 The final item of business is members' business debate on motion 13742 in the name of Donald Cameron on celebrating 10 years of BBC Alipa. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put and I would ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons. Some members have indicated that they will make their contribution in Gaelic and interpretation facilities are available. Any member can listen by inserting their headphones into the socket on the right-hand side towards the front of the console. Any member unable to hear the interpretation should press the audio button on the console and select channel 1 English. I call on Donald Cameron to open the debate for around seven minutes please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to begin by thanking M.G. Alipa, and in particular its chief executive Donald Campbell, who encouraged me to celebrate this fantastic achievement in Parliament. I should also say that this debate is being streamed online by BBC Alipa. It is particularly special that we should be celebrating today because it is 10 years to the very day that BBC Alipa was formed to the channel and it was launched with a live cailie from Sormorostig on Sky and a drama about Elvis. Looking round the chamber and looking at all the musical and dramatic talents, I wonder if we could match that tonight. A lot of work went in at that point to achieve the goal of a publicly funded Gaelic broadcaster and an immense amount of work has gone on since then to take BBC Alipa from strength to strength. Not being fluent in Gaelic, I won't inflict what little I have on the chamber, but I'm sure others will not be so hesitant and I look forward to hearing everyone's contributions. In BBC Alipa, we have a broadcaster that has commissioned or created some £160 million of Gaelic television content and accounts for around half of independently produced hours for audiences in Scotland. Not only that, but one of its parents' companies, M.G. Alipa, which I mentioned, is responsible for 114 jobs in the Highlands and Islands, providing vital skilled employment in places such as the Western Isles, Sky, Inverness and further afield. In addition to that, there are multi-year contracts with eight independent production companies in a variety of genres, including the hugely successful Bannon, which is produced by young films on Sky. It is a remarkable achievement, considering all of that has been done with a modest annual budget in comparison to what other Celtic networks around the UK receive. They have done a lot with a little, and I will briefly return to the question of funding later. Kate Forbes agrees with me that, although debates in English BBC have raged for years on a Scottish 6, for example, the Gaelic 8, which is news on BBC Alipa, has been reporting regional, national and international news from the very heart of Gildum for years to an incredibly high standard with a fraction of the budget. Donald Cameron agrees with me that, having appeared on anlard only on Monday night, it is a fantastic programme. I would say that the outputs of BBC Alipa throughout, especially its news output, is tremendous. By coincidence, I was lucky enough to spend Monday afternoon visiting the offices of BBC Alipa in Stornoway, and I spoke to a number of staff members. They said several things that struck me, and I would like to share with the chamber. The first thing that was obvious was that so many staff had been involved from the very start and were still there. There appears to be incredible loyalty to the channel from its employees, which in my view is undoubtedly a good sign. Secondly, the fact that BBC Alipa is not just one single homogenous organisation but is in fact a patchwork collection of producers, editors, presenters, some of whom act as independent freelancers. Thirdly, the channel has been able to bring forward important local issues to the fore that simply do not receive enough national coverage. For example, we watched the production of a programme about the geese crisis that affected crofters on the yewists. It is clear that, while Gaelic is a central part of what BBC Alipa does, it is not just the language that it promotes but a wider community and culture. It has obvious connections with the Gaelic-speaking world in the Highlands and Islands, but it is known to reach many more people beyond the Gaeltoch. Indeed, there are many who watch BBC Alipa who have no connection to Gaelic whatsoever. Let me give some examples. I have non-Gaelic-speaking friends who have said to me that the only way they can watch their local Shinty team is on BBC Alipa. We know that, for instance, Scotland qualified for the Women's World Cup next year. BBC Alipa announced on that very