 The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 594 in the name of Gordon MacDonald on Big Noise programme in Westerhales. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Would those members wish to participate in the debate, please press the request-to-speak buttons now or as soon as possible. I call on Gordon MacDonald to open the debate for around seven minutes. It is my great pleasure that I welcome the announcement that Systema Scotland and its Big Noise project will be opening in the Westerhales area of my constituency in the spring of next year. I also take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from across the chamber for supporting my motion enabling this debate to take place. The Parliament is not yet open to the public due to the on-going pandemic, but I am aware that many of the young people who enjoy being part of the Big Noise orchestra are watching at home along with their tutors, volunteers and staff. I welcome them to the Scottish Parliament albeit on a virtual basis via Hollywood TV. Systema Scotland is a national charity established in 2007 and it launched the first Big Noise programme in the Rapplock area of Stirling in 2008. It is a charity on a mission to create permanent social change in some of the most deprived communities in Scotland. The Big Noise orchestra aims to change lives through the medium of music by fostering confidence, discipline, teamwork, pride and aspiration in the children and young people who take part. We all want Scotland's young people to reach their full potential, lead successful and fulfilled lives, and Systema Scotland provides that nurturing support in order that they can do so. The briefing from Systema Scotland explains that the Big Noise programme gives children and young people invaluable life skills and experiences. Big Noise provides a place of safety and wellbeing, a nurturing community in which children are supported to realise their full potential. Through their participation in the programme, the children develop confidence, learn to work together and be kind to each other, build resilience, pride and aspiration and are supported to lead successful and fulfilled lives. The programme works intensively with the children and young people and exclusively with families and the broader community to achieve permanent social change, key to the long-term trusting relationships that the children develop with Big Noise staff musicians. The unique design of the Big Noise programme allows this relationship to develop based on consistent daily contact over many years, free at the point of delivery, with the musicians acting not only as educators, but also as compassionate mentors and inspirational role models supporting positive behaviour and life choices. The Glasgow Centre for Population Health study of the existing Big Noise projects found that, in relation to addressing health inequalities, evidence is clear that the types of impacts Big Noise is achieving at present act upon important detriments of health and wellbeing and adulthood. Because Big Noise is targeted to disadvantaged communities, it therefore has the potential to reduce health inequalities in later life. The evaluation also includes an economic analysis that concludes with the long-term projection that, for every £1 spent on Big Noise delivery, another £9 of social benefit is generated. Another benefit is that young people participate in Big Noise and have also had the opportunity to take part in a variety of high-profile performances. Those have ranged from the big concert staged in 2012 to mark the opening of the Olympics to this year, participating in a performance as part of the Edinburgh International Festival with the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, another project that supports, nurtures and inspires young people through music. Incidentally, both of those performances were led by the world-famous Venezuelan conductor and patron of Big Noise, Gustavo Doodlemill. The Big Noise is already established in Stirling, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen, with 2,800 children and young people taking part prior to the pandemic. The new Edinburgh Big Noise orchestra will be the fifth established in Scotland over the last 14 years. In order to establish the Big Noise programme in Westerhales, it will require an investment of £2.6 million over the first five years. The good news is that the charity has raised 60 per cent of the funding required. Systema Scotland and Edinburgh Council are in discussions about future funding beyond the initial first five years and what in-kind support the council could provide at present, ranging from office space, practice halls to instrument storage. It is estimated that that investment in Westerhales community will benefit around 500 children and young people. Also, since 2012, the Scottish Government has invested £4.8 million in the charity and its contribution in 2021-20 new represents 18 per cent of Systema Scotland's funding. Discussions have already taken place with the headteachers of Canalview, Clovenstone and Sighthill primary schools to begin the programme from spring 2022. The afterschool club will begin in early autumn 2022. Big Noise Westerhales will work initially with children in primary 1 and 2 over the course of its first year. The programme will expand to reach all nursery to primary 3-aged children. Big Noise Westerhales will grow year on year and once established, a child in the Big Noise programme will move through baby and carer classes to nursery sessions, then orchestra