 Felly, wrth gwrs, rydyn ni'n bwysig yw'r portfoliol yw'r cwestiynau cymdeithasol a'r cymdeithasol a'r cymdeithasol. 1. Sandra White Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how full fiscal autonomy would impact on its strategic planning for areas that fall under the infrastructure investment and cities portfolio. Secretary Nicklas Sturgeon. The control of Scotland's resources would allow the Scottish Government significant greater flexibility to invest in strategic projects with the aim of boosting economic performance, enhancing opportunity, providing better public services and improving the environment for the people of Scotland. 1. Sandra White I thank the minister for that reply. Given the role played by the society in a number of grassroots groups in shaping public debate around the new powers and how they can be used, how does the Scottish Government plan to include groups from across civic Scotland in the upcoming negotiations with the Kelvin commission? 1. I want to take the opportunity to welcome Lord Smith's intention to engage with civic society and the grassroots groups who played such a key role in the referendum campaign. The importance of doing so was something that John Swinney and I stressed to Lord Smith when we met him last week. The Scottish Government also intends to engage fully with civic Scotland and grassroots organisations as proposals for further devolution are developed. We will be encouraging and do encourage all organisations across civic Scotland to play a full role in Lord Smith's commission. He set a deadline of the end of this month for groups submitting proposals to him, and I would encourage all those with an interest to do so. 2. Drew Smith To ask the Scottish Government how it will introduce the Glasgow and Clyde Valley city deal. 3. Nicola Sturgeon Glasgow is our largest city and forms a key part of Scotland's economy. The Scottish Government has signed a city deal for Glasgow and Clyde Valley that will deliver significant benefits for the region and I believe for Scotland as a whole. As the member will be aware, we have committed over £500 million to that deal, which will run for 20 years until the financial year 2034-35. The intention is that funding will be released in five-year tranches. The release of funding will be subject to gateway reviews and is contingent on Glasgow and Clyde Valley adopting satisfactory governance and assurance processes. I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer. Probably the biggest barrier to Glasgow's economic growth that the Government has created remains the issue of an effective surface transport linked to Glasgow's airport. What steps will the Scottish Government now take to ensure that the opportunity of a city deal is maximised and to finally take forward a practical solution for a fast connection by rail between Glasgow city centre and Glasgow airport and does she now accept that the Scottish Government's decision to scrap the previous girl scheme resulting in the land on which it would have been run being sold off at considerable loss to the public purse now looks as short-sighted as it was misguided? No, I do not accept that. The reasons for that particular Government decision have been well rehearsed and I think are well understood. I know that the member was accusing the Scottish Government of being short-sighted, not the people of Glasgow, but I take the opportunity to say that I think that the people of Glasgow demonstrated anything but short-sightedness when they voted yes in the referendum a couple of weeks ago. In terms of the specific question that the member asks, he will be aware that the city deal makes clear that improvements in terms of surface access will cover the projects emerging from the Glasgow airport study and our work on a tram train will inform those Glasgow city council and Renfrewshire council are to take forward delivery and the feasibility study in that respect is being finalised. However, all of that said, as a signal of our on-going commitment to improve rail travel in the Renfrewshire area, we have already provided enhanced passenger services and, indeed, 38 new-class trains, providing 130 additional carriages through the Paisley corridor improvements. This Government remains committed to ensuring that we continue to improve rail transport and I have no doubt that the commitment that has been demonstrated by the city deal will allow the local authorities involved in that city deal to continue to make progress as well. The feasibility study that the cabinet secretary referred to has been on-going for some time. Can she confirm when that will be completed and when work will begin on a timetable for introduction of the airport rail link, including budgetary implications? Can she also state whether she has had discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance about provisions for city deal funding that has been included in the budget, which will be published next Thursday? In relation to the second part of James Kelly's question, I am sure that it will not surprise him to hear that I have frequent and regular discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance. He will present his budget to the Scottish Parliament next week. I will not say any more about the budget than that at this stage, except to say, as I said in my original answer to Drew Smith's question, that the Scottish Government's commitment to the city deal has been made absolutely clear. In terms of the feasibility study, as I said in response to Drew Smith, we are finalising the feasibility study. It is important that that work is done thoroughly, robustly and properly. The work has highlighted some challenges to the delivery of any rail link and we will continue to work with the councils