day a three-year deal as the home of Scottish women's football. All that is the member of the Scottish Conservative media team, not known for his love of Gaelic, has to be said, admitting to me that the only way he was able to watch his underperforming football team was on BBC Alipa. Due to the channel's excellent coverage of the very lowest reaches of the SPFL. That was David Stewart, and we'll now go to Donald Cameron. I think that I'll leave that hanging. According to BBC Alipa, 10 per cent of the viewers over the age of 16 in Scotland watch the channel each week, meaning that many who do not speak Gaelic are accessing its content. Whether that be its coverage of sport that I've mentioned or viewers watching with subtitles or simply checking out the original content, it is ultimately adored to Gaelic for a wider audience. The recent agreement, which has secured the rights to broadcast content from CBBC and CBBs, further enhances the channel's offering to younger audiences. While there are a lot of good things to shout about, it goes without saying that there are also challenges to overcome. There is wide acceptance that the number of people watching linear TV generally is declining, particularly among younger viewers, who more often than not use social media or catch-up services to view content. We all know about competition that comes from major platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, and there is the ability for people to use social media platforms and make greater use of popular websites and apps such as YouTube or Instagram, etc. All of that presents obstacles to all linear TV, but it is especially a challenge for a channel such as BBC Alipa. The other significant challenge that I must return to is funding, because when I spoke to the staff in Stornway on Monday, they told me that when new funding for content becomes available, hundreds of ideas are put forward, many of which are very good, but often only a small handful can be realised. At present, the BBC provides the channel with funding. It provides additional net programme funding of £1.2 million per year, which replaces funding that the channel had received from MG Alipa. That is freed MG Alipa to make extra investment in other independent parts of the channel. There is an overall BBC contribution of £10.7 million, but compared with the £74.5 million that the BBC affords to the Welsh language broadcaster S4C, or the £37.5 million that the Irish Government provides its language broadcaster, there is a stark contrast. I would say that, while the BBC contributes a significant amount, it is important to acknowledge that support—that support—in my view, it could do more to invest in and support BBC Alipa. I will conclude on this note, Presiding Officer. Despite the fact that it is a 21st century creation, working at the cutting edge of digital media, using the latest technology, etc., it is also worth thinking about BBC Alipa more historically and how it fits squarely into a much more ancient Gaelic tradition. In many ways, the channel is the modern equivalent of the Seneca, the storyteller of old, who would entertain with history, song and verse, and would touch both the local and the wider world, shifting between fact and fiction, drama and real life. Just as now, BBC Alipa passes on the stories, the legends, the songs, the customs, rooted in the people and on the land in which they live and work, and those people, the listeners and viewers of BBC Alipa, drive much of the content rather than it being opposed from above. It is a service for the whole of Scotland and a standard barrier for a language and a culture that means so much to so many here, but also across the world, so to BBC Alipa can I finish by saying, tarpillet. We now move to the open debates and speeches of four minutes, please. Ruth Maguire to be followed by Edward Mountain. Mwlhaig ia ddolch am yr unrhyw sy'n yn jasbyd siw ystafell ychydig ychyg. Yr urus y BBC, sy'n dleisynus BBC Alipa, meisgwch ychyg gyffrogrwm yn, y tyfyn, y torstysiach, negyn, negyn television ac y sy'n teitio. Bechawr yn channel y ffri ychyg, luch lawrst, ac ysluwch gionsu chi'n y gaelig, ac ysduwn i y gwythig y ffii yr son gaelig gionsu chyg. Bechawr yn channel cwchoch y ffinesgahan ac ysnyhech, gachwltur, ffein aniau, ac ysdolwch ysnygallig. Fy hoch chi'ch BBC Alipa y crylig, er yn neu gyflagiwg, gyntwltyn, ddafili ac ysloch, hann channel yr ffasgwm mor gws na amysyn sy'n ycholynig. Yn gyw, hae tyfyn, siach, yw'r un gyfrogrwm yn gach law, ac yshan twy o fasgwm i'ch ychyd, lle ryg si'n ffath yn ysarchon i'ch gaelig. Mae rei sy'n flir, bimor yn gwneud gwyngau'n gaelig ychyd gwynghwylwch progrwm yn lehi'ch yn y neill yn lachol, yn strei yorpe, drama ac