initiation, including percussion band and paper orchestra, before moving into the primary 3-string orchestra. Children then opt to join the afterschool orchestra, where they rehearse intensively up to three afternoons per week during the school term, and attend holiday clubs eight weeks of the year. There is no charge for the tuition, instruments, healthy snacks, trips or t-shirts. I believe that this is not only an incredible opportunity for children and young people across Westerhales, but for the local community as a whole. Systema Scotland, through its Big Noise programme, has an outstanding record in delivering positive outcomes for participants, from increased confidence to better school attendance to encouraging and supporting aspirations. Those are just a few of the examples of the benefits that the programme has brought since it began in 2008. The programme has a fantastic track record in proving lies, and I have no doubt that Big Noise Westerhales will also prove to be a great opportunity for children and young people across the local area. I wish the staff, tutors and volunteers of Systema Scotland well as they embark on their newest project in my constituency of Edinburgh, Pentlands, and I look forward to my invitation to the first Westerhales Big Noise orchestra concert in future years. I would like to thank my colleague Gordon MacDonald for securing this debate to celebrate the latest Big Noise programme this time in Westerhales. I would like to put on record the fact that I am a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland former musician and now the convener of the cross-party group for music. Given that start in life, people would then ask how I came to be an MSP in Holyrood. Music had a key role. Its power is encapsulated quite simply by one of Systema's board members, Kenny McGee, who describes it as transformative and life affirming. This is my experience. My early years weren't as they seemed from the outside, and I found it hard to make sense of the adult world. I didn't make friends easily. As the American poet Maya Angelou put it, music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. Of course, I wasn't unique. As an adult, I now know that the intensity of my musical experience helped to create the complex neural networks that have opened multiple doors to me throughout my career. The creativity that is fostered has benefited me as an increasingly sought-after in the world of work today. There is increasing evidence that the detrimental effects of trauma in children affecting attention, memory, processing speed and so on can be helped by participation in music. My recollections are that the self-quieting music required, the setting aside of emotional turmoil needed to make sense of the patterns, structure and sounds, to take the risk of trying all moved me forward. I became part of a team, I became more confident and started to expand my social network. Arguably, the resilience that I have as an adult can be traced back to learning to be heard through music. Not so much a big noise, I concede, but certainly I'm exo squawk, especially in the clarinet. Westerhales has already created the world-famous saxophonist before Systema Tommy Smith and who knows how many more of him are out there. The system in Systema understands the complex needs for the 2,800 children involved today and the many more that will come through in Westerhales. Music as an enabler has a great tradition in Scotland. For many years, Bellarmine secondary, formerly in Pollock, provided more undergraduates for the RCS than anywhere else it would appear. Nearly every guitarist came from St Davidson and Dalkeith. It would appear. Every child had access to free musical education and, thankfully, this has been restored by the Scottish Government in addition to the big noise programme. The health and wellbeing benefits of music in every facet of society are so pronounced, there is a case for a small percentage of multiple budgets allocated in this Parliament to have a section set aside just for music, not just in education but music in health and social care and our justice system and so on. That perhaps relates to the figure quoted earlier by Gordon MacDonald in reference to the £1-spent, giving £9 benefit. I simply say well done, systema, transformative and life-affirming. The big noise programme, as I have heard from Mr MacDonald in Westerhales, will be a fantastic initiative. I thank my local colleague, Gordon MacDonald, for bringing this member's business to this chamber this afternoon. Westerhales is a residential area located in the south-west of Edinburgh and is home to about 10,000 people. I still live in the adjacent neighbourhood. Growing up as a child, use many of the services available for sports, leisure and retail. That all sounds very grand, but I played badminton at the local high school and loved going to prestos with my mum to go on the escalator. Back then, as there is now, there is a strong sense of community across Westerhales. However, the reality is that it is one of the most deprived parts of the city and has many, many complex issues. So much money has been spent on this part of Edinburgh and nothing seems to have broken through. Despite that, Westerhales is a melting pot of great initiatives, ideas and people that are key to developing and driving through positive physical and social change. So anything more that can be done like this and be a catalyst for change is something that I am so keen to welcome. I share the sentiments expressed by Benny Higgins, the chairman of