraints is that the vast majority of the line is single track and that the serious increasing in signalling is required to increase the speed on that particular service? Yes, Mr Stewart is absolutely right. There are technical and infrastructure requirements that will require to be addressed to help to achieve the reduction in journey times that we would all wish to see, so the point is a fair one. Stewart Stevenson. Can I draw members' attention to my register of interests in relation to my role in rail future UK and my presidency as Scottish Association for Public Transport? Can the minister confirm that in Scotland we are investing more than double the per capita investment in our rail network than is the case in England and Wales? The Scottish Government is committed to investing £5 billion in Scotland's railways over the next five years to 2019, including over £3 billion capital investment in network rail infrastructure. Yes, on a per capita basis this is more than double the equivalent investment planned by UK ministers. Many thanks. John Finnie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I ask the minister what steps he can take to ensure that developments in the central belt don't mean that there won't be slots for any improved frequency of trains in the Highland Mainline? Minister. Of course it's always a balancing act but we are investing in the infrastructure in Scotland's railways to improve journey times across the country, expand capacity and improve the customer experience and reach out to parts of the country. Of course, in considering capacity demand and timetabling issues, we would ensure that the Highlands and indeed every part of Scotland is fully connected to the central belt. That's our aspiration. Many thanks. Question 3 in the name of Neil Bibby has not been launched. An explanation has been provided. Question 4, Gavin Brown. To ask the Scottish Government what changes it has planned for government procurement. Cabinet Secretary, Keith Brown. A public consultation on changes to the planned procurement rules in Scotland ended last week. We are currently analysing the responses to that consultation. We will consider those as we take forward our plans to transpose the new European procurement directives and to implement the provisions of the Procurement Reform Scotland Act 2014. Gavin Brown. I am grateful for that answer. The Federation of Small Businesses Scotland has suggested one change to procurement, namely as a minimum publishing spend with suppliers broken down by business size including micro and small businesses. What is the minister's initial response to that proposal? Cabinet Secretary. I think I said in my substantive response that we have just finished the consultation exercise and I would rather wait till we have seen all those responses to the consultation exercise before making a definitive view. However, some of the substantive points that he has raised in relation to the idea to try and make sure that we give as much advantage as possible to small and medium enterprise businesses is a point that is well made. We very much have that in mind. At the same time, we want to make sure that there is not an overburden of bureaucracy on public bodies and others when they are involved in procurement. However, we will try to reconcile those interests. However, we would make a substantive response when we have managed to consider the consultation responses. Claudia Beamish. Can the cabinet secretary explain how the Government will ensure coherence between the Procurement Act statutory guidance, which has just been consulted on, and the three-part duty on public bodies set out in the Climate Change Act? At stage two of the Procurement Reform Act, when it was a bill, Nicola Sturgeon offered to have further meetings, further discussions with myself and Patrick Harvie about the development of the guidance on the rejection of my amendment on climate change. I quote, to encapsulate the points made. The question is, very briefly, will the cabinet secretary now agree to meet me and Patrick Harvie to discuss this further? I would hope that Claudia Beamish and Patrick Harvie have responded to the consultation, but, of course, I am more than happy to meet Claudia Beamish and Patrick Harvie on that issue. Neil Findlay. When the Public Procurement Bill was passed, the minister's response at the time said that all that was needed was guidance to come in to deal with the issue of blacklist. Can the minister tell me of any project in Scotland where the Government's current approach has prevented a blacklisting company from gaining a public contract? I can say that we have put into the provisions of procurement that no company involved in blacklisting will be allowed to have a Government contract. I think that it is worth pointing it as well. Neil Findlay knows this. Employment law is a preserve, unfortunately still, of the UK Government. His party refused to agree to allow employment law to be devolved to Scotland. It is the UK Government's responsible for that. We have taken action, the firmest action in the UK to prevent blacklisting in future and will continue to do that. If, at some point, he wants to work with the Government, I am trying to achieve this, I am more than happy to do that, but not by trying to make points like that, because I think that we have taken very effective action to prevent blacklisting up till now. Question 5, in the name of Margaret McCulloch, has been withdrawn and an explanation has been provided. Question 6, Cameron McKenna. Ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase investment in roads as a direct result of forecasted population increases. The strategic transport projects review, the SDPR, is a 20-year plan for investment and it took into account forecast economic and population growth up to 2022. Despite Westminster's real-terms cuts of about a quarter to Scottish capital budgets between 2010, 11 and 2015-16, this Government continues to take the size of action to accelerate economic recovery through our investment decisions. We have invested more than £6.5 billion in roads since 27, with a further £698 million to be invested this financial year to ensure that our strategic road network remains safe, efficient and effective. I am looking forward to continuing to implement the SDPR and our infrastructure investment plan, including completion of the largest transport infrastructure project in Scotland for a generation, the Queensferry crossing and, of course, the dualling of the road network between Scotland cities. Cameron McKenna. I thank the minister for his response, but does the Scottish Government consider that it would be better to assess planning applications after it is known how infrastructure will develop in the area? I would say to the member that we do that, but we also have to take into account when a planning application is made what the likely impact on the infrastructure will be. Of course, it is a correlation that is underlined by, for example, policies such as no detriment. When a planning application provides additional burden on the road network, that should be taken into account during the planning process. There is a link between obviously planning and the infrastructure requirements. We have also provided assistance in relation to other infrastructure developments or rather housing developments to help with the infrastructure costs in the past. The link is really between the investment plan for infrastructure as well as the planning process. I think that those things are taken into account. If he has some ideas as to how that could be done more effectively, then I am more than willing to listen to those, but I can assure him that is done at this present time. Graham Dey. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that the Scottish Government, despite the Westminster Tory cuts to Scotland's capital budget of over 25 per cent over the past five years, is committed to embarking on the largest road investment programme that Scotland has ever seen? That is true, and it is worth remembering why it is true. The Secretary of State for Transport at UK level said recently a few months ago that the problem in Scotland was the lack of investment in our transport infrastructure. That was a previous transport minister from 1989, I should mention, but he has mentioned that because it is correct. We have not had for decades the investment that we require both on our road and our rail network. The point that was made earlier on to Derek Mackay forgets, of course, the fact that we have had beaching. We have had massive disinvestment in our rail and our road infrastructure, so we are doing what we can to make sure that we turn that around. Again, as Stuart Stamson pointed out, twice the level of investment per head in Scotland and the rail network and also in relation to our road network. It seems to me a modern developed economy, should at the very least have motorways or dual carriageways between its city and its Government that will achieve that. Many thanks. Question 7, Patrick Harvie. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the transport recommendations made by the Committee on Climate Change in its 2015 progress report. Minister Derek Mackay. The UK Committee on Climate Change 2015 progress report showed that Scotland is outperforming the UK as a whole in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, we have the ambition to do more and we are already taking action in some of the transport recommendations made in this report. For example, our switched on fleets initiative helps overcome barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles by providing expert analysis to highlight where electric vehicles can be most effectively introduced into fleets. We are backing this analysis with £2.5 million of funding to enable councils and their partners to act by buying or leasing electric cars or vans. Thank you, Patrick Harvie. The minister says that they are taking action on some of the recommendations, but it is unclear whether all of those recommendations have been accepted by the Scottish Government. Perhaps if they were, we might hear fewer speeches about how great it is to have the biggest road-building programme that we have ever had, as we heard in the last question. On the final recommendation, the Government is called on to assess the carbon impact on any proposed changes to the air passenger duty. Does the minister agree with me that it would be bizarre to assess the carbon impact, find that the carbon emissions were going to go up as a result of proposed changes and then proceed anyway? Minister? We have to take an overall look at carbon emissions and it will fit within our overall policies. If we look at everything that was set out in terms of the transition to the low-carbon economy, I would point out just in relation to roads and road-building that we support the decarbonisation of road use, so it is not necessarily the case that that leads to massive increase in emissions. We want to bring that down and that is why we are supporting electric cars. We do not support to answer directly Patrick Harvie's question. For example, we do not have