to address them. Of course, Glasgow City Council and Renfisher Council will take forward the delivery of any project. The Government's commitment to work with the councils here is well understood and we will continue to make progress. To ask the Scottish Government what road transport projects it plans for South Scotland. Minister Keith Brown. The Scottish Government continues to invest in road transport projects in South Scotland in accordance with the motorway and trunk road programme and the infrastructure investment plan. I thank the minister for that response. The minister will be aware that freight traffic through Scottish ports has increased significantly over the past decade, with the majority of traffic going through Stranraer and Cairnryan. That means that the A75 is experiencing greater volume of HGV traffic. That is particularly affecting Spring Home and Crockettford, as there are only two settlements left on the A75 that have not been bypassed. Does the minister share my safety concerns over the continuation of HGV vehicles thundering through the heart of two villages that are simply not designed to take such vehicles? Will he agree to meet me in local campaigners to find a solution to those safety concerns? Of course, I am happy to meet the member to discuss that, but it is worth pointing out that the work that we have done already on the A75 has been hard-grove to Kinmont, a construction cost of £9 million involving the construction of a new 3.6-kilometre section of wide single, two-lane carriageway trunk road, and other works on the A75, for example the Dunraget bypass. There are a number of bypasses and a number of works that have been undertaken on the A75 to make it safer. Works that could have been done quite some time ago, but this Government has taken those forward. As I have said to the member, I am more than happy to meet the member to discuss the particular issue that he has raised. To ask the Scottish Government whatever it would provide in updates on the proposed Aberdeen harbour development. The proposed expansion has been identified as a national development in the national planning framework 3. Aberdeen harbour boards are currently undertaking preliminary environmental impact assessment work, along with consulting with stakeholders and the public on their proposals. I thank the minister for the answer. Could he please tell us as well for other north-east harbours? I know that the Scottish Government has greatly helped Frezibyr harbour and Peterhead harbour, but what kind of assistance can the Scottish Government be planning to give to other north-east harbours, giving the ever-increasing demand from different sectors, such as energy, tourism and fishing? I think that Christian Allard makes a good point, because Aberdeen harbours' huge success and the demand that it has there has led to a positive impact on other harbours in the north-east. If we can help, we will help. We have engaged with those harbours. I visited, for example, Montrose harbour, where we have funded additional works to help to take on that additional demand that they have seen. We stand ready to help harbours in the north-east, not least through European fisheries funding, where that is applicable in the Scottish Government's emergency harbour scheme. Already, in excess of £16 million has been awarded to fisheries harbours in the north-east of Scotland under those schemes, and that supported harbour improvements and emergency works that have directly aided fisheries sectors. As Christian Allard suggests, there has been a huge increase in demand for many of those harbours. Some of them are related to fisheries, some of them are related to the overspill, if you like, from Aberdeen, and we will continue to engage with those harbours so that they can make sure that they meet that demand and encourage further demand. Will the minister confirm that the planned development of Aberdeen harbour will further support the growth of offshore renewable energy in the North Sea? Does the Scottish Government agree that the offshore wind demonstrator project in Aberdeen Bay is of importance not just locally and nationally but to the European renewable sector as a whole? Of course, the two developments that Lewis Macdonald mentioned are very much in the minds of the harbour authority. That is why they are taking forward those improvements. He also knows around the harbour that he can see a number of sites that have been taken over by those companies involved in those sectors that he mentions. Obviously, that has led to a huge increase in demand. That is why the harbour authority is trying to address that. We are very supportive of that. I have been to the harbour three times now to talk to the people there to make sure that we can help them where they can. Of course, the potential for renewables in particular is huge. However, they are also seeing a huge upsurge in demand for oil-related activity, as the member knows. We are aware of those. We are supportive of what the harbour is trying to do, but it is for them, in the first instance, to talk to local partners to bring forward their plans. To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact on child poverty in Scotland of any UK Government freeze on child benefit. Minister Margaret Burgess Scottish Government analysis estimates that freezing the child benefit rates for the three years from 2011-12 to 2014-15 will reduce child benefit expenditure in Scotland by around £290 million. That will affect those families with children where no one in the household earns more than £60,000. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that an additional 50,000 children will be living in relative poverty by 2020 due to the UK Government welfare reforms. The figure could be as high as 100,000 children after housing costs are taken into account, and this is simply unacceptable in a country as wealthy as Scotland. Many thanks. I thank the minister for her answer. Does she share my concern that, whether it is Tory or Labour who get in it Westminster next year, the real losers will be the hard-pressed families of Fife and across Scotland who will be hit in the pocket by the real-terms cuts to child benefit being proposed by both of those Westminster parties? I share the member's concerns that continued real-term cuts to child benefit and other working-age benefits and tax credits announced by Labour and Conservative parties will result in reductions in household incomes for families in Scotland who are already struggling to make ends meet. The mantra of making work pay has clearly failed. Six in 10 of our children in poverty now live in working households. Those households are reliant on tax credits and other benefits to raise their household income. Reducing their income in real terms only pushes them further into poverty. Jackie Baillie I think that levels of child poverty are going the wrong way and it is a concern for us all, but it was a most interesting exchange because it might also interest the chamber to note that there is not one word in the white paper or the expert group on welfare that sets a different course from that of the UK Government. Of course, if the minister disagrees, could she perhaps point me to the page of either document that says otherwise? I think that there was a number of things in the white paper regarding child poverty to reducing child poverty. We also had the expert working group talking about raising the minimum wage to be the living wage. We had our childcare package. There is a number of issues because child poverty is not just simply dependent on an hourly rate of pay as Labour parties seem to think. It is a whole combination of rates of pay, numbers of hours' work and the tax and welfare system, childcare and getting people into work. All of those were addressed in the white paper and all remain a priority for this Government. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to ensuring the continued viability of local bus services that have hospitals and other essential services on their routes. Generally, the provision of local bus services and routes is a commercial matter for individual bus operators. Local transport authorities can choose to subsidise socially necessary services, not provided commercially, and some health boards already work with local authorities and RTPs to help with supporting socially necessary bus services that provide access to local health facilities. The Scottish Government provides an annual bus service that operators grant currently £50 million, which aims to help to keep fares at an affordable level and support the overall bus network by enabling bus operators to run services that might not otherwise be commercially viable. I thank the minister for that answer. As she will be aware, not all bus services are profitable, but they are essential for many people in rural and remote communities in reaching vital services such as hospital outpatient appointments. If irregular or unreliable services mean patients from remote or rural communities miss their appointments, does the cabinet secretary believe their scope to take a different approach to planning for and funding those vital public services and seeing them as an investment in those other services rather than a cost and perhaps promote a little bit more partnership working and looking at the core sectoral benefit analysis of the cost? That is why, as I have suggested in my initial answer, both local authorities and regional transport partnerships and some health authorities take that approach to provide services that do not make a commercial profit. If the member is aware of individual services that are unreliable or late running, there is a specific remedy for that through the traffic commissioner. I am happy to provide to the member with more information about that if she wants to seek redress from that. I also mentioned £50 million bus service operators grant, and the idea behind that is to try to make sure that some services that might not otherwise be commercially viable can run, and we can bear down on the cost of fares as well. There are provisions in place and more than willing to listen to further suggestions because there is a review going on with the bus users group to look at how we can better co-ordinate those services that are currently there. I am happy to discuss that with the member, but also to provide her with more information about the role of the traffic commissioner. To ask the Scottish Government what conclusions it has drawn from the funding for the help-to-buy scheme being fully allocated within three months. The Scottish Government continues to consider the impact of all our home ownership and industry support schemes, including help-to-buy Scotland. What is clear from recent experience is that the scheme has been very successful in achieving its stated aims of stimulating demand, supporting home ownership, supporting industry and encouraging wider economic activity and growth. I thank the minister for her reply. I am sure that she will also be aware of the dismay and disappointment that is felt by many potential applicants and among those in the housing industry the funds running out so quickly. If any analysis has been carried out, in particular on unmet demand for the help-to-buy scheme, does the minister have a view to amend the criteria used to decide on applications under the help-to-buy scheme? The help-to-buy scheme is monitored on a monthly basis by our partners in industry, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Homes