System of Scotland, who said, We also know that many of Scotland's communities face long-standing inequalities and challenges that make it extremely difficult for children to achieve their hopes, ambitions and dreams. Our charity is committed to ensuring that more children and communities across Scotland are able to take part in the big noise, and I am delighted that Westerhales will be the home of the next big noise programme, as am I. My colleague Douglas Lumsden is going to speak later about his experience with the big noise programme in Aberdeen and the big difference it has made to Tory. Locally, the programme will be working in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and with Clovenstone, Canalview and Sighthill primary and nursery schools. I am delighted that it is one of the schools that will be taking part in the big noise programme, or many schools that will be taking part in the programme. Independent evaluation of the big noise model by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health has consistently observed positive impacts on the big noise participants across the different centres, and we have heard much of that and the background from Mr MacDonald today. Their findings note that participants have increased in their confidence, discipline, academic skills, happiness, sense of belonging and fulfilment. I hope that they have great clarinet skills as well, not like me. I had none of that genetic material. To sum it up, it is for reasons like this, as well as the positive contributions and commitments from my colleagues across the chamber that I am delighted that a new big noise programme will begin in Westerhales in spring 2022. I cannot wait to watch the positive impact that that will have on so many young people in my local area. Mya, I congratulate Gordon MacDonald on bringing this motion forward today. I am delighted to speak in a debate celebrating big noise in Westerhales. I refer members to my register of interests. I am a councillor in the Tory Ferry Hill ward in Aberdeen and Tory is the home to big noise Tory. We have heard about the pivotal role System of Scotland plays in delivering big noise from Aberdeen in the north to Dundee, Stirling, Glasgow and, of course, Edinburgh early next year. System of Scotland believes that music and nurturing relationships plays a critical role in inspiring individuals and communities. Within that, big noise recognises the impact of poverty and inequality on opportunities for children and young people to develop self-esteem, confidence and friendships, key components to realising their ambitions and aspirations for the future. In 2015, big noise Tory was born, funded by Aberdeen City Council and many local partners. It has transformed the lives of many local children and young people through music. I pay tribute to Jim Kiddie, a former local Tory councillor, who, like so many others, worked tirelessly to make big noise Tory happen. The programme now supports over 600 children and young people working directly with Walker Road and Tullis Primary and Nursery Schools. Incredibly, big noise Tory reached a milestone last August when his oldest participants started secondary school moving to Lockside academy. Throughout the pandemic, big noise Tory has worked closely with local schools to maintain the wellbeing of children and families and ensure continuity of learning. During first lockdown, big noise Tory went virtual, delivering numerous online music lessons and such was the demand for lessons. The delivery of lessons extended beyond just primaries 1 to 3 and went all the way up to primary 7. During the second lockdown, the strength of partnerships between local primary schools and big noise enabled musicians to become key workers, supporting educational delivery and wellbeing support to vulnerable children. Meanwhile, the team continued playing a leading role in digital development, the first big noise centre to use Facebook Live during the first lockdown, subsequently supporting other centres during big noise birthday week. Alongside the Wednesday V1s videos, big noise Tory continues to have weekly Facebook Live broadcasts for participants and community members. Lorna Cruthers has recently joined big noise Tory in the role of head of centre, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge that will ensure that big noise Tory goes from strength to strength. The 2019 evaluation of big noise undertaken by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health reports consistent positive impacts on participants' lives and recognises that at the heart of big noise is a quality, meaningful and trusted relationship between musicians and participants. Big noise musicians are educators, mentors and can become role models. It is through those types of relationships that people change lives. To conclude, I welcome the inclusion of Sysdema and other similar initiatives in the Deputy First Minister's statement on the Covid recovery strategy earlier this afternoon as important strategies supporting the wellbeing of children. I wish big noise Western Hills the very best of luck and I can't wait to watch their first online music performance. I welcome the debate in Gordon MacDonald's achievement in securing it. I have had some significant involvement in the big noise Douglas in Dundee. I declare an interest as the Secretary of Optimistic Sound, which is a charity that was funded almost a decade ago, to deliver the big noise project to Dundee in memory of my late uncle. I want to put on record the leadership of Chris Van der Kyl of