plans to introduce congestion charges or road-user charging schemes, which was a recommendation. We do not have plans to support that, although congestion charges would be a matter for local authorities. We are doing everything within our power to take forward the climate change agenda. I will play a very active role within the cabinet sub-committee on the matter. What progress is being made in developing the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles? Where and by whom? I am happy to write to the member with the details of where we have been able to support such projects, but we have been supporting projects through the grant assistance that the Scottish Government provides. Question 8, Richard Lyle. To ask the Scottish Government what opportunities enhanced devolution could bring to the transport system. The Scottish Government signalled our commitment to enhance devolution of powers over transport in our submission to the Smith commission. We argued that all transport policy, not currently the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament, should be devolved. Enhanced devolution is a natural step to take to ensure that our transport system is as consistent and integrated as possible administratively and practically to best meet the needs and aspirations of the people of Scotland. One example of the opportunities that enhanced devolution could bring to the transport system is a reduction in air passenger duty. We have confirmed that we intend to reduce APD by 50 per cent within the term of the next Parliament with a view to eventual abolition of the tax when public finances allow. Of course, we have stated our view that connecting Scotland to high speed 2 is a priority and that there should be a high speed connection between Glasgow, Edinburgh and north of England as part of any high speed rail network. Thanks, Chuck Brody. I didn't get a supplementary. Mr Lyle, forgive me. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the minister for his response. Unlike most other countries, the Scottish Government does not currently have responsibility over borrowing powers. Does he feel that the delivery of proper borrowing powers to this Parliament would allow us to invest in more infrastructure and in turn help to retain and create jobs to boost our economy through multiplier effect and, of course, make a long-term contribution to growth and productivity? Thank you, Presiding Officer. Yes, of course. We welcome the extension that is currently proposed, but we could go much further. In all the requests that members have made of the transport budget this afternoon, if we had enhanced financial flexibility and the borrowing powers that this Parliament should have so that we can grow Scotland's economy. Brody briefly, please. The minister has answered a question that I had on air passenger duty, but can he tell me how discussions with the Majesty's Government and Westminster is dealing with this issue and when will we hear more of the completion of these discussions? It is now in the hands of the NICS. I imagine the NICS Westminster Government to take that forward. It was in the Smith commission. It will be for the next Government to fulfil the promises that the Vow made to the people of Scotland, as the member would expect. We have had some technical discussions around the understanding of devolving APD, and we hope that that power is secured for the Parliament and the Government so that it can be used to the best effect for the economy of Scotland. Thank you. Question 9. In the name of Adam Reingren, has not been lodged and an explanation has been provided. Question 10, John Mason. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the status of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement programme. The Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement programme is making good progress and remains on schedule for the introduction for the first electric services in the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk high route in December 2016. Passengers are already benefiting from the £25 million transformation of Haymarket station and the Scottish Government's £80 million investment in the electrification of the line between Cumbernauld and Glasgow, both of which were completed on time and on budget. John Mason. I understand that while the Winchborough tunnel is closed that we will lose four trains per hour from Glasgow Queen Street high level to Edinburgh, but ScotRail are only proposing to add one on an additional route. Can the Government comment as to whether that is going to be sufficient for the capacity? Mr Mason is aware because he was at the presentation and the briefing that I had arranged for all members of the Scottish Parliament that there is a full communication exercise and arrangements around this necessary period of disruption that will keep to a minimum to allow that excellent investment to happen. Passengers will still be able to make direct rail journeys between Edinburgh and Glasgow on any of the other three routes connecting the cities and ScotRail has provided assurance that their disruption management plan will make best use of available resources including where possible additional capacity. Many thanks. That concludes that series of questions. We now move to portfolio questions on culture, Europe and external affairs. Question 1, Chick Brody. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what benefits it considers Europe brings to Scotland. EU membership has been a vibrant source of social cultural and economic benefit for Scotland over the last 40 years. EU membership provides significant economic benefits including access to the world's largest single market. With over 500 million potential customers in 2013, the EU is the destination for 46 per cent of Scottish exports worth some £12.9 billion. The Scottish Government also welcomes the social, cultural and economic benefits that migration from the EU delivers to Scotland's communities. The right to freedom of movement is also beneficial to Scots and the elsewhere in the EU. That is why the Scottish Government will continue to make the case for Scotland's membership of the EU as set out in Scotland's action plan for EU engagement launch on 27 March 2015. A booklet on the benefits of Scotland's EU membership was also published alongside that to further emphasise the advantages of Scotland enjoying being part of the EU. Chick Brody. Thank you. Your answer. The EET committee recently held a session entitled internationalising Scottish business in that session. Former Labour Minister Brian Wilson giving evidence stated that 330,000 Scottish jobs depend on exporting the UK and he stated that he would be bonkers to come out of Europe and that every company in trade union has a vested interest in sure we do not leave Europe. Can the cabinet secretary agree with me that Scotland's position is inside the European Union? Yes, indeed I can. It is vital that Scotland remains within the EU to preserve the economic benefits of EU membership and that is why the First Minister has proposed that if there was to be a referendum on the UK's EU membership a vote to exit the EU should require not just a majority across the whole UK but a majority in each of its four constituents' parts. A double majority but of course not to have a referendum in the first place by locking out the Tories that would be, of course, preferable. Many thanks. Question 2, John Pentland. To ask the Scottish Government when the cabinet secretary for culture, Europe and external affairs will announce the location and timetable for the development of a permanent Scottish firm studio. Cabinet secretary Fiona Hyslop. I advise the economy, energy and tourism committee on the 4th of May that Scottish Enterprise had received a new proposal to provide studio infrastructure for Scotland. The proposal had to undergo due diligence and commercial negotiations to consider its viability. The due diligence process is complete but has proved more complicated than first thought. Commercial negotiations are still on going and the proposal remains commercial in confidence at present. I am unable to provide a definitive date at this time for any announcement on the location or timetable for development of a permanent Scottish firm studio as soon as possible. Many thanks, John Pentland. I thank the cabinet secretary for replying. I hope that you enjoyed your trip to Hollywood. Obviously, I would want to see the studio in North Lanarkshire even though the proposal for one near Edinburgh would be called Pentland Studios. Will the cabinet secretary agree with me that we need to speed up progress on the proposal to use the industrial site in North Lanarkshire where the project would be both welcome and give a much needed boost to the local economy? I am aware of different proposals in relation to film studio location. All I can say at the moment is that our discussions are on going in relation to the proposal received by Scottish Enterprise. The member refers to the proposal or the studio located already in his regional constituency. I think that it's worth reminding everyone that the outlander production that is currently being filmed in Cumbernode has actually had a £38 million budget for its first season. Certainly, I was quite aware in my visit to the United States the huge impact that it is making and also delighted that it is filming in Scotland. In terms of delivering an economic impact do not underestimate that this is the biggest inward investment in terms of film activity that we have had in Scotland and it is very much to be welcomed. However, as he can appreciate, I can't give him further information about location or details of that information. Thank you, Patricia Ferguson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As the cabinet secretary will be aware this is an issue that I have pursued for many years now. As recently as 28 April the cabinet secretary was kind enough to reply to a parliamentary question from me in the same terms that you understand the issues around due diligence and commercial confidentiality. However, I would be very interested to know if, when the cabinet secretary makes the announcement, which sounds to me as though it may well be fairly imminent, whether she will do so by statement to Parliament, inspired PQ or press release. First of all, I have got to confirm that there would be an announcement to be made and I said that due diligence has been completed but there are further issues that have to be addressed. I am very conscious of my responsibility to Parliament to make sure that I inform it in the appropriate way but I have not yet determined what that would be. Obviously, I would respect Parliament to be very much aware of the need to communicate whether it is by statement or indeed by question or indeed as I have previously to committees in terms of evidence. David Stewart, briefly. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The cabinet secretary will be well aware of the impact of the economic impact on Samarostig and the studio there and, indeed, of banning the Gaelic production and the impact that it has made not just in the sky but all over the world. I would like to say that I am pleased to be able to share what I have done and what I have done and what I have done and what I have done and what I have done not just in the sky but also in the western Isles and I think that it is really important in reflecting not just the scenery but the economic impact. We are not just a location, it is about the attractiveness of the skills and I think that the development particularly at Samarostig is be commended. It is about growing the infrastructure, yes but it is also about skills development as well as taking the benefit of our wonderful locations. I look from an art sector in Shetland. Creative Scotland is the national leader for Scotland's art screen in creative industries. It distributes funding on behalf of the government. In 2013 Creative Scotland invested over £745,000 in the Shetland Islands across 20 awards. An example of that is with Shetland Arts Development Agency. Creative Scotland annual clients who received £212,000 in 2013-14 Shetland Arts Development Agency will become a regularly funded organisation from 2015-16 with 750,000 over three years. Of course, the largest investment in Shetland was to Shetland Arts Development Agency for the development of the Muriel, the UK's most northerly music, cinema and creative industry centre, which was awarded over £2 million in 2008-9. I acknowledge that the Cabinet Secretary is aware of the Muriel centre, which is a wonderful broadcasting and film production unit in the islands. It's well used locally, but it has a lot of spare capacity. Can I ask the Cabinet Secretary what she's doing to try to attract the film industry to the Muriel centre following the popular TV series Shetland? Clearly, the Muriel has had challenges, and I've been very supportive of the Muriel. I've visited the Muriel on a number of occasions in terms of opportunities for further film activity with spare capacity. Obviously, if the member has ideas and opportunities for Muriel, I'd be more than happy to receive any suggestions in writing. I'll make sure that Creative Scotland has that. Alternatively, she may want to approach Creative Scotland directly. How does the Scottish Government support traditional Scottish music, which is a big part of Shetland's vibrant arts sector? Clearly, the wider agencies that are there are supported by the variety of the arts development will support different activities that are in Shetland. In terms of traditional music, Fesh Ross has been fantastic development, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. In terms of celebration of different events and festivals, such as Shetland Folk Festival in particular and Shetland Fiddl Frenzy, there are a number of different events that take place and are supported by the development of the skills, particularly by funding and applications, and anybody who applies whether it's in traditional music or others, has an opportunity to benefit from project funding, for example, from Creative Scotland. My name has not been lodged and an explanation has been provided. Question 5, Claudia Beamish. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will give to local festivals and community celebrations across our Scotland, such as the Belt and In Peebles, Lanhamers in Lanark and the Wickham and Festival in Dumfries and Galloway. All of Scotland's festivals, both big and small, national and outlook, such as the Wickham and Festival or community, are focused, such as the Peebles, Belt and In and Lanhamers in Lanark. They are a hugely important aspect of our culture. Scottish Government supports our festivals through Creative Scotland and visits Scotland's events directorate, Events Scotland. Creative Scotland supports festivals that apply directly to it for funding, while Events Scotland supports a portfolio of events through its national, international and beacon programmes, designed to assist events, grow their audience. Support is also available through themed year funding, which, in 2015, is linking inspirational events with the Year of Food and Drink. Thank you very much, Claudia Beamish. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. It is a testament indeed, as I am sure the cabinet secretary will agree, to local communities and imaginative individuals that, year after year, they commit voluntary time and money to support those festivals and celebrations. What support can be given specifically by Visit Scotland to help to promote and market those events to ensure that rural and small-town festivities do not lose out to the cities and that they are used to maximise home and foreign tourism opportunities, as there has been some disappointment in that regard so far? That is it. It is clear that the responsibility for Visit Scotland lies with Fergus Ewing as the tourism minister. However, as we have debated fairly recently in this chamber, the role of festivals and indeed rural festivals are very important to the economy of Scotland, and certainly in my discussions with Visit Scotland, part of what we want to try to promote is an awareness that you do not just come to the cities for cultural experiences that, in terms of, if you look across Scotland across the calendar year, you will find a festival of some description and we need to improve how we promote Scotland as a festival nation of a description in terms of marketing of that. However, that is a matter for Visit Scotland, and I will ask it to communicate with the member what plans it has. Excellent. Question 6, Ken Macintosh. Do you ask the Scottish Government when it last met Creative Scotland? The