 Dwy ywn i diarioi. Diolch felgymu yn cyd-dduol ac yn dod I ac yn certso, felgeusau i'w brwynt filoedd o'r rhwng. Diolch sy'n syg servosio y rhoi Morhannau weeriau yn ein wneudio cyfaint aeth am â chat-dduol yn ei cuk disio weldi Рlyni ddirop i hufaint rydym sydd gennychaman scripture a headed caused. has already made a significant improvement to journey times to Glasgow airport, but we continue to invest in Renfisher's strategic roads through maintenance improvements, and they are also exploring how capacity of the M8 can be better managed using intelligent transport systems. In addition, we are investing £500 million to an infrastructure fund through the Glasgow and Clyde Valley city deal, which includes proposals to improve the road network around Glasgow airport. The cabinet secretary's colleague Derek Mackay will be well aware of some of the road issues in Renfisher, not just in and out of Glasgow airport. One of the important roads through my constituency is the A737. Does the cabinet secretary accept that the A737 is in need of investment and improvement, and will he commit to that? We have a rolling programme of improvement for roads. I mentioned the £500 million for the city deal, so there is also a role in addition to the council's role, the relevant council's role as roads authority, through the city deal to carry out improvements in the area. Of course, we also have, through the road maintenance agreement with local authorities, the idea that we can work jointly with local authorities on programmes such as this. We have a programme of improvements to roads that has been set out now for a number of years. Of course, we look at any proposals that come forward, or any requirement to invest in additional roads infrastructure, and we will do that in relation to A737. I wonder whether the cabinet secretary considers that the investment that is going on at the moment on the east end of Glasgow, the M73, the M8 and the M74, will also benefit traffic going right through to Renfisher and Glasgow airport. That is a good question. I think everybody uses that road, has seen the benefits over recent years from the M74, but also the additional work is now taking place on the M74, the M73 and the M8, while also providing significant journey time savings and improved journey time reliability for businesses in central Scotland. That, of course, also helps to support sustainable economic activity of existing and future businesses, including those in Renfisher, building further on the improvements to the M77, the M8A and the M74, as I previously mentioned. Ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage rail freight transport. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the rail freight sector in moving vital goods and materials across the country and beyond in a safe and sustainable way. A transformative programme of investment, including a dedicated £30 million strategic rail freight investment fund, will support significant improvements in the capacity and capability of the railway infrastructure for freight services. Looking ahead, the Scottish Government expects to launch a public consultation to inform a refreshed rail freight strategy in the near future. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that this Government's continued investment in rail freight is necessary to ensure that we continue to decarbonise our freight industry and build a greener economy? The track record that we have in terms of investment demonstrates that rail freight produces around 76 per cent less CO2 than road freight, and each train can remove up to 76 heavy goods vehicles from the roads, also improving safety, efficiency and reducing congestion. It is also true to say that we cannot act in this alone. It requires a firm commitment from the rail freight industry and industry more generally to work with us and also to invest towards growth. Question 3 has not been lodged in the name of Hanzala Malik. A satisfactory explanation has been given. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Aberdeen western peripheral route. The Aberdeen western peripheral route project is on track for completion in winter 2017, which is earlier than originally programmed, with construction well underway, and Creabstone and Dice junctions, expected to be open by autumn 2016, followed by the Balmeri Tipperty section in spring 2017. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer, and certainly the openings of the Creabstone and Dice junctions will be very welcomed by businesses in the area. The Queensferry crossing has obviously generated a huge degree of savings since its budget was first announced. Have any lessons been applied from the Queensferry crossing project to the western peripheral route project? Yes, indeed. We take the opportunities to learn from all the major infrastructure projects. Perhaps the most critical one in relation to the AWPR was the representations that we received and the concerns that we had about diverting or laying utilities. A great deal of preparatory work was done on that, which of course can impact on the timescales. One of the reasons why we are able to bring forward some of the elements of the project is that we are also, in relation to the AWPR, taking on one of the largest communications exercises on any major roads construction project today. That includes, as I am sure the member is aware, meetings with the community councils, elected representatives, as well as the provision of a community liaison team and a contact and education space—very similar, as he mentions, in relation to the Queensferry crossing. That space can be used as a learning resource by local schools and colleges. We have also undertaken routine communications with communities and road users via e-zines, website updates, newsletters, flyers and public exhibitions. The cabinet secretary will be well aware of the ongoing discussions between the Scottish Futures Trust and the Office for National Statistics