that charity and pay tribute to Peggy Marra, Claire Brennan, Donald Gordon, Michael Craig, Derek Thomson, Jane Richards, Jenny Paterson and Jenny Marra for an extraordinary effort in raising the excess of £1 million to bring the project to Dundee. The support of Gannarchy Trust, Northwood Trust and many more. All of those people have backed not just a vision but a proven model for improving lives in communities in Scotland. I have had the great pleasure of witnessing on many occasions the work on going in Claypox Castle in St Pius in the Douglas community in Dundee. What is about to be established in Western Hills and that Mr MacDonald gave a full exposition of the model and the way in which that will work has been proven in Douglas, Tory, Governhill and, of course, started in the Rapploch. It is a long-term commitment to the children of this part of Edinburgh, just as it is in Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling. With that commitment to those children and communities, we are saying that without you we are smaller, you are essential, without you we are all weakened, you are equal and without you our light is dimmed, you are extraordinary. The personal relationships, long-term, enduring and committed of big-noise staff, tells those children that they are worthy of attention and care from their community, from their family and from themselves. You cannot tell that message through the mundane. It is a promise that must be sung, played and performed. The music of big-noise orchestra builds teamwork, self-esteem, concentration, creativity, discipline, but so does football, basketball, chess, coding or drama. It is the intensity of the long-term that sets this project apart and the fact that it is a community endeavour where carrying instruments to school becomes the norm rather than the exception, part of how the community sees itself and the way that the stories that I have heard from Rapploch over the years about how the community has changed its perception of itself around the project of big-noise Rapploch pays testament to that. None of that comes cheap, and I would say neither should it. For more than a decade, the budgets of local authorities have been decimated and in many places only the ersatz veneer of a statutory minimum remains in place. Proactive youth work for children has been swept away in many places across Scotland. It was the nice to have the roses rather than the bread, and for that reason it has been lost. So when people have challenged this project, and they have called it expensive, I have told them that it is proven, it is a proven project that delivers. And when they have asked why this area picked when there is so much need, in this time of soaring child poverty, institutions and retreat, a Government that at times I believe has convinced itself that better is make-believe, with all this it would take the wisdom of Solomon to answer why here, why Westerhales, why Tory, why Douglas. So let us say this is where we start, this is where it starts. Dundee City Council committed unanimously across all parties to take on the cost of big-noise Douglas from optimistic sound at the end of this year, and that long-term commitment to this intensive model is absolutely vital. The scale of the budget pressures are such that the Scottish Government must do more to ensure that this commitment endures. I hope that the minister, if he is able to join us, if he can write to the members who participated in the debate afterwards, can tell us how the Government intends to deepen their current commitment to this project. I saw that Fiona Hyslop was here who had a long-standing commitment in her ministerial role to this project and was always greatly welcome. However, as the project grows in an attempt to reach more people, it requires that. I would say that, in closing, I pay tribute to all the young musicians of the big-noise family, to the outstanding leadership of Nicola Caleen and will close with a tribute to Richard Holloway, who conceived of the big-noise vision and has longed for many years to see it established in his city of Edinburgh. Richard, nothing counts but lifetimes. Your life of service has counted. You have lived it well. Let it be measured in the thousands of young people who know that they are essential, equal and extraordinary. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank my colleague Gordon MacDonald for bringing this to Parliament. Confucius said that, if one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer. Parliament's opening ceremony this weekend showcased the fantastic symphony of music that Scotland is creating just now, or, in Simpson, on flute and guitarist Chorus Clad from the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music got our feet tapping. Then, musicians in exile were worthy ambassadors for the way music brings friendship and understanding across cultures. BBC Scotland's young traditional musician of the year, Michael Biggins, played I Fond Kissed by Robert Burns and Kern Street, composed by himself. This feast of music was rounded off by the National Choir of Scotland's singing We Hold the Future. I had the privilege of working with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for nearly 10 years. As a failed clarinetist in the Five Youth Orchestra, I relished the opportunity to work with musicians from backstage, as opposed to being on the stage. In the mid-2000s, when Scotland's systema's first big noise orchestra was established in the rap block, the Scottish Symphony Orchestra players were involved. They