 myeffing i chi gynpario fyddon maesacing a thym ni ddod cyfle niol i gaelister peidliadau cymlreallywyr Glasgow adlas. Gaelister surprise cer wydda llawn i fod eich ôl i gaelister i gaelister ap sydd yn bwy arrwydd i gael endured. I biddw Iwi pam gennynau leirio eich bod hwnneddydd 60 gyffredinolful ar fe y Guitar Gdaethau Llefarch? Iwi stato yn weithio i gael背keneth S 여ll i treffu meth, iétnynau mongol Llywodraeth, 참twifiad Patryd Harveys, i gyfl�ed hi Grefledd yn deall hwnne! and Suckey Hall Street, whose lives have been devastated. It is important to say from the beginning that it is also the fire which destroyed the ABCO to your academy, campus the entire block, as well as the much-loved Mac. On 15 June 2018, Abda MacMood and her family went to celebrate Eid at their uncle's house on the south side of Glasgow. The family returned home in 11.30 that night, all dressed in their Eid best. As Abda explained to me, wearing her fancy heels, as they got closer to home, they saw the skyline across the motorway light up in a blaze. Soon they are told that they cannot return home because, for the second time in four years, Glasgow School of Art is on fire and the street has been cordoned off. All she had was one bank card on her and, like all other families, there was no time to collect important personal belongings, all the things that they would need in their lives. Abda's autistic son, guardian documents, passport and Idead medication, all the things that she would need to look after her son. In the days after she would refuse money from a bank and experience, she says, made her feel like a refugee in her own city. Families were split up due to difficulties in getting emergency accommodation, and they, like the 67 red digits in total, were shut out of their homes for three months without one single visit to allow them to collect their personal belongings. That, in my opinion, was unacceptable, and the 33 businesses devastated and some of those residents were running businesses from home, so you can see the devastation that it caused. 125 firefighters fought the blaze and are to be commended for their incredible stamina and expertise in this fierce and enormous fire. It is an event for which the people affected by it know that their lives will change and continue this for a very long time. I will never forget walking down such a hall straight months after the fire with Councillor Frank Machiavite, counting the number of closed businesses and meeting devastated owners who had lost so much, owners who still risk losing everything as they face continuing problems even today. If you ask any of the residents and businesses if they believe that there was an adequate response from authorities, they will tell you, in their words, that they felt abandoned. As it took five weeks before anyone's senior from Glasgow City Council even came to speak to them, contingency plans were slow and information was not satisfactory. Lessons must be learned from this. Amira residents said, they do not provide the leadership that was needed to help us to navigate this crisis. We, as displaced residents, had to reach out to the Scottish Government and ask them to step in and take control. The situation was so dire that we needed our belongings and all we got were threats of arrest for trying to breach the cordon. What he is referring to here is the demonstration of residents who call for one of our access to get their essentials. It has happened in other cities after disasters. Why did it not happen in Glasgow? I want to thank John Sherry, who was appointed as the central point of contact for residents and businesses. His job was not an easy one. I would also like to thank Women Barlow, who took my calls from building control when I had some questions. We must learn the lessons as a city from this. However, the disaster has also exposed the poor relationship of Glasgow School of Art with the local community. It was staggering for me, as an elected member, to find out that most residents had never been invited into the school. However, Muriel Gray, whom I wish well in her retirement, said that we should never let this happen again, and that needs to be honoured by the new chair and the new director. People do not feel safe now in their own homes, and they will not until there has been some accountability for the fire. New-build plans of the School of Art must be shown to be robust in terms of materials and construction. However, we all have many questions about what actually happened on that night, so we must see the fire report as soon as it is practically possible, because we need answers. I want to commend the sterling work of Joan McAlpine and the Culture Committee, who have helped enormously and have backed their call for a public inquiry. Battles are still on-going with insurance companies. Some of you are trying to recover the support by the Scottish Government. Insurance companies are trying to take back the money that Derek Mackay has granted to help those businesses. Between us, the MSPs that I have mentioned are supporting those businesses. I have to acknowledge that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, who set up the fire recovery fund in response to our demands, has helped those businesses. However, today, the MSPs only have a 10 per cent reduction in their non-domestic rates under struggling to survive. Walk-to-walk is a well-known eating place, and the country has gone. The campus is shut, and Bagelmania is struggling to stay and survive. News box and news agent has been there for 20 years and told us very recently that he is battling to survive. My heart goes out to all those who have been working on the 35 million restoration just before the