around the funding model used in the case of the AWPR. Is he able to give us any update on those discussions? Can he assure us that the local government partners in the scheme will not face additional revenue costs? If, indeed, there is the prospect of additional revenue costs, will those be fully funded by the Scottish Government? As the member mentioned, there is a discussion between SFT, as he mentioned, and local authorities and others involved in hub projects. It is very important that that discussion takes place. Some of the projects that had been programmed are not ready because the local authorities and others have not reached financial close or are ready to go to financial close in relation to that. It is important at this stage that the discussion keeps on going. That is what is happening. SFT, I know, because I have seen it happen, are involved in those discussions. As a member rightly said, there is a continuing dialogue in relation to the ONS and, indeed, with the Eurostat Agency to see how we can resolve that. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Deputy First Minister reported to Parliament on 9 September that it is undertaken to come back as soon as we get further information to update Parliament at that stage. In the meantime, we will continue with that dialogue that the member mentioned. I could answer the questions, if you wish, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I ask the minister in terms of the interrelationship to the AWPR and the Amsy bridge on the A96? Can the minister say a word about the benefits that that will achieve and the timescale? We have been waiting in the north-east of Scotland 30 years through ineffective and useless Liberal-Democratic representation to have the situation where the Scottish Government and my friend Dennis Robertson have achieved the Inveramsy bridge coming to completion. Can he give us an indication of the benefits of that major infrastructure improvement and its relationship to the AWPR? The member is quite right to talk about the delay in relation to the Inveramsy bridge. It is also worth bearing in mind that the AWPR itself has been campaigned for for the best part of 50 years, and it has taken this Administration to bring that scheme to fruition. Beyond the AWPR at BT, the AWPR itself is the largest road scheme of its kind. The Inveramsy bridge will bring huge benefits to Aberdeenshire through reduced congestion, improving journey time reliability by avoiding the existing bridges that the member well knows and enabling the free flow of traffic. Once again, the Administration has delivered the real improvements for local people. In recent weeks, I have had talks with members of the North Cincarn community council and with landowners in the Stonehaven area regarding the liaison between the contractors and those who live along the route of the AWPR. Given that the reports that I have received from those people are not as positive as the ones that the minister laid out, will he undertake to look at the way that that liaison is conducted and ensure that we live up to the high standards that have been achieved at the Queensferry crossing? I am not sure from the member's question whether he means that the actual method of engagement has not been as positive as some of the participants expected, or that there has been negative feedback coming back through it. Either way, I do undertake to look at this. In relation to the other community that is affected, it seems to have been a very positive experience so far, and we applied some of the lessons from the Queensferry crossing. Whether it is the case that there are some concerns that they feel are not being properly addressed through that process, or whether the process itself could be changed to better adapt to local concerns, I am more than willing to look at that, and I will come back to the member on that issue. 5. Rhoda Grant As the Scottish Government, what discussions has it had with the Scottish Futures Trust about the completion of the new Elgin High School? The Scottish Government engages regularly with the Scottish Futures Trust about a range of issues, including the delivery of Scotland's schools for the future programme. The Scottish Futures Trust, on behalf of the Scottish ministers, is working closely with Murray Council and other project partners to ensure that all possible steps are taken to progress the delivery of Elgin High School. 6. Rhoda Grant I thank the minister for that response. Can he tell us when decisions will be made and when we can expect the high school to be built? Like Lewis MacDonald, I would like to know if the Scottish Government is going to meet the additional costs of the delay. I think that my sponsored latter part of the question is the same as it was to Lewis MacDonald. There is that discussion that is going on just now with Murray Council. The point that I made to Lewis MacDonald was that, of course, had this proceeded at the time that was meant to proceed, had Murray Council been able to do that, that would have happened well before this school would have been built, or at least work started well before we had the ESA 10 ruling. ESA 10 ruling is the measure that has brought this uncertainty in relation to the programme. The Deputy First Minister has said before that he will come back to Parliament as soon as he has hard and fast information, but it is our intention to make sure that this school is built at the earliest possible opportunity. 