ysgwrm yn cwlf o'r ffig yn tŵl. Ac ysgwydgyrfa, hae ysgwrs erfyn y ffarsgwtrym o'ch gyntgen channel. Mae'r niach lentyn, balkosia m'i hun, ffam i'r le toli tŵl, na byhre, sy'n fies siocl einti'n gwyngbibisi alwybyn yn y dach chi, ers ond balkosia yn y bann alwybynach, a torst arst ychyg mor, gael imeg yn ysgwrs o'n yn alwybyn. Hae yna yw'r un gog gaelig y ffrin sy'n farlym yn ycheg yn niach ar y gwasanaeth ychydig yn ysgwrs a'r gwbl, ac yn y bwrn ychygio fel ffarnol yn niach, mae'n cwyrnu gyda Gaelig. Cysylltiol yn y mae ffiachyn, feca nabriyn, sy'n gysbyt yw chi. Mae'r cwytrim ei gweithio ei gweithi'r dynu, mae'n teithwn, ac mae'n cael ei gwylliant yn ddarparu gyda'i gweithio'r bros ownsodd gyda chymysgol, ac mae'n diwylliant yn y gweithio'r dynu, ac mae'n gweithio'r dynu'n gyngorom I can only apologise that my intervention is in English because of the... I'm going to take an intervention in English in Gaelic, but I won't let it go. I do want to pick up on a very important point, and that's people's perception of the language and perhaps the politics of recent as muddied those waters. What does the member think could be done to further improve the take-up of the language amongst young people and adults, as well, outside of its traditionally spoken areas, including the central book? Apologies, Ms McWire. I didn't hear that. Ruth McWire, if you can answer in Gaelic... Probably be helpful if I answered him in English. I think there's lots that everyone can do. I think there's clear cross-party support for Gaelic. It's not owned by one political party or one bit of Scotland. We need to take that out of it. We need to take the opportunity to speak a little bit whenever we can, even if we're nervous about that. In Jamie Greene's region in the west of Scotland, there's a mountain of Gaelic activity going on. You'll see through the North Ayrshire Council website, there's singing classes, there's adult speaking classes, there are conversational groups in Gaelic. I would say, get involved and lead by example. OK. Mae'r cwtrymwch gyfel y hwladuniau a chael gan canyn, ac mae'r gwanchwlt o'r acen y fydd Gaelic, neu'r hwladuniau y torr sleih o'r yna chael cwrwmwch nôr reisintu. Mae'r chael nwr yn gwneud y fydd balaf. Felly, mae'n myl yn eich ychwr e'r hwladuniau eich BBC Alibw, y Rheins 3, ac mae'n fies 3 haast, gwasanael gaelic ac mae'n canyn hein yn y arstrych. Smyha'r cwetha'r ers dyswn yn adeilig blynyn. Colle Edward Mountain, byfodol byr Alasdair Allan. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'd firstly like to thank my colleague Donald Cameron for bringing forward this motion, celebrating the 10th anniversary of BBC Alba. Presiding Officer, if my school teachers were here today, they wouldn't be able to stop laughing at my attempts to stall the value of languages in our society. Especially as my school reports repeatedly stated that I should concentrate on English rather than trying to master other languages that would clearly be beyond me. Looking back, I'd probably admit that I could single-handedly massacre the French language at school. When I served in the Army, I'd made a pretty good job of massacring Swahili and making it unintelligible, which is quite an achievement of sorts, giving that Swahili, whilst it has verbs, has no tenses. So if I happen to make a mispreanciation today, I don't mind taking an intervention in whatever language, as long as somebody can explain to me what it is that I'm supposed to be answering. I would love to take interventions from those members of this chamber who are far more eloquent in speaking Gallic than I am. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of BBC Alba, it's worth noting that 50 per cent of Gallic speakers live in the Highlands, and BBC Alba forms a big part of their daily lives. I am proud of the enduring contribution that my party has made to the language by introducing Gallic Television Fund nearly in 1990 and the Broadcasting Act in 1996, which further improved the funding of Gallic Television. Those two acts laid the groundwork for BBC Alba, which was launched in 2008. This channel has the viewship in excess of 60,000 speakers of the language, a testament to me to the wide appeal of the language and programming and the growing interest in the culture. Gallic production forms a sizable part of Scotland's growing TV and film industry, which, as we know, generated nearly £100 million in the past year. Production companies like the Stornoway-based MAC TV are important local employers, and that highlights how important BBC Alba is to the island's economy as a whole. BBC Alba's sports courage has come under criticism from some who want to see the channel focus more on arts and culture, but I don't see why