fire. There are many like myself who are very proud of our heritage of Glasgow School of Art, which has to be said. As for the future, the public must be fully involved in decisions going forward and it must be done with the utmost sensitivity. The relationship between Glasgow School of Art and the local community must start afresh. The new frontage that they are planning and the on-going work must be live to the trauma that people have experienced. The motion that we have signed calls on the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to work together to safeguard the area and to secure a short and long-term future of Sockie Hall Street, as there is deep concern that so much has happened that it might not fully recover. The ABC02 academy was a magnet for the area's entertainment, and it was utterly destroyed in the fire. I recently met with the owner, Michael Haddock, last month, and he confirmed that his intention to rebuild in a modern fit-for-purpose building is an extremely important venue for Glasgow's music scene. He has just completed a detailed report on the structural damage that is severe and, importantly, has confirmed that the plans will, if at all possible, include an option to retain the facade. We must get swift action from the City Council on the viability of the facade, because the timescale for the rebuilding of the O2 ABC academy is absolutely critical. If Sockie Hall Street is to have a strong, secure future, we must all work together over the next few years, and we must take that part of the city thrive again. The CCA, the garage and the O2 eventually need their loading spaces to turn so that they can run their events, and then time perhaps a street festival to bring people together. Perhaps that is a longer way off. I thank all the local people who rose to the challenge of being leaders in their local community, Gillian, Adrian, Chris Sturley and so many others. I ask Scottish ministers not to abandon Sockie Hall Street but to be an active player in the recovery of one of Scotland's most famous streets and to work with the UK Government and the City Council and to give more help to those businesses who desperately need to put their lives back together. Thank you very much. I have seven members who wish to contribute this afternoon. Sandra White is to be followed by Adam Tomkins. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I thank Polly McNeill for her excellent contribution. We did all work together, collectively, for the good of the Garnett Hill area, Sockie Hall Street and the residents and businesses there also. I want to begin my contribution by thanking the fire service, as Polly McNeill has already done, for their absolutely heroic actions, not only in 2018 but in the 2014 fire also. Two fires, Presiding Officer, and I will hopefully get up and come back to that. The fire at the mark on 15 June 2018 was so fierce that it was described as looking into a furnace. There is no doubt that, without the skills and bravery of our firefighters, it could have been so much worse. The fact that water had to be pumped from the river Clyde down at the Brumillol all the way up the hill to Garnett Hill shows us just the enormity of the task that faces our firefighters. We really owe them an enormous thank you on behalf of everyone for the work that they carried out. Presiding Officer, as I said just previously, two devastating fires, 2014 and 2018. Unfortunately, negligent, bad management, criminal even, we can only speculate on that at the moment as we await the fire report. I will say this, and I thank Jim McAlpine and her committee also. We must have a public inquiry into exactly what happened at the mark and the two fires also. Whilst the focus has been on the art school, we must not forget the local community, local businesses who have suffered and are still suffering from this devastating fire, having to relocate, as already mentioned by Polly McNeill, closed down, and see their takings diminish. At this point, I thank Derek Mackay and the Scottish Government for initiating the scheme that Polly McNeill had mentioned, giving money to local businesses to help them along. Unfortunately, the insurance companies have decided that the £20,000 that was given to local businesses from the Scottish Government basically negates and it is a reason that they will not pay out. That has been raised in the House of Commons by MP Alison Thullus. The local community, who were already facing disruption due to the avenues project, which I must admit is looking good now, is moving on, but they were facing and are facing still disruption during the avenues project. Now they have got aftermath of the art school fire, the O2, which has devastated that area of Suckey Hall Street and Garnett Hill. People are unable to access their properties, as I said before, their homes and even their pets. A cat was left there for a couple of days and someone broke through the barrier—or sneakily, I will call the word—to rescue their cat. Medicines, personal and work belongings are all there. Although we all understand the reasons for that for safety, the one issue that came up time and time again when I had meetings with the local community was the lack of communication, lack of communication and information, not only from officials but from the art school. As Pauline McNeill has already said, lessons have to be learned from that. People were out of their houses and could not access anything. They were very, very worried, but they would see people behind them having their lunch with a hard hat. Why couldn't someone from the residents community be allowed in to look at the place? Lessons really have to be learned from that. Muriel Gray, when asked