Scottish Government regularly meets Creative Scotland to discuss its plans, progress and priorities. Just recently, I attended the British Film Commission's familiarisation visit reception with Creative Scotland staff on 25 April. This event welcomed TV studio executives from Los Angeles to Scotland. I also met the new chair of Creative Scotland, Richard Finlay, on 1 April to discuss his new role. Ken Macintosh. Can I thank the minister for her answer? In the evidence to the Education and Culture Committee in their inquiry on the attainment gap in Scottish schools, the trade union unison was just one of many organisations that highlighted the importance of the arts. I think that they gave us their example, the benefit on your English marks, for example, of going to see a play as opposed to reading it out loud in the class. They then went on to highlight the importance of out-of-school charges and the importance therefore of being supported in school, but that charges were making this less like it. In other words, we are likely to increase the attainment gap. Can I ask the minister how much, either in percentage or real terms, is Creative Scotland spending on poorer and deprived households and helping them to access the arts? In terms of the exact amount, I would not necessarily be able to give you that in detail now, but I am happy to follow that up. Part of my discussion with the new chair was the three Government's priorities that I set out in our programme for government, of which tackling inequalities is one of them. There are different ways of doing that in relation to the attainment gap. I refer the member to one of the most seminal pieces of research that we have shown that although viewing and seeing plays productions is important, what has a bigger impact on young people is participation. Participation, regardless of parental income, will have a bigger influence on whether people subsequently enjoy arts as an adult. In terms of closing attainment gaps, or closing in the quality gap of any description, it is really important that we focus on participation. That is not to say that viewing and seeing productions is really important. One of the things that I have asked our national companies is that they already do a great deal of work in taking performances around the country, both our orchestras and indeed our theatre and ballet. I think that that is something that the Parliament should perhaps become more familiar with. I will ask them to make sure that they communicate with members the activity that they have in their own constituencies, reaching out to make sure that those young people who might never be taken to see a play or performance by the parents do have the opportunity to see such. Many thanks. Clare Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer. At the weekend, I was at a paying artists campaign event, which was highlighting issues of artists not being paid. I am pleased that, since October, Creative Scotland has put it in its guidelines that they expect, if there is a funding application, that artists will be paid the standard rates. Cabinet Secretary, what more can be done to encourage and enforce those standards and rates of pay wider throughout the arts and cultural sector? I think that it is very important that Creative Scotland has made that a part of the requirements. Again, it is an issue that I have raised some time ago, before Clare Baker was in this position. I raised it proactively with Creative Scotland and the importance of paying artists. I think that there are two things. One is in terms of the public expectation and the second is in terms of funding requirements for funding bodies. I think that there is something about raising the awareness of the issue more generally. I think that far too often people think about charitable events or different events where you can ask people to come along and not expect them to be paid. I think that generally, across all of society, there is more to be done in recognising the importance of paying for that performance that you have received. That probably is the area that needs more focus and emphasis to seeing what is accessible or not. That is implicit on everybody asking at different events are artists being paid. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in bringing to an end the dispute at the National Museum of Scotland. As I said in my response to Drusimus MSP last week, I have met with both the chair and director of the museums and representatives of the unions and strongly encouraged both sides to develop a more productive working relationship to try and negotiate an agreement that should resolve the dispute. The two sides met most recently on 13 April and have agreed to maintain contact. Given that the justice secretary managed to get £7 million out of the finance secretary to prevent a strike in the prison service and are up to this and next year's election, does the cabinet secretary for culture have so little clout in the cabinet that she cannot even weasel £200,000 from John Swinney to pay low-pay staff in the National Museums, the money that is owed for working unsociable hours? Can I ask her, will she spare us in her answer any reference to Wales, England, Ulan, Bator or indeed anybody else that she has no responsibility for and instead concentrates her answer on what she does have responsibility for? I say to the member, of course, the reason he does not want me to mention Wales is because they are wanting to take away weekend working allowances from those who already have it. That is not the situation here in Scotland. I would