audiences shouldn't get live sports in their own language. Football, shinty and rugby draw in new audiences to the television programmes on BBC Alba and therefore should be a gateway for the language. Let's not forget that BBC Alba exists to support the learning of Gallic and alongside Gallic education in our primary and secondary schools and acts as an engine for the growth of the language. Presiding Officer, BBC Alba is a big success story for Gallic language, and I'm delighted to mark the channel's 10th anniversary today. Today's debate is also a reminder of the importance of the Scottish Government's target made 10 years ago to ensure that by the 2021 census the proportion of Gallic speakers is back up to the 2001 levels at the very least, and I would support them in that. BBC Alba will be central, I believe, in achieving that target, and I urge the Scottish Government to continue to support the channel and for people across Scotland to do the same. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Alasdair Allan, followed by Rhoda Grant. O fe gyddi allu, tain fawr gwy maes yd Camryn, os rhan o'r gysbyd y sios jei ychwanegwch, y gysgwyr y mae'r sechydig yn y ffarn am eich jei blion y BBC Alba chawr ychwanegwch. Ac coi'n i ac ymwyd y gosgyl BBC Alba, mae'n mysiau i'r ceili, ac rwy'n i'n mysiau yn program mwy elfys cwyddiog. Maen nhw'n allu'n haf BBC Alba i'r ffaith, ac i'n ddalsiach i'r ymwyth ychwanegwch, nid oedd y hollechau i'r fríf i'w marys eisiau ymddir, ac mae'r hollechau, mae'n hefyd i'r Camryn, ac rwy'n i'n i-player hwchwytrwmwch. Rwy'n i'n i'n ogych chi'n ffaith swydd gynns, i'w sgir節目aru i Wagers скорееll i'n iŷakin ac Febauai Alba i'r g소 gains. Aion sydd wedi cael rhywun ni oaddin fe Yn chant a uwch hyn yn ddim yn charwell iechyd. Rwy'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i'n i',n i'n i'n i'n i'n icepti. Rwy'n i'n i'n i'n i'n aniadd i'n equipment, Mae'r erbyn yn ei ddweud cyngor a'r ar Scotland, mae'r prif wrthwynt yn ei ddweud, ac yn ei ddweud, os yn ei ddweud, nid yn ei fachafol yn tuadogol. Mae'r prif wrthwynt yn ei ddweud yn ei ddweud yn ei ddweud, ac mae'n f alguna llych nhw'n ei ddweud ar ynni gstäffibl yn sicr. Rwy'n siarad o'r prif gofio'n oes o'r prif mae'r prif yn iawn i fynd yn ôl yn ei ddweud. Mae'r bwymo'r economig o'ch eifibisi alwapau. Rydw i chi ddod i eid aprydiad oherwydd yna elwyngu, ma'r haf tachart lleiwch ymrisch. Mae'n hollu i'n gweithio i bwysig y bwysig y ddylch i'r ffordd i gael i gael i gael. Rwy'n cael ei wneud i chi'n gweithio i'r ddigon yn ymwneud o bwysig. Mae'n rwy'n arwt am y mysni'ch yn bwysig, mae'n i'n i ffordd i'r ddechrau'r ddylch i'r ddylch i'r ddylch i'r ddylch i'r ddylch, Diem yn i ar agatha'r gyrraed beth sydd yw'r dŵw y tãy yn ymellafol, neu o'u gwneud yn ardoli arlineg. Maen nhw'n rначfyn nhw'n rwynt yn ei cychyddo'r ysgol, gwneud hynny o'r arloryd ychydig. Maen nhw'n rwynt gyntaf i'r cychwyneth ymellafol i wath o gweld ffarchul yn cael ei wneud yn hwrs ac mae hynny'n gallu'n ei holl gŸ. Cwylch television part 4 yn y cryonwg negalig. Mae'n ddoch chi sy'n eich gyfel television part 10000 o gychannan. Gydwch mae'n rhaid cwlyn sy'n y wehe, ac mae'n gydwch sy'n nolwg. Mae'n gydwch yn ei gaelig o'n gydwch sy'n y fwy y brian mien y gaelig. Mae'n bbc allwp o'r tych sy'n sy'n. A gyflwmpu gwneud bod y cydwch yn dgylcheddon i gaelig os y llech gynghwilig. Mae'n ddiflwch gyda'n gwybod maen nhw i ddweud ребhe fan hynny. Mae'n ddyn nhw i ddweud, ac mae'n ddweud hefyd yn gweithio'n cydwch yn dweud diwethaf.被chachai erbyn i teimlo am y cydwch yn ei dweud. Maen nhw eich trofa o'r teimlo yn y cydwch. Mae'n ddydd i ddud i mi yn y cydwch. Mae unrhyw A11 a F1 o Skills? Mae unrhyw A11 a F1 o 5 yn mynd i siw unrhyw A11, ac mae unrhyw ofain yn'r likwyr am lawer o F1 o F1. Mae unrhyw A11 o ffasyliau yng nghymru o'r mhawr, yn gweithio ddim yn ôl i ddim yn i ddim yn gweithio ffasyliau ffasyliau yn gwybod. Cw diw Missouri, y mae hwlla Adonis Ecoleaidd yn dinc僷n, ac rhaid dda'n eich ddech wallet yn contribution to education in Australia. I'm very pleased that Donald Cameron brought forward this debate. It gives me great pleasure to wish BBC Alibah happy birthday. It feels like BBC Alibah has been around forever, but 10 years is a relatively short space of time to make the impact that it has. It's been at the forefront of promoting the Gallic language. Their carrying of sports, not just shinty, but football, as we've heard, rugby too, has promoted a much wider audience than the one that may have originally been set up to serve, but that encourages others to listen to our language and indeed gain an interest in it. It could be argued that the coverage of shinty has promoted that game and led to more young people becoming