at the committee, if she had any regrets, said that it was not working enough with the local community, and that is absolutely essential. It is absolutely true. I note that the Glasgow School of Art of a community liaison officer, Harriet Sims, was appointed in November 2018, whose role is to help to better connect with the local community, the Glasgow School of Art. I have met a group that has been set up and they have put forward a number of ideas. They have been working with students, local community and Kelvin College, with various aspects of skill projects, apprenticeships and so on. That is a step forward and perhaps there are lessons that have to be learned, but the one lesson that has to be learned has to be sorted as Suckey Hall Street must be restored to its former glory. Suckey Hall Street to Glasgow regions is a dual in Glasgow's crown, and we must see it come back to that absolute dual. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I commend Pauli McNeill for bringing this motion to debate today. I thank her for her leadership in ensuring that MSPs from across the four political parties that represent Glasgow in this Parliament have been able to work together in the public interest and in the city's interest to hold decision makers to account for what has been a devastating period of time in Suckey Hall Street and Garnett Hill. I also very strongly associate myself with the remarks at the beginning of Sandra White's speech about the debt that we all owe to the courage and to the bravery and to the commitment of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in putting out this fire a year ago. The past 12 months, Presiding Officer, have been profoundly difficult for the businesses and residents of Suckey Hall Street and Garnett Hill. They have been pushed to breaking point through no fault whatsoever of their own, and I, like Pauli McNeill and others, have been deeply struck by their resilience and tenacity over the course of the last year. Right from the beginning, it has to be said, Presiding Officer, that there was an alarming lack of any coherent or joined-up plan from Glasgow City Council to deal with the consequences of the fire last year. Information was allowed to trickle down to traders and residents in only the most piecemeal way in the days and weeks that followed the fire. It was clear that the council was constantly on the back foot. One year on, as far as I can see, there is still no long-term strategy for the recovery of Suckey Hall Street. No one blames the council for the fires, but, at a time of crisis, it is clear, I am afraid, that Susan Akins is an administration that runs for cover when the going gets tough. That is just not good enough. We await the findings of the SFRS investigation, which is, I have to say, taking an inordinately long time. However, in addition to that report, whenever it is published, Presiding Officer, there is, I believe, a compelling case for a full, independent public inquiry, not only into the causes of the fire but also into the future of the site and to the future of the Macintosh building. I called for that inquiry in February and I was delighted when Joan McAlpine's committee and I commend the work that she has done and that her committee colleagues have done on the culture, tourism, Europe and external affairs committee of this Parliament. I was delighted when that committee echoed my call for a public inquiry in its report, which was published in March. I am concerned, like many of us are, Presiding Officer, and this needs to be said. I am concerned by the Glasgow School of Arts continuing apparent lack of civic duty to the area that it serves. As businesses and residents were prevented from returning to their premises and homes in the immediate aftermath of the fire, as Pauline McNeill has vividly told us, the GSA's focus was on providing public assurances that the Mac would be rebuilt and that it all would be okay and that they would be in charge just five days after the blaze. That is blatant disregard for the GSA's neighbours and it, understandably, does not sit comfortably with the local community. Let me just tell you about the first time I went to see the GSA last summer in the aftermath of the fire. Within five minutes of that meeting, I was told two things. Firstly, that the fire had nothing to do with them because they did not have stewardship of the building at the time, it was under the stewardship of Keir construction and secondly that they and they alone would determine how, where and when the building was to be rebuilt. That isn't leadership, it isn't stewardship, it isn't custodianship, it is arrogance and it has no place in the future of decision making about the School of Art and Garnett Hill. We need a full public inquiry not only to think about the future of this building but also to establish the full facts underscoring what happened a year ago. The fire brigade, the fire engines that were sent out from Calcaddon station, which is seconds away from Garnett Hill, is literally just around the corner and the fire brigade were there within minutes of the alarm being called. When the fire brigade arrived at the site of the fire, they reported that that building had been ablaze for at least 45 minutes and perhaps for as long as an hour. How on earth, in the middle of Glasgow city centre, could our national treasure, the Macintosh building of the Glasgow school of art, be allowed to burn for an hour before an alarm is even sounded? Those are the questions that John McAlpine's committee rightly identified as needing answered and the reason why we need a full independent public inquiry is not to ask those questions but to answer them. Under the school of art stewardship, the Macintosh building has been allowed to burn down twice in the space of four devastating years. They have failed, Presiding Officer, in their custodianship of what is a national treasure. I want an inquiry into the future of the building, but my personal preference would be for it to be rebuilt as a public asset for us all to enjoy and as a magnet to draw tourists from all over the world to Glasgow to celebrate the heritage of Charles Rennie Macintosh and that it should not be rebuilt as a private art school. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I congratulate Pauline McNeill on securing this important debate and I can also compliment Pauline McNeill, Adam Tomkins, Patrick Harvie and Sandra White for the work that they have clearly done in working very closely with the communities around the Glasgow school of art in providing some much needed support. On 15 June last year, I was actually at a night out in Glasgow and I was driving home, I dropped a friend and sucky all straight and at around half past 11, 12 o'clock at night, and you could sense that there was a bit of a commotion beginning to build and you could start to hear fire engines and I made my way back home and I was shocked to then see the photographic images on social media of the school of art ablaze and the then chaos that they are unfolded for people in that local community. I think that there are three key things that have got to be drawn from this debate. First of all, we need to learn the lessons from the fire. Adam Tomkins said that it took 45 minutes for the alarm to be raised. I didn't actually know that until he spoke about it there just now. When I was down on Suckey Hill Street that night, the fire had probably been ablaze for about an hour and the fire engines were only then reaching. That's a real area of concern. There's been some discussion about potential negligence from the contractors that were reconstructed in the building and that might have contributed to the fire. The other thing that needs to be considered is the other fires in the Suckey Hill Street area in recent years, the previous fire in 2014 and also the fire at the Pavilion. It has to be said that there's been a number of fires throughout the Glasgow area, for example at the old Scottish power site in Cathcart, which was vacated and there was a fire there and there's been a number of other fires. We need to examine why we're suddenly seeing a higher frequency of those fires. The second point that needs to be looked at is how we support the community and the businesses going forward. That whole area running from the Charring Cross end of Suckey Hill Street down to Buchanan Galleries has been a devastating time in recent years. From the first fire to the Pavilion fire, a lot of businesses have been closed down and then tried to reopen. That is a real hub in Glasgow City Centre and we should be seeking to rebuild that. In the comments that some of the previous speakers have made about the slow response and the adequate response in terms of supporting businesses and also people who have been displaced from their housing are absolutely correct. The third point that I would make in all of that is that the whole pace of the operation needs to move quicker. The fact that we're a year down the line and we still don't know exactly what the reasons were for the fire is not good enough. I would support the calls for a public inquiry and it's quite clear that more needs to be done by the city council and other authorities to support businesses and local people. Clearly, that debate has shown a light on some fundamental issues in terms of why the fire occurred, what the role of the school of art is in terms of interfacing with the local community and trying to rebuild that legacy and how we support businesses and the community. I hope that some of the points that have been made here are taken forward and considered seriously and very quickly. Thank you, Mr Kelly. I call Patrick Harvie to be filled by John McAlpine. Oh no, not again. God, not again. That's about the only thing that I could keep saying to myself when I first saw the images of that fire. The tragic loss that was felt, I think, by everybody who saw those images, having remembered the fire from a few years ago, not again. Whatever criticisms have been made—and I'll come back to those of the art school, poor communication afterwards—everyone of us must know that everybody who had an involvement with that building or with that wider community must have felt their heart ripped out of their chest when those first images were shown or, as Pauline McNeill said in her opening statements, when they were travelling home, trying to travel home to the local community. I think that we need to first of all remember what an utter tragedy this has been, not just for those individuals but for our whole city. I really want to strenuously thank, as others have, Pauline McNeill, for working to ensure that there is cross-party dialogue on this and for bringing the debate here today. There have been other points that I want to echo as well, the thanks to those in the emergency services who responded so quickly, our empathy for those who have been directly affected. Our thanks also to the culture committee here in Parliament for the work that they have done as well. The word iconic is very often overused. Everything is described as iconic. It becomes almost a disposable throw-away word. However, the Mac building absolutely was iconic. It was iconic of Glasgow's architectural heritage, our cultural and creative heritage and of generations of young people studying in Glasgow as well. They are hopes for the future and the contribution that they