7. Gareth Garland I ask the minister that, given a recent report that he stated that every month's delay to building Elgin High School would add £100,000 to the costs. Can he give a guarantee today that that additional cost, which is no fault of the local authority, does not fall in Murray Council taxpayers? All I can say is that the continuation of discussions between the SFT and individual partners in relation to that will continue, both in terms of costs and in terms of timescales. However, just to point out that the delay that has occurred is not the fault of the Scottish Government either. The same is true for many PPP projects that have been taken forward by other Administrations. There are now serious concerns in the UK Government about the ruling, the impact of this ruling on some of their programmes, and across Europe this has caused real concern. That is not what the Scottish Government is doing. It is a change that came in in late 2014. However, on the point about costs and about the timescale for delivery, all we can do is make sure that we have the earliest possible resolution and continuing dialogue in the meantime between the SFT and, in this case, Murray Council. 8. Jackie Baillie I think that the minister will be aware that all projects from September 2014, including Elgin High School, have not reached financial close and therefore have been affected by ESA 10. Can he confirm that that case is correct? Not all projects. Some projects that would have been affected by this have been given the go-ahead, as the Deputy First Minister has previously reported to Parliament. Some projects have gone ahead, others have not gone ahead. That is quite right. If they have not reached financial close, we obviously want to wait to resolve that, because to agree to those projects in the meantime introduces a level of risk that we are not wanting to see, so we will continue to have those discussions, resolve the issue and then move forward afterwards. 9. Neil Bibby To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to improve public transport links in the west Scotland region. We are, as a Government committed to improving transport links in the west of Scotland. An example of that would include rail, where we have already provided enhanced passenger services, including four trains per hour between Aire and Glasgow Central, the 38 new-class 380 trains, providing 130 additional carriages through the paisley corridor improvements. The Scottish Government is also funding up to £40 million towards a fast-link bus route and up to £246 million for the modernisation of the Glasgow subway. In addition to that, as I have mentioned, we are also investing £0.5 billion to a £1.13 billion infrastructure fund via the Glasgow and Clyde valley city deal, which includes proposals to improve the public transport across the region. 9. Neil Bibby Recently, we have seen the completion of the Borders rail link, but now it is time for the Scottish National Party Government to seriously invest in the west of Scotland rail network. The Glasgow cross rail scheme would provide economic and transport benefits to Renfrewshire, as well as Inverclyde and Ayrshire, connecting those areas directly with Central and Eastern Scotland. That issue was raised with the Minister Derek Mackay at a recent cross-party group on rail meeting. Will the cabinet secretary be willing to look again at the merits of cross rail? If not, can the cabinet secretary give clarity on why he and his Government do not support Glasgow cross rail? Yes, indeed. I have listened to those who are proposing this, the rail quest group and others who have mentioned and promoted the scheme. We have looked at it in the past. In fact, previous administrations have looked at it in the past. Perhaps that is why previous administrations and local councils have not taken it forward. It does not, in our view, provide the benefits that justify the cost involved. That is our point of view. Of course, it is up to local authorities if they want to bring forward proposals of their own in terms of infrastructure. We have said, for example, in relation to the city deal that I mentioned earlier, that we will try to make sure that Network Rail and ScotRail provide as much assistance in terms of information about the impact of any rail improvements. However, we do not believe that the cross rail project would provide the benefits that would justify the cost involved. To ask the Scottish Government how to ensure that its infrastructure investment plan will help to deliver a low-carbon Scotland. The infrastructure investment plan 2011 progress support 2014, which was published on 17 March, highlighted various ways in which the plan is supporting delivery of a low-carbon Scotland. I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply. Does he agree with the report from the Scotland's Way Ahead initiative, chaired by Sarah Tiam of the Institute of Chartered Engineers, that concludes that public sector investment in low-carbon infrastructure can deliver multiple benefits for Scotland? It is worth mentioning that our ability to meet climate change targets and challenges would be greatly enhanced if car manufacturers were to be honest about the cars that they are producing and the emissions that come from them. However, I do agree with the member that our capital investments over the next decades will contribute to our emission reduction, energy efficiency and renewables targets, but they will also help to encourage innovation, demonstrate best practice and support businesses in skills development and also be adaptable to future climate change. They should not lock in high-carbon activity that means that meeting our climate change targets will be more expensive and disruptive in the future. Our investments need to be fit for a low-carbon Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what discussion it has had with the Scottish Fusars Trust on the development of the Afer community campus. There is regular engagement between the Scottish Government and the SFT, as I have mentioned, about the schools programme. Construction of the new Afer community campus started in May 2014, and the project is due to be completed on programme in October 2015. I thank the cabinet secretary for that very positive answer. I am sure that the families of Afer are absolutely delighted in the new development within Afer because it will bring together a community library and sewing pool as well. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that superfast broadband may also be going to the Afer community campus and to the wider Afer community? I certainly would hope, as the member suggests, that local communities will welcome the new campus. I am also happy to confirm that the Afer community campus is fully connected to broadband and has Wi-Fi throughout. In relation to the wider community, of course, on-going programmes have been taken forward by the Deputy First Minister in relation to digital connectivity. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to minimise disruption to local residents and motorists during the A9 dualling. We recognise that the A9 is vital to delivering sustainable economic growth in Scotland, and we are working closely with local authority partners to ensure that the A9 and local roads network continue to operate and that local access is maintained in the meantime. I thank the minister for his response. The A9 dualling is very welcome. We have been waiting a long time for it to come along, but it is the experience of too many of my constituents that in the past repairs and improvements to the A9 have been held at the busiest time of day, at the busiest time of the week and at the busiest time of the year. Given the importance of the A9 as a tourist route, I will Transport Scotland ensure that the upgrading works are scheduled as carefully as possible in order to minimise the disruption to local residents and motorists. The member is quite right that we have been waiting a long time for the A9 dualling decades. It is this administration that is taking that forward, unlike previous administrations. The member is right to say that disruption will be there. He is also right to say that there can be frustration from people who are affected by that. Please be assured that Transport Scotland, the operating companies and the contractors in relation to the dualling works in particular, are very experienced at this, and they take into account when the heaviest traffic flows are likely to be there. They try as best they can to minimise disruption. It is also worth saying that, in addition to the dualling works, we have some improvement works that are going on just now, and a particular incident as well that is also causing some traffic disruption. However, we try to minimise that as far as possible. We are well aware of the extent to which communities right along the line in the member's constituency and right along the length of the A9 are affected by those works, but, in the end, it is very important that we carry out the dualling, as the member has mentioned. We will do that with regard to trying to minimise any disruption as far as we can. Thanks, and that concludes that portfolio. We now move to portfolio questions on culture, Europe and external affairs. I call on question 1, Sarah Boyack. I will give us a minute. I'm Ms Boyack, and once the cabinet secretary is ready. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions regarding new cultural investment it has had with the City of Edinburgh Council. I met with councillors and officials of the City of Edinburgh Council on 5 August 2015 to discuss the council's vision and strategic priorities around cultural capital spending projects. The Scottish Government officials had a follow-up meeting with the chief executive and executive director of culture, city strategy and economy on 11 August. Can I welcome that engagement and ask the minister if she supports the St Mary's music school proposal for a centre of excellence in the old royal high school, a win-win for culture? Will she now support the development of a tourism levy so that the council can invest in historic buildings and arts venues that the city needs if it is to retain its status as a global centre of cultural excellence given the 8.5% reduction in funding for local government, noted by Audit Scotland this year? On the second point, I understand that to be part of the proposals that are being put forward for a potential Edinburgh city deal that has been put forward by the council. That is a subject for discussion with cabinet colleagues across and across government. Certainly, there is some strong resistance as you will be aware to tourism levy, but I do think that it is important that we address the cultural engine that is Edinburgh and how we can drive forward that agenda. On the first point, I hope that she appreciates that with my responsibilities as minister, with the responsibility for historic Scotland and indeed some of the issues around listed buildings, it is not possible or indeed appropriate for me to comment on the first part of our question. To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the refugee crisis with the UK Government. The First Minister and I met Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on 21 September welcoming the UK Government's recent decision to take refugees, making the case that the UK, of course, must go further than it has and set out a clear timetable to meet its commitments. On 21 September, I also met the UK Government's newly appointed minister for refugees, Richard Harrington, with responsibility specifically for Syrian refugees, to discuss in detail some of the practical actions that we can take forward and that are necessary to co-ordinate the arrival of refugees. Further, more representatives of the UK Home Office attend the refugee task force, which last met on Wednesday, 23 September. Indeed, the most recent weekly teleconference between the Home Office officials, local government officials and the Scottish Government took place last Friday, the 25th of September. I should the minister's view that the UK should take more refugees than is currently planned. Has the Scottish Government carried out an assessment of local council's capacity to accommodate refugees? Does he believe that the capacity is there for us to take more than Scotland's so-called fair share of what we both agree is