interested in playing. The more people who watch BBC Alibah, the more that will be interested in learning our language and keeping it alive. They have a broad range of programmes for young viewers, of Patrick Post, among others, working in tandem with Gallic media and education to help young people to learn. Their news and current affairs programmes, as we've heard, are excellent. Europe was historically recognised for its journalistic content even before BBC Alibah started broadcasting. For learners like me, speaking our language, never goes out of date and, sadly, Rhoda MacDonald doesn't seem to have aged at all, albeit that her hairstyle has changed a number of times over the series. The channel not only serves our Gallic speakers, but it helps learners and promotes interest in Gallic. Someone whose first language was Gallic and has now returned as a learner, BBC Alibah, offers me an extra connection to the language, a way of keeping my practice between classes through a wide range of programmes. It enables learners young and old to have Gallic embedded in more aspects of their life rather than confined to the classroom. I've often heard people say that it's when Gallic becomes the language of the playground rather than the classroom, we know that we're keeping it alive. While keeping Gallic alive has to be the main name, there are other unforeseen benefits to the channel. It has created jobs in the media, not just for Gallic-speaking presenters, but for every skill required, sound film and production skills. It means that young people from the Gale jug now have a range of careers to choose from and the ability to stay at home to pursue them. One of the big problems in my region is depopulation and that happens for economic reasons. People leave because there are few jobs and even fewer careers. BBC Alibah provides young people with a career to pursue that keeps them in our community and gives them choices. Our language is also important to keep our history and culture alive. The history and culture of the Highlands and Islands communities is handed down through poetry, song and storytelling. If we lose the language, we lose that aspect of our heritage. BBC Alibah promotes traditional arts as well as contemporary arts. What is sad is that Gallic was much more widely spoken in the past across much of Scotland and in parts indeed of Northern England. It has been lost from those areas and with it has been lost their culture and their heritage. BBC Alibah's programming is of a really high standard and actually holds its own against English-speaking channels. It provides excellent value for money. With more investment, it could do so much more. I urge the BBC to look at a balance in funding to make sure that BBC Alibah gets a fair share of the cake. As Donald Cameron said in his opening speech, when money is available, the bids to produce new and innovative programming much exceed what is available cash-wise to pay for that. We need to urge the BBC to do that. Last new year, my husband had the flu, so it was a home alone on front of the TV, taking in the new year on my own. I tried a number of channels before settling down to a wonderful concert on BBC Alibah, very much like a traditional KLE rather than the forced kitsch you sometimes find on other channels. While recognising its worth, we also need to make sure that we support it. Duncan Ferguson wrote recently that BBC Alibah had done more to promote and protect Gaelic than the Gaelic Language Act, and he might be right. However, having a Gaelic Language Act might help us to protect and promote BBC Alibah, because if we take it for granted, we do so at our peril. Therefore, I am delighted to support this motion and, indeed, hope that I will be wishing BBC Alibah many happy returns for many years to come. Angus MacDonald, to be followed by John Finnie. First, I thank Donald Cameron for bringing this motion forward for debate today. I was pleased to sign it to help ensure that there was cross-party support to allow this debate to take place in the chamber. I think that the more Gaelic-related debates that we have in Scotland's Parliament, the better. I am glad to say that I was at the official launch reception of BBC Alibah here in Edinburgh 10 years ago, which was attended by the great and the good of the Gaelic world, the great and the good of the BBC and others. However, it was a double celebration for me because, in my role as the convener of the Organising Committee of the Royal National Mod, which was being held in Falkirk that year, it meant that the Falkirk Mod was the first one to enjoy wall-to-wall coverage of the competitions and concerts through BBC Alibah. As well as the excellent coverage of the mods