made generation after generation to the cultural life of our city, of our country and of the world. And Sokyol Street is iconic of Glasgow's cultural vibrancy, both high and low culture thrown together in a creative way, and Sokyol Street is iconic globally of Glasgow as well. More than just a building was lost. Pauline McNeill also reminded us of the other buildings, including the O2, and other businesses directly affected, destroyed or still currently closed as a result of the fire. However, I think that we lost more than just those buildings and those businesses. I think that there has been a loss of trust in institutions, both through poor communication and poor dialogue at a government level, local and perhaps central as well, and trust in the institution of the art school itself has been severely damaged. I hope not irreparably. I hope that it can be rebuilt, but we need to acknowledge and I think that the art school management as well need to acknowledge that that will not happen overnight and trust is sometimes harder to rebuild than a physical structure. Adam Tomkins expressed his disappointment and anger as well, that a year on from this fire there is still no credible long-term plan not just for the art school but for the revival of that wider community. Such a vital part of Glasgow's commercial, cultural, social and night-time economy is an important part of the life of our city. It needs that long-term plan and it needs every level of government—UK, Scottish and local Government—to play its role. It needs the art school as an institution to play its role, but it needs it not to dominate. It needs to be led by the development and implementation of that plan by the whole community that has been affected. The residents who have been treated poorly throughout that year, the businesses that have survived and those who might return over the course of that year need to be in the driving seat of developing that long-term plan for the revival of the wider area, not just of one building or one institution. I call on every level of government, yes, to commit to the public inquiry, because we need far more than just the fire report, but to the development of a plan that is led by the community because that is the only way that we are going to see the rebuilding of trust that was lost, which is harder to put in place again than bricks and mortar. My remarks will be informed by the Culture, Tourism and European External Affairs Committee's inquiry, The Loss of a Rational Treasure. I thank the MSPs from outside the committee who engaged with our inquiry, Pauline McNeill, Sandra White and Adam Tomkins, as well as the committee members and clerks and all the witnesses who gave evidence to the committee. The committee was driven by the fact that, like everybody else, we were shocked that one of our greatest cultural treasures was destroyed so shortly after the first fire in 2014. It was Lachlan Gaudi, the artist who said that the Glasgow School of Art Macintosh buildings, the greatest piece of art that has ever been produced in Scotland, and I think that there is a very strong case for saying that. Of course, it was in our custodianship or more directly in the custodianship of an institution that is largely publicly funded, so it was absolutely appropriate that the committee looked into the events leading up to the second fire. Probably, we were driven by people saying that perhaps the shock of the first fire and the understandable sympathy right across the world meant that maybe not enough questions were asked about the origins of that fire. Of course, if that fire hadn't happened in 2018, fire wouldn't have happened during the restoration. We are the culture committee, so the focus of our inquiry was on the loss of a cultural treasure, but it soon became apparent that there was a very considerable concern about the impact on the residents, and that was made clear by the residents themselves in their written submissions to the committee and the engagement of Glasgow MSPs. It was very clear from the written evidence that there was a lack of engagement with, respect for or duty of care towards the residents from GSA, and I just wanted to read a little bit of the written evidence. They talked about how they felt conflicted about the Glasgow School of Art. They love the building, its history and its origins, but it also represents a distant, selfish, inward-looking and thoughtless neighbour. The committee was very struck by the written evidence of the residents, and one of our recommendations was that more needed to be done to rebuild trust with the community, and that has to be done in a formal way. There has to be formal methods of engagement drawn up between the management of the art school and the community. At that point, it is important to say that whatever decision is made with regard to the rebuilding of the art school or not, it should not be done by the Glasgow School of Art. It should not be in its custodianship. Two former directors of the Glasgow School of Art told our committee that they did not think that the GSA had the capacity to take on a project of that nature. We do not have time to go into the details of the report, and I hope that at a later date I will be able to debate it more fully in the Parliament, but we do stand by our key findings. We noted that, having clearly identified the risks posed by fire via a number of reports directly commissioned by the GSA board in the period up to 2014, the Glasgow School of Art appeared not to have addressed specifically the heightened risk of fire to the Macintosh building. We noted that the board considered that the fire safety measures that were taken went above and beyond the standards that