a pitifully small number for the UK as a whole? If so, has he told the UK Government that our Government is willing to provide for more than a fair share in order to boost the overall UK number? I thank the member and note and put on record her own interest in the subject over a number of years in terms of refugees and those seeking asylum in this country. What I would say to her is that I have never, in the three years that I have been in government, seen such a really effort for local authorities, the Scottish Government and the UK Government, particularly the Home Office, to work seamlessly together to ensure that we are all co-ordinating our efforts across this important issue. I would say that that is very positive. I would say that the response from local authorities to the member has been overwhelming. In terms of the detail of how much capacity there is per local authority area, I know that COSLA is collating that information. It would be wrong of me to breach any of the confidences that COSLA has shared with me, but I am very confident that if refugees were to arrive tomorrow, we would be in a good place to be able to provide them with not just suitable accommodation but the appropriate services that wrap around them as well. I am happy to keep the member up to date. In terms of increasing our own number, it should be said that when we talk about that fair share, that 10 per cent roughly of the UK number, if we were able to do more, then of course the Scottish Government has never been found wanting when it has come to its response to refugees. Although the UK Government has committed to 20,000 refugees over five years, the minister will know that there has been calls for a front-loading of the number of refugees. Has the minister discussed that with the UK Government if there is a possibility of Scotland front-loading the number of refugees that we are looking to support? I think that it is an important point that the member raises. She will know that there is no disagreement from the Scottish Government in terms of her proposal. I did discuss it with the minister for refugees and I have to say that he is actively considering that, and the Home Office is thinking of that. I do not think that I would be breaching any confidances at all to say that they understand that that will not be a 4,000 per year or a 5,000 per year job at all. They are thinking of how they can immediately help and any assistance that Scotland can provide, whether it is taking people immediately. That is something that we would be happy to consider. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to the refugee crisis. I thank the member for the question. The First Minister convened a refugee summit earlier this month, bringing together a wide number of stakeholders to that summit. She announced that a task force would be set up over which I chair. That task force has now met three times and has established two subgroups, one looking at refugee accommodation and the other one looking at refugee integration, which both met for the first time last Tuesday. As the Scottish Government, we have made available an initial £1 million to ensure that services across Scotland are prepared to deal with the arrival of refugees. The response from local authorities has been very positive and we are ready to assist refugees as soon as they arrive. I thank the minister for that answer. Could he possibly further update us on any particular numbers agreed by local authorities and whether any additional central support has been requested to assist with things such as language difficulties that might arise? I think that the member's point is a very important one. COSLA, as I mentioned in a previous answer, is collating that information. Of course, we have to give them the appropriate time to do that. The refugee emergency summit was only convened just over three weeks ago, so we are moving at a heck of a pace. However, the member's point is very important that, of course, local authorities will have to think about the financial pressures that they are perhaps already under, but also the financial pressures of taking in refugees. What I would say is the discussion between the Home Office and local authorities, of which the Scottish Government is also involved. I have to say that the tone of that has been very positive and very constructive from all sides. There will be certain gaps in service provision in particular local authorities. Glasgow clearly has a lot of expertise and has the integration services there, but that is not the same for local authorities across Scotland. Where those gaps do exist, the Scottish Government and the Home Office need local authorities who work together to plug those gaps. Alex Johnson Since we last experienced our comparable refugee crisis, there has been a significant change in the structure of public housing in Scotland. Will the minister undertake to ensure that, when the decisions are made about where those refugees will be housed, we will avoid the two key errors, firstly, of housing too many all in the same place, and secondly, that we can avoid the situation where local authorities are forced to provide housing in pressurised areas where there are already people who have been in the waiting list for a long time and may be alienated by this process? Alex Johnson I thank the member for raising a couple of important points. It is important to recognise that, of course, when refugees arrive here, they will have the same rights as anybody else in terms of the homelessness legislation that we have in this country. The points that he makes are well understood by the task force that I convene, that we do not want to, in effect, create ghettoisation. We know that that is not conducive to the refugees themselves, but, of course, the communities in which they end up being housed. We are very aware of that, so we would like to see refugees dispersed across a wider area. I have been very overwhelmed by local