over the past decade, it is clear that MG Alibah through its partnership with the BBC is an incredibly important piece in our diverse cultural jigsaw. Tasked with ensuring Gaelic is accessible in our day-to-day lives through creative content, factual documentaries and drama series through broadcasting and online platforms, BBC Alibah is vital to the promotion, preservation and normalisation of the culture that is the Gaelic language, lifestyle and all that comes with it. It gives me great pleasure to be able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of BBC Alibah here this evening. First launched 10 years ago tonight at 9pm with Oran Alibah, a special version of the song Alibah, we have all watched the channel grow, expand and diversify, changing with the times and making use of emerging platforms for content to be shared far and wide. 10 years ago at the channel launch, MG Alibah's commissioning strategy consisted of long-term volume deal commissions that bring the channel low-cost, high-volume original outage and allows the independent sector to enjoy the security of guaranteed funding over a number of years, thus allowing for investment and long-term planning, gaining favourable deals with its own suppliers and providing employee security, and also seasonal commissioning rounds bringing higher production value bespoke programming to the channel of which they had three tendering rounds annually at the launch of the channel. Ten years on, MG Alibah still have the volume deals providing 89 per cent of the channel's original funded outage for 75 per cent of the programme budget. Sadly, MG Alibah cannot now accommodate three commissioning rounds per annum due to financial constraints. They currently have two seasonal commissioning rounds at a lower level of funding individually than the original three, and, worryingly, those two rounds are in jeopardy due to the lack of assurance they have regarding their annual core funding each year. Those commissioning rounds are heavily dependent on the £1 million pressure funding that was received over the past three years, a sum that, again worryingly, is not guaranteed and thus causes uncertainty and insecurity in the independent sector and with the supply of programming. As a result, we see a channel that has a 74 per cent repeat level being in danger of losing not only its core audience, but the wider Scottish audience without a supply of high-quality originations. Another issue of concern, Presiding Officer, is the plan to launch a new Scottish channel. Clearly, we all welcome a new Scottish channel, but the head of BBC Scotland intimated that this would bring a benefit of up to 100 hours of new programming to BBC Alibah as a direct result of the new channel. I am not sure how far down that road BBC Scotland is in that respect, but there is one thing that is sure. We need to safeguard BBC Alibah's current appreciation and consumption across the Scottish-wide audience and ensure that the two channels work in partnership with each other and not in competition. I genuinely hope that the arrival of the new channel is not to the detriment of BBC Alibah and I hope that we can get an assurance in that regard from the BBC. Time, as always, prevents Amy from raising other salient points, but suffice to say that let's celebrate all the BBC Alibah and BBC Alibah that have done for Gaelic and Sport in Scotland over the past 10 years, and let's all ensure that we protect it over the next 10 years and beyond. The last of the open debate contributions is from John Finnie. I'm sorry, it's my usual opening. I only have a little Gaelic, so I'm going to have to speak in English. The first thing that I have to do is congratulate my colleague Donald Cameron. Donald talked about BBC Alibah going from strength to strength, and I think that that's very evident from the contributions that we've heard. I think that it's got a very tangible evidence of that with a new TV gallery in Burness. Again, Donald Cameron talked about An La, and the fact that that entire production can take place from there is a sign of the progress that's been made. Of course, news is very important. I also welcome the weekend bulletins on Radio Nang Gael, and, as others have, I very much welcome the new jobs, particularly the new journalism jobs in Burness, the six jobs. However, as has been said, BBC Alibah operates throughout the Gaelic Act and its jobs and its spread, I think, are welcome. It's always been very outward looking, as I hope that the Highlands has always seen to be. There's many things to be positive about the revamp of the children's output, particularly the utilisation of the CBBCs and CBBs' brands, which, again, is about the normalising the use of the