hope that, clearly, the member would do a bit of research before he comes. He knows that he was in the chamber when I made it clear last week that the cost of the proposal would be £400,000 a year. That is an estimation of the next spending review of £1.2 million. He is also wrong in another area. There is no strike agreement with the PAOA in Scotland. Of course, the only person who did it introduced that was Jack Straw, a Labour Home Secretary. He is also wrong on another count. Point of order, Mr Finlay. I wonder if the cabinet secretary will reflect on her comments and correct her record. I never said that there was a no strike agreement. Maybe she will correct her record when she gets the opportunity. Mr Finlay, you very well know that that is not a point of order, but you have made your point. Cabinet Secretary, please conclude. The cabinet secretary is wrong on a third element, because the SPS found funding within its existing budget, because the agreement was made in good faith to incentivise engagement of prisoner and officer staff in a process of discussion. The issue that we have to have in relation to the NMS is to try and get both parties to actually have a discussion that is not just predicated on reintroduction or introduction of a new weekend working allowance to staff on new contracts since 2011. Question 8. I ask the Scottish Government how it monitors proceedings at the European Parliament. The Scottish Government monitors proceedings in the European Parliament through the Scottish Government's EU office based in Brussels. I am sure that the cabinet secretary and indeed the Scottish Government cabinet will be fully aware of the medium combustion plants directive, which has the potential to cost thousands of jobs and slow down North Sea oil production by up to 60 per cent. So why did Scottish Nationalist MEPs in the last hour choose not to vote for Ian Duncan's amendment to exempt North Sea oil rigs? The matter is for the European Parliament and the matter is for the European Parliament. The member might not have noticed, but I have been in this chamber since the beginning of the session at 2 o'clock when I led a debate on the Mediterranean deaths of migrants. In terms of the reference issue that was made to the medium combustion plants directive, the Scottish Government is fully aware of the issue. In terms of what that means for Scotland in co-operation with the UK Parliament representation in the EU office, we have been working with the policy team in this issue. We have offered further briefing to all Scottish MEPs on the importance of the issue and directed them to the Scottish and Southern EU liaison officer in relation to some of those issues. We are aware of them. They have been discussed not just here but also in the European Parliament. However, I am not accountable for events in Brussels within the last hour. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish commemorations programme's first world war commemorations for 2015. The programme events to commemorate one date of particular relevance to the people of Scotland's progressing well for both 2015 and beyond to 2019. On Saturday 25 April, the First Minister and I were privileged to take part in the dawn service for the Gallipoli and Anzac Day commemorations at Edinburgh Castle. The next national event is the commemoration of the Quintas Hill rail disaster, which will take place with services in both Gretna and Rosebank Cemetery lease on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 this month. In Stirling on 4 June, I will attend an evening reception followed by Hugh Strawn's lecture on the search for solutions commemorating the troops leaving Scotland for Gallipoli from Stirling Castle. That will mark the opening of a weekend of commemorative activity in Stirling with a photographic exhibition played by local children and displays by military bands from both Scotland and Turkey. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and offer my own personal congratulations to the Scottish commemorations panel on its successful programme of events last year. However, will the cabinet secretary provide an update on the progress of the centenary memorials restoration fund and confirm which war memorial projects in the west of Scotland region have benefited from the fund? I am not aware of the detail from the west of Scotland in particular. Indeed, the commemorative memorial restoration fund is being run by Historic Scotland and I will ask it to provide particular details to the member. I might add that Heritage Lottery fund is responsible for some of those, so I will identify which ones are from Heritage Lottery as well. I think that the member is right to pay tribute to the work of the Scottish commemorations panel. They have set a range of different events in a very considerate and thoughtful way, and I would like to thank in particular Chair Norman Drummond and all the members of board for guiding us through the next few years. That concludes portfolio questions, and it is now time to move on to the next item of business, which is decision time and to which we now come. There are two questions to be put as a result of today's business. The first question is that motion 13090 in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick on approval of an SSI be agreed to. Are we all agreed? Yes. We are. The second question is that motion 13091 in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick on committee membership be agreed to. Are we all agreed? Yes. We are. That concludes decision time, and I now close this meeting of parliament.