authorities from across Scotland offering to take in their share of refugees. In terms of the communities themselves, there is an understanding that we will have to work closely with the communities before refugees even arrive to make sure that there is community by it. I think that the points about housing and housing pressures are well made, and it is something that the refugee task force is very conscious of. Stuart McMillan Thank you. Is the minister open to considering accommodation that is not local authority accommodation or even social rented accommodation to be considered in the going forward with the situation? There have been plenty of offers of accommodation. I would say that our preference as a Government would be to work with local authorities to what is the most suitable. At the moment, if we can manage it within the existing social housing stock, that would be the preference for not just the Government but all the partners involved in the ministerial task force. There have been some very generous and very kind offers that have come in, so where those offers are, I think that at the moment we are at the stage of exploring and collating as much information as possible. I would say to the member that if there are particular offers that have come in to him, please do forward them on to us. As I say, we keep an open mind on all of these issues. To ask the Scottish Government how Scotland's traditional arts are funded. The Scottish Government supports traditional arts through a number of its public bodies. Creative Scotland has, for example, awarded 1.4 million to 156 applicant organisations and individuals since it has opened its project funding in October last year, with a success rate of 37% significantly higher than other art forms. In addition to the £7 million over 2015-18 to its regularly funded organisations working on traditional arts, Creative Scotland has published a full list of their support for traditional arts on the website on 15 September. There is Scottish Government funding over the traditional arts from Bornegalic, our Youth Music Initiative, the Festival's Expo Fund and BBC Alipa. In addition, Radio Nangail has given significant exposure to traditional music and contributed to its funding. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I think that generally the Scottish traditional music sector sees big improvements to their status during the time of the Scottish Government since 2007. However, the Scottish Government's traditional arts working party also agreed that an equivalent to national companies should be explored for the traditional arts. In order to give parity of esteem, is that proposal being taken forward? I thank the member for his question. I think that it is an important area, particularly in relation to that parity of esteem, and that is something that we have worked very hard over the period of this Government to achieve. I think that the concept of how you work in terms of a national company perhaps may not be suited to working the traditional arts, but I am interested in his proposals and will ask officials to look further into that aspect. He is right to refer to it as being one of the proposals from the traditional arts working group. Although many of the other aspects of that working group recommendations have been taken forward, that is one that to date has not. I thank the education committee for that. The traditional music and song association for Scotland said that it was having very serious difficulties accessing funding—in other words, they were unsuccessful—to support young musicians to develop their career as well as bring their music to diverse communities in Scotland. They were only asking for under £15,000. Why didn't they get it? The member will be aware that ministers themselves would not consider individual applications of that level for funds that are administered by Creative Scotland, and indeed she may be familiar not only with the fantastic work of Fesh Ross in delivering the Youth Music Initiative, but I visited in Rennes and Eden Court, which is now one of the new youth arts hubs that have been set up as part of our youth art strategy, and again, fantastic traditional music taking place led from there. I am aware that Mary Scanlon raised support for traditional arts in the Education and Culture Committee on 15 September. The Scotsman published an article quoting her that was subsequently withdrawn along with an apology from the editor to the chief executive of Creative Scotland about its contents and the accuracy of the full picture. To ask the Scottish Government whether the V&A project in Dundee will be audited by Audit Scotland. A decision on whether to audit any aspect of the V&A Dundee project would entirely be a matter for Audit Scotland. The Scottish ministers have no role in such a decision. I hope that Audit Scotland may take this consideration very seriously, and the cabinet secretary may do all she can to perhaps encourage that in whichever way is appropriate, because she will know, as well as I do, that there are concerns about spiralling costs of this project and there are also concerns about governance. The V&A project fits exactly into Audit Scotland's definition of an allio, and Audit Scotland also requires allios to consider governance at the outset to scrutinise performance and accountability and to monitor cost performance and risks of those allios. Will the cabinet secretary agree with me that the V&A project is indeed an allio of Dundee City Council? In relation to her question, I think that in terms of governance, the Maclellan report, which was produced, identified a number of areas, particularly in looking back at the original budget costs that she referred to. Obviously, clearly the underestimates within the original budget was one of the key aspects of the increase in the overall budget costs. In terms of the reporting, corporate government arrangements, the report also includes that more frequent direct