language in connection with everything that goes on. Job creation, of course, as others are alluded to, is not just about the creative jobs. There are very positive contributions from the technicians and other supports, and that's all part of the wider progress that's been made and the role that BBC Alibah has played in moving things forward. As the motion also talks about joint working, I think that that's very important, with all its finite resources. Collaboration is very important. I want to perhaps, and others have touched on this and I don't wish to appear to be negative, but I think that it's important to talk about the BBC charter review and the significant support that was indicated in that during the public consultation for Gaelic. The proposter of the motion talked about the modest budget. Others would describe it as an inequitable outcome to that charter review. S4C are guaranteed 74.5 million per annum until 2022, so I'd like to quote from an email that I got from a constituent this afternoon that said, and I quote here, expecting BBC Alibah to survive nevermind thrive on something like 8.2 million brackets from the BBC, while it has become clear that the new BBC Scotland is to have four times that budget to broadcast for fewer hours has highlighted the further inequity of the situation. There's a call that this constituent puts in. I'm sure I'm not the only recipient of that email in it. It's a call to supporters of BBC Alibah and that's to renew the call for a minimum of 10 hours new programming per week calling the BBC and politicians to commit to that and the resources that are required to BBC Alibah to fulfil its role of offering a diverse range of high-quality programmes in Gaelic. On a positive note, people have talked about the dynamic nature of the media industry and people have talked about not making exclusively culture. Who knows? Yrpas is often cited as an excellent example of very strong investigative journalism and not just within Scotland but the broad outlook that it takes. Culture, of course, might be in years to come that people will view DIY ladoni as being a pivotal and for those of you who don't do DIY, like me, it's entertaining nonetheless to watch it and I commend it to you. I also commend, of course, the sports coverage. I think it's very important that we don't politicise the language. Language is a very powerful role to play and we know that with our sisters and brothers in Wales, Catalonia and indeed the Basque country. There's mention made in the motion about the Celtic language and the recent partnership agreement. I think that that could contribute to positive progress and respect, for instance, for the Irish language in the north of Ireland. There's many positive things to say. I'm sure that the next decade will be the same. More than time. I now call in Ben Macpherson to respond to the debate for around seven minutes. Thank you all for what I think has been an excellent debate and to Donald Cameron for bringing forward today's motion. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity this evening to express the Scottish Government's gratitude to all involved in BBC Alaba on its 10th birthday. First of all, I thank BBC Alaba producers, presenters and commissioners and, of course, the BBC and the Gaelic Media Mg Alaba, who, between them, run the channel and for the creative work that they have produced over the past decade that has made the channel such a resounding success, as others have emphasised. Labry, sonoghut, happy birthday. BBC Alaba has been consistently inventive and continues to be so, with its exciting autumn schedule and new developments in comedy and international productions. The Scottish Government is a strong supporter of Scotland's indigenous languages. We recognise their cultural, economic and social value and want the relevant bodies to work together as closely as possible to support and promote their use. Though there is still work to do to reverse the decline in the overall numbers of Gaelic speakers, it is encouraging that the rate of decline nationally seems to be slowing down. I think of this in terms of a point that was raised earlier about growth in urban areas. I think of Ternobarca, the primary school in my constituency, whose role and numbers are growing from strength to strength. The Gaelic education strategy of this Government in helping to promote uptake at school age. The growth and the slowing down of decline suggest that our targeted investment as a Government is paying off and that the strategy of introducing children to the language as early as possible to make it an integral part of their life, their schooling and the way they communicate is working. BBC Alaba is an important