for Scotland. We are also looking at now that the scheme has been running for a year. The demand did well exceed the expectation of both the industry and the Council of Mortgage Lenders. It initially anticipated £220 million for the scheme, and it has been significantly higher. We did top it up by a further £50 million this financial year. However, it is currently under consideration all the issues that the member raises are under active consideration at the moment. Yesterday, during the housing supply debate, the minister stated that the budget for help-to-buy for next year is £100 million, which is £40 million less than this year, and applications are being sought now. Can the minister tell the chamber when she expects that pot to run out? This is a demand-led scheme, as we said earlier, that is primarily set up to stimulate the housing industry, and it has done that to create wider economic activity. What we have said is that £100 million has been set aside for 2015-16 applications that are currently being made. Nobody has been refused to make an application, and we are still monitoring it on a monthly basis. I refer to the answer that I gave Ken Macintosh a few minutes ago. 8. Colin Beattie To ask the Scottish Government how an extension of the 1 per cent cap on child benefit to 2017 would impact on its poverty strategy. Our analysis suggests that extending the 1 per cent cap would reduce child benefit expenditure in Scotland by around £10 million in 2016-17. As outlined in my earlier response, our efforts to tackle poverty in Scotland are already being undermined by the current range of welfare and benefit changes being imposed by the UK Government. Our most recently published statistics show that the reduction in poverty in Scotland, seen in recent years, is now being reversed. Overall, those changes threaten the success of our preventative approach to tackling child poverty and the actions that we are taking to improve outcomes for children and deliver the welfare and fairer society that we aspire to. Colin Beattie, I thank the minister for our response. Does the minister agree with me that Westminster should agree to devolve welfare powers to allow the Scottish Government to protect its citizens from those cuts? The UK parties have made much of their commitments to devolve other welfare powers, yet in their proposals they refer only to limited powers. In order to tackle poverty and protect citizens from these cuts, we want to deliver new powers for Scotland, capable of making a real difference to people's lives. We will therefore work with the Smith's commission in good faith and strongly argue the case for more powers for Scotland. On that basis, can I ask the minister what she would do on child benefit and give her a second chance to tell me what page of the white paper, or the expert group on welfare, points to a different approach to child benefit than that taken by the UK? Minister Margaret Burgess, I think that what we have seen is that Labour Party has signed up to the austerity cuts that we already have from the coalition of Westminster. We made it very clear that we would not be part of that, and we covered all of those in the white paper, and I explained that in my earlier question. However, what is being said here is that clearly Labour are embarrassed by the position of their Westminster masters. I am moving swiftly on to culture and external affairs portfolio questions. I will give one second for the cabinet secretary and invite Gil Paterson to raise question one, please, Mr Paterson. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what the positive incomes are of the international culture summit held in Edinburgh in August 2014. Cabinet Secretary, Fiona Hyslop. Second, Edinburgh international culture summit at the Scottish Parliament was held as great success by participants and delegates. The summit brought together 25 international government delegations from six continents with speakers, arts leaders and culture experts from across the world. It was recognised as a true global collaboration on the current day role of culture in the arts and saw a call for culture to be placed at the centre of government policymaking and for a more unified voice for the arts across the world. The meetings that I had with other culture ministers helped to deepen and strengthen our international links. For example, the Japanese Minister is particularly interested in the Commonwealth Games culture programme and legacy as they prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games. In total, during the summit, we received requests from 16 Governments to work further with us and we continue to explore those opportunities. Many thanks. Gil Paterson. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the Edinburgh international culture summit was a unique opportunity for culture ministers, artists, thinkers and art leaders from around the world to come together to share ideas and discuss the power, position and profile of the arts, culture and creative industries, which has greatly enhanced the global reputation of Scotland in the area of arts and culture? A strong global reputation for arts and culture, the opportunity to be seen as world leaders in taking debate forward has particularly enhanced the reputation of Scotland itself, of this Parliament. Of all the participants, there is a unique opportunity to bring together not just ministers but to have direct dialogue and creative thinking taking place between artists from across all the different parts of the world. Big challenges to Scotland were made, but I think that celebration of Scottish culture, the 10 exhibition was held here and also the great Scottish tapestry was on show at the time, and the Presiding Officer may be