reporting on the V&A to members would have been helpful. Following adoption, the council has taken forward the project board since 2015 in order to make sure that there is more openness and transparency. I am sure that the council will listen to the points that were made by Jenny Marra, but she must always, always when she comes to this chamber, remember to champion the V&A as a great project for Dundee. On this side of the house seems to do it, she seems incapable of promoting the V&A. Could the cabinet secretary maybe outline what benefits she believes the V&A will bring to Dundee, to the north-east and more generally to Scotland? It's great to hear one of the north-east MSPs promoting the V&A. It will act as a magnet for Dundee's regeneration. It will help inward investment and promote tourism growth. It will have public access to understanding the extensive design collections, both from the V&A and from across Scotland's design heritage. But also importantly, fundamental to its mission will be the fostering of creative design thinking amongst businesses to improve innovation, profitability and opportunity. It's very important to the economy of Dundee, but also of all Scotland. Deputy Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government for what reason it provided financial assistance to Teen the Park 2015. Teen the Park is one of the most popular and successful cultural events in Scotland's annual events programme. It delivers significant economic impact, drives additional tourism and supports jobs. In 2014, the event generated £15.4 million for the Scottish economy. The event faced unanticipated costs and reduced returns, and the funding was to support a successful transition to the Strathallan site and support the format of that site in 2016 and 2017. There is a clawback provision should the event not take place in Strathallan in 2016 and 2017, and the detail and timeline of events that led to the one-off grant payment being made is contained within my answer to parliamentary question S4W 26910, dated 14 August and, in my evidence, the Education and Culture Committee yesterday. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I think after yesterday's appearance at the committee there are more questions than answers. I therefore ask the cabinet secretary if she'll agree to come before Parliament and provide a full statement and be open to questions to the full chamber. Can I also ask her to confirm that Teen the Park made a profit and as such explain why £150,000 of taxpayers' money was used to support a venture that was making profit and also a company that made multimillion pounds of profits? The member may not be aware and clearly from his question he's not. I did provide answers during an extensive session with the committee yesterday and he's correct to identify that the overall company is a profitable company, but those companies will judge event by event and if they do not see that that event because of an unanticipated extra costs or indeed leading to reduced revenues means that they may want to change the setup, that might mean that Glasgow may benefit from more individual, single stage, single day concerts run by that company, but I don't think that that would be the Teen the Park that many, many people across Scotland have grown to love and many, many people appreciate. As I mentioned earlier, the economic impact of £15.4 million, not just the Scotland's economy but also the impact for the local economy, we want to make sure that festivals are celebrated and enjoyed across Scotland, not just in our cities. In relation to the timeline associated with the financial assistance that the cabinet secretary provided to the education and cultural committee yesterday, could the cabinet secretary confirm whether ministers or their officials had any meetings or were engaged in any communication with DF concerts beyond the completion of Teen the Park festival on 12 July? In relation to the point about officials, I would need to check and come back to the member on that point. However, she will be aware that some of the major issues that I think she raised herself were about the transportation issues, it was about some of the exit issues at the event itself, so I would expect particularly in relation to the transport aspects that there would have been some communication and contact. In relation to the post, the event, we expect to get the reports that we have required as part of the grant conditions and that will come to ministers at the appropriate time. The cabinet secretary will be aware that DF concerts hosted a series of concerts in the summer sessions in Glasgow this year. Is the cabinet secretary aware of any funding from the public sector for those concerts and who provided it? The Scottish Government did not provide DF concerts and events with financial support for the summer sessions in Glasgow. However, we understand that £200,000 from Glasgow City Council to provide delivery of the summer sessions was provided. It was funded on a commercial arrangement to establish the summer sessions on a level commercial footing so that in future years it would generate money for the city. Thank you very much. After reflecting on the exchanges yesterday, the cabinet secretary confirmed whether she asked her officials to establish what, if any, additional contribution had been asked by DF events from the lead sponsor tenants to cover the costs of the additional transition costs. In terms of officials' scrutiny, there were extensive scrutiny from officials and indeed the state aid unit within the Scottish Government, and part of that was looking at the revenue and indeed the projected budget that was coming forward from DF concerts. Yes, people would like to see the content of that, but commercial confidentiality clearly has restricted that. Many thanks, and that concludes portfolio questions for today. We now move on to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 14405 in the...