part of that process in children's programming, in its digital content and in providing a common frame of reference for the Gaelic community in its widest sense. In 10 short years, BBC Alaba has become an accepted part of the Scottish broadcasting landscape and a celebrated part, with strong audience approval ratings and audience reach of over 10 per cent nationally and over 65 per cent among users of Gaelic. That is, as others have said, good for the economy as well, because commissioning programmes in 2016 to 2017 from 20 different production companies illustrates that. It is especially important in economically fragile areas. Indeed, of the 280 full-time equivalent jobs that MG Alaba has been estimated to have generated across Scotland in 2016-17, more than 100 of those were in island communities. The channel has also demonstrated that its innovative partnership model with MG Alaba and the BBC can work successfully. In that, I believe that the channel is showing the way to other broadcasters who are now realising the mutual benefit of partnership models. As our new dedicated screen agency, Screen Scotland, gets up and running, one of its priorities is to promote a more co-ordinated approach to resources and more co-operation between broadcasters in the interests of audiences. The Scottish Government will continue to support the channel, although broadcasting is reserved, and we will continue to support it so that the channel is able to meet the challenges of competition and funding in the years ahead. Because competition will be stronger than ever. All broadcasters face a challenge from new media giants such as Netflix, as the BBC director-general Lord Hall reminded us earlier this week saying that British TV, including the BBC, needs a more level playing field to be able to compete against global broadcasters. Closer to home, as others have mentioned, there is a newly invigorated STV and, from next February, a new BBC Scotland channel. We will urge the BBC to stand by the promise held out in its proposal for the new channel to co-commission 100 hours of programming with BBC Alaba. As others have mentioned, funding is another key issue. We, in the Scottish Government, remain committed to funding MG Alaba, with £12.8 million from the devolved settlement, and with £8 million from the BBC and a further £1.2 million announced earlier this year, replacing the £1 million that was withdrawn by the UK Government, MG Alaba funding now totals approximately £22 million. We, as the Scottish Government, were delighted to announce in February a £500,000 grant to develop the studio facilities at Seaforth Road in Stornoway to improve facilities for programme making and offer training opportunities for young people interested in the media. Public funding of the Welsh channel S4C is approximately £120 million, which, following a recent UK Government review of S4C, is expected to almost all come through the licence fee settlement. The role of the BBC is therefore critical. We have argued that the disparity in funding between Welsh and Gaelic TV is disproportionate, and we urge the UK Government and the BBC to take action to ensure that Gaelic TV audiences get a fair deal. Gaelic is one of the UK's not just Scotland's indigenous languages, and as such it is reasonable to expect support from the UK Government. We believe that there is scope for the BBC to spend more on Gaelic on grounds of equity, even allowing for its recent enhanced commitments. The BBC still spends considerably less here than it raises through the licence fee. We urge all to get involved—the UK Government, the BBC and the Communications Regulator, OFCOM—to work together to ensure that BBC Alaba gets a fair share of the licence fee. We are also asking BBC Alaba to be regulated through a service licence of its own, as we have argued that the BBC in Scotland generally should, so that the specific needs of audiences and the sector here can be identified and considered. The needs and circumstances of audiences in the various UK nations differ, and their circumstances should be addressed individually. Overall, we will continue to do what we can to stimulate the TV sector in Scotland, and argue for a fairer deal from the UK. We are grateful to MG Alaba and the BBC for the unique and highly valuable contribution that is made through BBC Alaba to the Scottish media and Gaelic and Scottish culture. We will continue to support it in years to come and look forward to continuing to work with those partners to make the next 10 years as successful as the last, so that in 10 years' time we can have another debate like we have this evening with even more strength to BBC Alaba. That concludes the debate, and this meeting is closed.