were required, but we were unable to find any evidence of that beyond the decision to install a water mist system in 2008. Of course, we know that, despite that decision having been taken, the water mist system was not installed before 2014 and it still was not installed before the 2018 fire. During that whole period of time, knowing the risks to the building, major conservation projects, major CAPEX projects embarked on by the Glasgow School of Art and, of course, they did not involve, in our view, adequate fire protection. I note that there are further recommendations that the committee made in terms of preserving historic buildings that are particularly at risk and the Government's responsibility there. The Government has made a very helpful response to our committee report with regard to the regulation and some commitments that I found very constructive and I hope to be debated at the later date. However, in conclusion, I want to return to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's response to our report, in which it was very clear that its own report, when it comes, will only look at the causes of the fire and its spread and it will not look at the events that are leading up to it, the management of the building and it will not look at the context of the fire. That is why our main finding that there has to be a public inquiry into the fire has to stand, because it is only through a public inquiry that we can really get to the bottom of events that led to those devastating fires but also the effect on the local community and the future of the art school. I, too, would like to associate myself with the remarks from across the chamber regarding the immense bravery that has been shown by the emergency services on that night and also to thank the committee for the work that it did regarding the Glasgow School of Art. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to speak in today's debate and I want to thank Pauline McNeill for shining a light on an issue that is still affecting Glasgow one year later. It is with great concern that businesses and residents of Garnet Hill, Suckeyhall Street and the surrounding areas are still experiencing the effects of the fire. I hope that it is with that this debate can refocus our attention on getting this issue sorted for the long term. One year ago, on June 15, the Glasgow School of Art Macintosh building very sadly caught fire. This was the second fire to hit the building in just four years, as we have heard, and resulting in very extensive and long-lasting damage. Designed by one of Glasgow's biggest icons, this is a really special building and one that everyone in Glasgow loves and is proud of. It is with great concern that residents and businesses are still experiencing problems associated with the fire. Local residents expressed their frustration over feeling like they were dumped back in their homes after three months and expected just to get on with it. Earlier this year, residents stated that they felt being shut out when it came to making longer term plans for the regenerating area. On top of that, as Paul McNeill pointed out, we have seen issues with vehicle access, refuse collection and insurance claims, problems that you would not expect to see one year on. Local businesses, too, have been severely affected by the cordon put in place after the fire. Some have relocated and some have reported losses of up to 75 per cent on the previous year. The importance of Sir Cahill Street to the city's local economy is paramount, and I am concerned that, without bold action, an iconic street has been left to decay. Only last week, we saw retailer Lush announce the closure of its branch on the street, one of many closures in the last couple of years. This week, we have seen the fire inquiry move into its final stages, and, as we have just heard, with the main focus being on the lightly origin and cause. As my colleague Adam Tomkins has stated first and foremost, we need to see a full public inquiry into the events that took place. There have been serious concerns raised over key documents being hidden from public view and questions about the management and oversight of the restoration by the Glasgow School of Art. We can also begin to learn vital lessons with wider significance for historic buildings across the world. As we saw with the Notre Dame fire in April, buildings can be so much more than the materials that they are made from. They can embody the essence of a city and the pride of the people that live there. That leads me on to my second point—that this should be having wider discussions about what is best for Glasgow in the long term when it comes to the Macintosh building. I know that the Glasgow School of Art has recently reaffirmed its intention to restore the Macintosh building, but, as Adam Tomkins again pointed out, there may be potential to move the building to a different area of the city to make full use of the economic and tourist opportunities. I would like to finish today by giving my sympathies to those who are still being affected by the Glasgow School of Art fire one year later. Glasgow regions are proud people and we are proud of our city and its heritage. It is so important that we make sure that local residents do not lose out because of reasons outside their control and that we restore that iconic building to its former glory. I would like to accommodate one more member who wishes to contribute, as well as the minister. I would be minded to accept a motion without notice under rule 8.14.3 to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Pauline McNeill to move it to motion. Thank you very much. The question is that the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes. Are