buddied up with kids, joining them regularly for visits, lessons and performances. I asked one of my friends, Ian Crawford, double-basist for the BBC SSO, what drew him to become a buddy with rap-less big noise. He reflected what Michelle Thompson spoke about. He said that music was his safe space when he was growing up, where he learned to work with others and forged friendships, but also got a feeling of self-worth through the exhilaration of performance. He wanted to share his knowledge and experience with the children of what playing a musical instrument had given him. In 2011, Big Noise Rap Block played a side-by-side concert at Glasgow City Halls with their BBC SSO buddies, playing a medley of classical tunes. The atmosphere, the playing and the applause was fantastic. What a memory to have. As one of the young players said, this was their chance to play with the BBC SSO so we can be like them when we grow up. This outreach work still happens, sharing the joy of music with children across Scotland. In fact, this afternoon, 20 players of the BBC SSO were in Argyllin but at Campbelltown Grammar School, teaching and playing bite-sized excerpts from classical music pieces, encouraging over 200 school kids to connect with music. In the 2019 People Change Lives report, which Gordon referenced, it consolidated five years of evaluation learning from Systema Scotland's Big Noise centres in Stirling, Glasgow and Aberdeen. One 16-year-old participant from Rap Block said, Big Noise has had an impact in my life and has pushed me to see many open opportunities in and out of school. I was so shy, now I am an outgoing person. Watching them teach and the way that they treat us has made me a much more confident person. Big Noise has made me want to do volunteering and work with kids. Hopefully, becoming a volunteer here will keep me in music. If I wasn't, it would be a massive hole in my personality. I think that's just an amazing, fantastic achievement. Westerhales children and family have this to look forward to, and like other colleagues, I'm looking forward to seeing them perform. And who knows one may follow in the footsteps of Ralph Tagregalia, who grew up in Westerhales and who now plays the viola for the Ulster Orchestra. On Saturday, this chamber was filled with great Scottish music. Let's ensure that all Scots are brought up with music in their hearts. Thank you very much for coming to us, and I call on Douglas Lumsden to be followed by the final speaker, Rona Mackay, again, four minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing this debate tonight. I'm sure that the member will forgive me for not speaking about Big Noise project at Westerhales, but to share the experience of Big Noise Tory in my hometown of Aberdeen and hope that the shade of my experience of this project will highlight the benefits and the difference it can make to people's lives. I want to start my contribution today with a confession. Just over four years ago, when I became a councillor, I had no idea what Big Noise Tory was. I was then told by a fellow new councillor, it's music classes for kids, and as the convener of the Finance Committee at the time, it was maybe seen as a potential saving. But that all changed when I went to visit Big Noise Tory. It's not music lessons for kids, it's a social inclusion programme that's for children primarily, but also for their families. Yes, the children learn how to play musical instruments, but there is much, much more to it than that. It's about kids who maybe had taken no interest in anything before, suddenly becoming interested in something. It's about kids who maybe took no pride in anything they have done before, suddenly becoming proud in what they were achieving. It was about kids who maybe had never owned anything before, suddenly having their own violin or cello that they would cherish and look after. And it's about the parents who maybe didn't do any other parents in the school, going to a concert and mixing with others. It's about bringing communities together and it's about inclusion. And it's about, as we've heard before, it's about the confidence of the kids who have had no self-confidence before, something that I experienced first hand in my visits to Big Noise Tory. I think that as was mentioned previously, there was an evaluation report carried out on Big Noise Tory in June 2017, and it makes very good reading. And like Jenny Minto, my favourite part is some of the experiences that some of the children and parents have fed into that report. One parent said, My son is so funny. When we see someone from Big Noise, he always shouts hello to them. He's really proud that he's in an orchestra. He was telling everyone over the Christmas holidays. He's more open now, not just wanting to be on his own all the time. And another parent said, it's nice seeing something, give her confidence. Confidence with other people but for herself as well. She knows she has talent, and that's really good for her. She's not just in front of the telly all the time now. And the report also describes the impact on one of the pupils that I think really highlights the worth of the programme. Big Noise is described by his teacher and musician as providing Scott with a sense of purpose in school and a feeling of belonging as part of a team. And without going into detail, it's felt that Scott is a child who is at risk of being caught up in negative behaviours outwith school, particularly as he gets older. The routine, structure and stability of the after-school programme appear to provide a