interested to know that the delegations had the opportunity to make their own mark upon the Scottish tapestry and they stitched a special commissioned summit panel. I am sure that that will be something that the delegations will remember, the challenges that they had not just in thinking but also in stitching. To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent in 2013-14 on renovating historic buildings in west Scotland. The Scottish Government supports the conservation, repair and restoration of historic buildings through historic Scotland's work. Historic Scotland's building repair grant provided grant support totaling £974,000 in the west of Scotland region in 2013-14. Scottish Government regeneration funding has also contributed to the restoration of two historic buildings in the west of Scotland in 2013-14. Trinity Church in Irvine and the former police station within the Addrossan health centre facility with grants provided totaling £895,000. Historic Scotland also provides expert advice and support and is responsible for properties and care in west Scotland, carrying out conservation work maintenance and sympathetic repair. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Can the cabinet secretary tell me what strategy the Scottish Government has to encourage local people and local community groups to get involved in looking after and promoting historic properties? I am particularly keen on that. Historic Scotland has programmes in place to help to bring communities together as some very good examples. I know that I take part in one in my constituency. I also refer to our place in time strategy, the new and first-ever historic environment strategy for Scotland that has brought together all the different agencies. It is not just Historic Scotland but I had a meeting yesterday with Ken Kalman from the National Trust for Scotland and all the different agencies and organisations that are involved to help to identify how we can support volunteers that are working to help to promote their local sites and to adopt a monument to something that, for example, the archaeology services have been supporting. We are very keen to help to support that as well. There are different avenues and, if she has any particular examples, she is interested and I am happy to provide her with details later. Question 3, Michael McMawr. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to analyse the impact of its 2014 major event strategy. 2014 has been a year in which we have extended a welcome to the world. Interim results have confirmed the anticipated positive impacts of what was widely regarded as the best commonwealth games ever, and record numbers of visitors to events forming part of the Homecoming 2014 programme. The Ryder Cup, along with Scotland's second year of Homecoming and the Commonwealth Games, will all be subject to independent evaluation, and the findings for each of the signature elements of Scotland's major event strategy will be published by spring 2015. We have just witnessed a very successful Ryder Cup competition, showcasing yet again that Scotland is the perfect stage for major events. I am sure that the chamber would want to join me in congratulating all those involved with its delivery and the European Ryder Cup team for their victory. Absolutely. Mr McMahon. The Secretary for her response, and I certainly would welcome joining the congratulations to all involved in the Ryder Cup for the success that last weekend clearly was, not just for the tournament itself but for the whole of Scotland, as was the case with the Commonwealth Games. However, does the cabinet secretary accept that a lot of community-based events, festivals and other undertakings that occur in relation to the year of Homecoming, also require support to continue with the success that they have achieved throughout this year? Can the cabinet secretary give us an idea of how much attention is going to be paid to the development and continued support for those community-based organisations that certainly made a major contribution to the year of Homecoming also? I share the members' appreciation of all the festivals that take place in supporting our events. Obviously, the question was on some of the major events, but in terms of our festivals and our community festivals, we actually had a debate in Parliament during the summer precisely to recognise, yes, the Edinburgh international festivals, yes, the cultural legacy and programme of the Commonwealth Games, but also all the other community festivals that take place. Just last week, we announced funding for the winter festivals and some of those festivals are based on existing smaller community festivals. I think that that is one of the strengths that we have in Scotland that, at different times of the year, we can come to Scotland and our festivals are exploding all over the country. I think that that is part of the legacy of recognising years of Homecoming, but it also seems years and how we can capitalise on that very warm welcome that I talked about in that debate, but also the fact that we are the perfect stage not just in the summer but throughout the years for people coming to visit Scotland. Excellent. Any thanks? Question 4, Hanzala Malik. Thank you and good afternoon, Presiding Officer. I declare an interest in visiting Kurdistan regional government at the invitation of the Ministry of Interior. I asked the Scottish Government whether it plans to use the international development fund to provide support for the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to provide financial support to the Kurdistan region of Iraq through our international development fund. However, we are closely monitoring the situation. We remain very concerned about the plight of the people who