we agreed? We are agreed. I call Claire Baker to be followed by the minister. I welcome this motion. I would like to begin by offering praise to my colleague Pauline McNeill for her powerful and detailed speech, highlighting the serious issues faced by her constituents as a result of the devastating fire at the Glasgow Art School, and recognising that Ms McNeill also gave credit to the cross-party efforts in raising those concerns. The trauma for local residents who were unable to return to their homes for an extended period shows the individual consequences of such significant events, and it is important that we address the difficulties that they have experienced. The particular location of the school of art means that, a year on, challenges continue for local residents in terms of vehicle access and services such as bin collections. Local businesses, too, have felt significant consequences, with some relocating and others unable to reopen, both options with notable financial impacts. I agree with Pauline McNeill that local, Scottish and UK Governments need to make a joint effort to ensure recovery of the Salki Hall Street area and to continue to support those who are affected. I am pleased to read reports that the art school has begun working more with the Garnett hill community to improve relations, and I hope that that continues, as it was made clear that there has been a failing in communication. That relationship is particularly important in relation to any proposals for the restoration of the Macintosh building and the carrying out of such work. As a member of the Culture, Tourism and Europe and External Affairs Committee, I welcomed our inquiry. While the timing ahead of the report from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service investigation meant that in some areas of our work was limited by not knowing the cause of the more recent fire, the ability of the committee to respond to issues of public interest, like the art school fire, in order to provide a forum for exploring matters and providing scrutiny is definitely welcome. With more than 47,000 listed buildings in Scotland and more than 3,500 category A buildings, we are a country with great built heritage with historic properties, a key contributor to our reputation as a desirable tourist destination. However, the listing system that is used by Historic Environment Scotland, covering that vast number of properties, lacks a formal means of recognising the smaller sub-category A properties with particular cultural and historical national importance, such as the Macintosh building. As such, it offers no ability to provide them with enhanced protection. Work to identify the critical buildings within those who are all A listed in Scotland could take place with a view to compel owners to take additional steps, such as providing enhanced fire safety measures, which related public funding, which would then have the flexibility to allow that. This was a committee recommendation calling for the Scottish Government, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Historic Scotland to review category A listed buildings to assess whether there should be interventions required to reduce fire risk and provide other specific protection. Relatedly, the remit of Historic Environment Scotland is to provide a leadership role in the conservation and preservation of historic buildings, but that is not currently provided with a clear role in ensuring adequate fire prevention for such buildings, as the Glasgow art school. The committee has called for a review of Hesse's remit and the possible extension of its powers in areas such as measures to safeguard against fire in those buildings that are recognised to have national and cultural importance. While the Glasgow art school has repeatedly stated its intention to rebuild the Macintosh building, there is also some debate about whether current arrangements on management of the site are the most suitable. Given the other responsibilities of the Glasgow art school board, are they able to give sufficient priority to safeguarding of the site? We had more specific expertise at board level or through alternative arrangements, such as placing it into a trust, better reflect the importance of the building. In a similar vein to fire protection, that is not just a question for the Glasgow art school, but for all custodians of historic buildings of national and cultural importance, we need to ensure that adequate protection is provided to those buildings. Once the investigation is concluded and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Report is published, the committee has recommended that the Scottish Government establish a public inquiry with judicial powers into the 2014 and 2018 fires. I believe that there is merit in this proposal for the reasons that have been outlined by others this afternoon, but it would also provide an avenue to consider fire risks, historic buildings nationally and the ability of custodians to manage those properties. I thank members and, particularly, Pauline McNeill for bringing this motion, which was a very open, collaborative motion that reflects on the cross-party work that has taken place over the past years. I have found that the speech is moving in places as well as being very practical in what the challenges were facing residents, businesses and the actions that are required as we look forward to the future. It is, of course, poignant and fitting that this debate takes place within a week of that first year anniversary of the fire and an opportunity to reflect. Incidentally, as an aside, my sister was at a resident on Salki Hall Street when the fire spread just about a minute