positive, diversionary activity outwith school hours. It also gives him a chance to channel his energies positively. Perhaps most importantly, it gives him an opportunity to develop skills and confidence and to be able to demonstrate that he is good at something and for this to be recognised by his teachers, family and peers. In closing, Presiding Officer, I wish the Big Noise project at Westerhales all the best. I'm sure that it will be a huge success and will change lives in the local communities for the better. And as a Parliament, we don't always agree, but on this good news story, I'm sure we can. As Michael Marra said earlier, local authorities are facing huge, enormous budget pressures, but we need to make sure that we can do everything that we can to defend and protect those projects. As we heard in the progress of Scott, it's the ultimate early intervention programme that gives children hope, improves attainment and sets them on the right path in life. I would encourage all members, if they can, to visit a Big Noise project, see for yourselves the smiley faces and see for yourselves the impact the Big Noise project has on communities. I'm pleased to be speaking in this important and uplifting debate and thank my colleague Gordon MacDonald for bringing it to the chamber. Presiding Officer, as we've heard across the chamber today in some fantastic speeches, music is vital to the wellbeing and confidence, particularly to children and young people. I first heard of Systema Scotland when it was set up in Rapploch in Stirling in 2008. I was blown away by its ethos and purpose to build on children's natural potential and abilities by enhancing self-esteem and unlocking each individual's dreams and ambitions. It reduces harmful inequality and the poverty attainment gap, and very importantly, it's great fun for everyone in the community and brings families together. More than 2,800 children now benefit from Big Noise throughout Scotland. That's utterly fantastic, Presiding Officer. Every new initiative set up by the charity is, in my view, a bonus, and I'm delighted that Western Heals will shortly be able to benefit from this great initiative. Big Noise has been evaluated by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health since 2013, and a wide range of positive impacts have been evidenced, and it is entirely in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Presiding Officer, I'm delighted that Big Noise has focused on early years intervention, beginning by working with children at nursery and in primary 1 and 2, gradually building on core skills such as listening, concentration, rhythm, rhyme and teamwork, while learning to play an instrument in the group. We all know how much children love music. I know a young girl with learning difficulties who lights up when she hears music. Instinctively, she feels happy and wants to sing and dance. Typically, a Big Noise child receives up to four after-school sessions of intervention and support a week during term time, and up to four days each week during spring, summer and autumn holidays until they leave school. All eligible children are actively encouraged to participate, and Big Noise teams work when partnership with children and families to overcome any barriers to attendance. There's a non-exclusion policy, and teams are trained in positive behaviour techniques, elements of child development and psychology and trauma-aware practice. Even the dreaded pandemic hasn't silenced Big Noise throughout 2021. Systema Scotland used whatever ways were possible under restrictions. Those range from thousands of one-to-one online lessons to working closely with education and local authority partners to deliver Covid-safe in-school lessons, often providing additional support to schools by offering a greater number of lessons to a greater number of pupils than pre-pandemic. Musicians act as educators, mentors and role models, supporting positive behaviours and life choices. They provide emotional and practical support and are inspirational. Young people open up to them, and many say that they feel that they can tell them anything, which is crucial for good mental health. Systema Scotland is funded based on a blended model of public sector investment, coupled with significant private sector support. The Scottish Government started supporting Systema Scotland's work in 2012, and, over the past nine years, it has invested more than £4 million. In my view, every pound of that investment is worth it in so many ways. Music is an international language. There are no barriers to listening and enjoying music. Now, thanks to Systema Scotland, there are no barriers to participating, learning an instrument and enjoying the lifelong benefits of such an inspirational early learning initiative. It would now fall to me to call on the cabinet secretary to respond to the debate, but having been absent from the chamber, this will be difficult. I encourage you, as well as apologising to the chamber, cabinet secretary, perhaps to look at the debate and write to each of the members in response to their speeches. I encourage members who have participated that, if there are specific points that they wish to raise, they should maybe raise those as interventions, and I will allow the cabinet secretary, as long as necessary, to accommodate those. Over to you, cabinet secretary. I apologise to fellow members of the Parliament for my absence at the beginning of the debate and to you as convener of the session. I thank you to Gordon MacDonald for securing this member's debate on the inspiring