have been affected by the recent violence, which we condemn, of course, in the strongest possible terms. Hanzala Malik. I am glad that the minister shares my concern about the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The region has not only bore the brunt of the humanitarian crisis caused by the violent process that is made by incel, ISIL militants, but also has been severely underdeveloped through generations of oppression. In his comments yesterday, he stated that the region of the Kurdistan region of Iraq requires a long-term strategic solution, which I agree with wholeheartedly. I am also glad that he is taking that view. Given these circumstances, will he take steps to actually ensure that the long-term strategic view takes into account the international development fund does include Iraq and the Kurdistan area and also will he support the new organisation formed called KISS, which is called Kurdistan and is supported by Scotland who are fundraising to send doctors from Scotland to refugee camps in Kurdistan, which I visited myself. I look forward to his support in encouraging military and medical aid to the Kurdistan region. Let me recognise the work that the member has done in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. I am more than happy to meet the member at any time to discuss ways that we can support the Kurdistan region, including the new organisation KISS, which he called the new organisation that has been formed. I am meeting with representatives of the KRG, the Kurdistan regional government, next week at an event that he will probably be at and happy to discuss further ways that we can support. However, the crux of his question is, of course, the fundamental point. There must be a long-term strategic vision that protects the rights and freedoms of the people of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. I am happy to give support in that Briefly, Bob Doris. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I made a similar declaration to Mr Malik yesterday about the topical questions on a similar point, in specific to the question at hand. In providing support for the humanitarian need within the Kurdish region of Iraq, would the Scottish Government consider using expertise within our own NHS but appropriate to assist if we can, as well as drawing on our pharmaceutical sector who may be able to help with access to vital medicines in refugee camps? I would also like to put on record and note the member, Bob Doris' own work in Kurdistan, both in Iraq and Syria. In a meeting with the member, he knows that those issues were raised in terms of NHS support in Scotland and support from the pharmaceutical industry in terms of medicine. I am more than happy to explore them. I think that the member is going to write some correspondence to that effect from our meeting last week to engage with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being, but I think that any assistance that we are able to provide on the humanitarian side, you will not find this Government coming short at all in terms of doing that. The progress made by ISIL in June came as a big shock to the international community. It is clear that the group's advance was facilitated not just by the unrest in Syria, but by the inability of the Iraqi army to successfully fight back in the north of the country. It is therefore very important to be sure that alongside airstrikes, Iraq has the ability to make progress on the ground. Will the minister join me in welcoming the announcement earlier in September that the UK had agreed to supply heavy machine guns and half a million rounds of ammunition to the Pershmurga fighters in northern Iraq? That is not a question on international aid and you do not need to answer it, therefore, Minister. I will move to question 5. Richard Simpson, please. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support traditional Scottish music and dance. Secretary Fiona Hyslop. In recognition of Scotland's vibrant traditional arts and their importance to our cultural heritage and to our national identity, the Scottish Government provides significant support to ensure that our traditional music and dance continue to flourish and shape Scotland's culture for future generations. Alongside promotion and support through event Scotland for major events, including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Scottish Government supports the traditional music and dance sector primarily through Creative Scotland, which disperses more than £2 million each year to organisations, individuals and festivals that directly form part of the sector. Those include activity in the year of Homecoming, the 2014 cultural programme, as well as the Fesh movement, the traditional music and song association of Scotland, Hands Up for Trad, BBC Alipa and Piping Live. Richard Simpson. I thank the minister for that response. In terms of traditional dance, some 18 years ago, the previous funding arrangement through the council said that the dysfunctional system of traditional dance, which was made up of very small groups across Scotland, really required an umbrella organisation. That organisation was set up and funded by the arts council for some years, but some three or four years ago, the grant was halved and then terminated completely with the closure of their office in Allawa. Traditional dance no longer has a professional small umbrella organisation focusing its activities. I wonder if the minister would care to comment on the fact that that has actually occurred. I cannot comment on what happened 18 years ago. He was talking about an event a few years ago. I might not be aware, but all the different aspects of Scottish traditional culture arts have come together under one body called Tracks. That brings together dance, music, storytelling. Indeed, only this morning, I launched the 2014 storytelling festival and supported by that the new organisation Tracks, which brings together the traditional arts sector in Scotland, and that has taken forward the collaboration between music, dance and all the different aspects of Scottish traditions. I am happy to write to the member to perhaps give a wider explanation of where dance fits in that umbrella group that now exists. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and what matters were discussed. Minister Whomza Yousaf? The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs last met the Minister of State for Europe, the right hon. David Linington MP, and a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee of Europe on 16 June 2014. The read-out of that was provided to the convener of the European External Relations Committee on 13 June 2014. We correspond often with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on other matters on a frequent basis. This week, I have been in touch with the FCO on the case of Mohammad Asghar, the Scot, on death row in Pakistan. I thank the minister for that answer, specifically on that point. I ask what specific representation has been made by the Scottish Government on behalf of Mohammad Asghar, the 70-year-old Scot, sentenced to death in Pakistan over blasphemy charges. As the minister will be aware, it has been reported that Mr Asghar was shot by a prison guard in the jail in Rolpindi, where he was being held. Additionally, Mr Asghar has said to have a history of mental illness. Does the minister share the concern of the chamber for this individual's health and wellbeing? Yes, we do. We are extremely concerned about the plight of Mohammad Asghar. We have been for many months. The First Minister himself has directly intervened in this case. He has spoken directly face to face with Governor Mohammad Sawa, the governor of the Punjab, where Mohammad Asghar is being held. I spoke to the FCO this week as well as speaking to Governor Sawa, as well as speaking to other Pakistani authorities and the family lawyer and the family themselves. The immediate priorities are twofold. First of all, to ensure that Mohammad Asghar is kept safe and secure. That means not being returned to Adiala prison where he was shot. Secondly, of course, ensuring that Mohammad Asghar gets the appropriate medical attention that he needs. He is severely, mentally unwell. He needs that psychiatric assessment, but, importantly, the medication to help to improve his health. Those are the immediate priorities, as well as working with the family, the legal team and the Pakistani authorities to secure Mr Asghar's return. However, let me assure the member that we are extremely concerned and that the Scottish Government is doing absolutely everything that it can within its power to ensure Mr Asghar's health, safety and security. Does the minister agree with me that the security and prosperity of Hong Kong is underpinned by the fundamental freedoms and rights as stated in the Sino-British joint declaration? Does he further agree with me that those freedoms are best guaranteed by the transition to universal suffrage? I agree on both those points. I saw the FCO's statement from a couple of days ago on the 29th and it reiterated absolutely those points, and we agree that those freedoms are best guaranteed with the transition to universal suffrage. We hope that that upcoming consultation period will produce arrangements that will allow meaningful advance for democracy in Hong Kong. We encourage all parties to engage constructively in discussions to that end. I agree entirely with the two points that the member raises. To ask the Scottish Government what figures it has on the closure of museums and libraries over the last five years. The Scottish Library and Information Council advises that, from 2008-9 to 2012-13, 22 pubic libraries in Scotland have closed, reducing the total from 628 to 606. That equates to 3.6 per cent in Scotland compared to 7.9 per cent in England, 11.1 per cent in Wales and 11.5 per cent in Northern Ireland for the same period. In 2013-14, a further four pubic libraries closed, reducing the total to 602. Figures on museums and closures are not held centrally. It is estimated that there are around 400 museums in Scotland. I thank the minister for that answer. Given that budgets are so tight, many councils are considering cuts to culture in arts budgets during consultations with the public. As a result, many more museums and libraries could be put under threat in the future. What is the Scottish Government doing to make sure that local libraries and museums are sustained because they make such a valuable contribution to civic life and they are often the only opportunity that the less well off have to learn about their local history or access books and computers and hence their opportunities in life? I support for our local libraries to such a extent that, in the joint meeting that we have with COSLA, with all the conveners of culture services across Scotland, libraries have been a frequent and recurring discussion point for us. We, as a Government, will do what we can to help support the growing and developing role of libraries. Despite the severe restrictions that are placed upon us by the Westminster budget, local authorities have relatively been in mind that they have no responsibilities staturally for arts and culture generally, and have generally not reduced cuts in culture budgets more than any other areas. We will keep that dialogue going and, with the support of our local authority colleagues, we will continue to support our local libraries. We now move to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 1130.