away from the art school. That sense of fear and worry and panic, which I know that she felt and certainly her wider family felt, is just a tiny little iota of what it must have been like for the many people who saw the spread of the fire and then had to face the consequences of that fire for months and even a year on. I am responding to that debate because of the wider economic implications of the fire, which shows the breadth of the issues. My colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs has already responded formally, in short, to the culture committee's recent report and recommendations, which was welcomed by the Scottish Government. Briefly, on the recommendation about a public inquiry, the cabinet secretary has said that she will await the outcome of the SFRS's investigation before responding in greater depth to all the culture committee's recommendations, including the one on an inquiry. I appreciate the minister giving way. I am also pleased that she recognises the wider implications of the Suggie Hall Street Garden at Hilt area as a primary concern for everyone. Will the minister address what the role of the Scottish Government could be? I just wanted to make sure that you are going to cover it. I will absolutely come on to that, if that is okay. Briefly, I know that there are no adequate words to capture that sense of disbelief, which Patrick Harvie outlined very well and that devastation wrought by the fire. Both to the physical fabric of the historic building and to its significance as a cultural and educational institute, but it caused acute difficulties for residents and businesses in the area. Although some issues were quickly identified, there are clearly things that were not identified and responded to as quickly as they could have been. That is partly due to the inescapable consequences of a large fire and the efforts of the emergency services in the aftermath, but some were also due to the uniqueness of the site. It was in the face of that unprecedented situation that the Scottish Government agreed to become involved. I can personally vouch for the personal support and interest of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, having seen some of the efforts and interventions that he took over the past year. Recognising that enormous challenge, which is still at hand, we will absolutely not abandon Salkie Hall Street. We remain committed to our active involvement, working collaboratively, as we have already done with Glasgow City Council and others. Reflecting on some of those actions to date, we need to build on those. Already, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government created the joint emergency fund for the households who were suddenly uprooted and displaced by the fire, and £123,000 was paid through that fund to support 32 separate affected households. For businesses in June 2018, as the chamber will know, the Cabinet Secretary announced that the £5 million recovery fund, with more than 200 businesses having received more than £3 million in grant support from that fund. In December 2018, the Cabinet Secretary announced that the remaining balance of £1.85 million would be made available to Glasgow City Council to support business recovery, and that allowed the council to ensure that eligible businesses were not liable for business rates until the end of the last financial years. However, those actions and that support, I know, does not diminish the enormous challenges that are still faced by residents and businesses. Hopefully, at the time, it provided them with a little bit of breathing space during a very difficult time. However, a lot of speakers have identified, for example, problems with insurance. Although my officials were in contact with the association of British insurers in the immediate aftermath of the fire and that dialogue continues and remains open, I would be happy to offer Pauline McNeill and others the opportunity to connect them with the ABI directly, if they have not already spoken to them, directly to identify some of those challenges with the insurance. Sandra White identified the bigger priority of ensuring that Salkiehall Street recovers. It must be restored as the significant retail, trading and cultural location that has been known for for so long. Of course, that is the primary responsibility of Glasgow City Council as the local authority. However, the Scottish Government will work with the council in any respect that we can. The Salkiehall and Garnet held the generation frameworks 10-year plan, which includes the avenues that have been identified, as well as a range of other local improvements, will continue. However, the effects of the fire will continue to be felt for some time, and that memory of fear or of worry cannot be quickly erased. I do not say that slightly, but what I hope for the future is exactly what Adam Tompkins identified. If there is a way to restore Salkiehall Street to be even better than it was before, to restore the Mac building to be even better and more accessible than it was before, and to ensure that we restore that sense of community so that there are no awkward neighbours, as was identified in the culture committee's report. However, we do not ever go through that sense of disbelief and devastation ever again. We ensure that there are lessons learned, we ensure that there is that collaboration, and I think that the political leadership that has been shown across the different parties in the past year is something that can hopefully take us forward into the future. Thank you very much minister. I would thank all the members and Pauline McNeill for their contributions. That concludes our debate, and I suspend the meeting until 2pm.