work of Systema Scotland as they expand their big noise programme to Westerhales. I commend the warm and positive contributions that we've heard from across the chamber, and it's so nice to see cross-party consensus on a project like this. The Scottish Government has been proud to provide funding to Systema Scotland since 2020. We're also proud to have supported their growth from the first project in Rapploch to new big noise projects in Govanhill, Torrey and Douglas and now to Westerhales. And speaking of somebody who benefited personally from music tuition at both primary and secondary school, I totally understand how beneficial this is. In fact, I'm pleased to confirm today that our total investment for 2021-22 will be £1.1 million. This money will support the new project in Westerhales, which we're celebrating in the debate today, and it will help Systema Scotland to continue to grow and innovate their model. As culture secretary, I value the cultural and creative opportunities that big noise provides to young people. Many of us will have had the opportunity to see the talented musicians from the programmes perform. Systema Scotland is, however, much more than a cultural organisation. One of the things that's so inspiring about Systema Scotland is that learning a musical instrument and being part of an orchestra is a means rather than just an end in itself. It is a means towards supporting families and communities to help young people to realise their potential. Members will be aware that the long-term research from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health has demonstrated key impacts for participants from increased confidence and aspiration to better school attendance, to increased resilience, happiness and fulfilment. The big noise programmes are a brilliant example of how involvement in creative and cultural activity can have such a positive impact on both individuals and communities. As members know, we published a culture strategy for Scotland last year, with two of its main themes being empowering through culture and transforming through culture. The transforming through culture theme highlights the ways in which culture can contribute to so many areas, including health and wellbeing, learning and reducing inequality and how culture has such a huge transformational potential. I'm happy to take an intervention. The alignment with the culture strategy is absolutely clear on both those points in terms of empowerment and transformation. I think that the speeches that we've heard talk eloquently to that. I'm also very welcome for the amount of money that's been committed by the Scottish Government. Is that a long-term commitment? What stage are negotiations at with the system of Scotland about a genuinely long-term approach? I think that one of the points that I made in my speech was that this is about a commitment, a permanent commitment to those communities. It's great to hear that coming to Edinburgh, but it's about making sure that that is for many years to come. Cabinet Secretary, the colleagues' intervention is very well made and very well timed. I would draw attention to the fact that the Scottish Government is currently drawing up a culture strategy for renewal as we emerge from the Covid pandemic. The query that is at the heart of his intervention is something that has been thought long and hard about in terms of the long-term ability for important projects like this to continue. Forgive me, I'm not able to give a sneak preview of that right now, but I've been content when we get to that stage to answer more fully. His point is very well made. This is a project that is changing people's lives now, but it should be able to transform people's lives in the future as well. Of course, I'm happy to take a second intervention. It's really key that we make the point that as much as many councils have supported that locally through their own budgets and that Dundee City Council has committed to taking on the support of that in the coming year. A very tight financial settlement from the Scottish Government myself and the minister would disagree whether that might be a fair settlement or otherwise, but the reality for projects such as this, which is highlighted by Mr Lumsden and his speech as well in terms of Torrey and by other colleagues in terms of the commitments in the RAP block and now in Edinburgh, is that we have to see a central form of support, because, in essence, if we see that coming to the local authority to bear the load of that cuts, we know what's going to happen. You know that it will come under extreme pressure, so it needs that central funding support to be continued. The gentleman has managed to be able to put his very persuasive arguments on the record. Again, I commend him for that. He'll understand why I'm not able to go further at this stage, given that we're still internally preparing for the culture renewal strategy to be agreed, but his intervention is extremely well timed and I think will help to crystallise the thinking as part of that process. Returning to the empowering through culture theme, it celebrates culture as a central to our communities and essential to everyday life. It recognises the importance of opportunities to participate in culture throughout our lives. The big noise programmes are proof of the importance of both of those themes. On wider youth arts funding, the Government is also proud of our other youth arts programmes, including the youth arts emergency fund and the youth music initiative. They have provided a range of opportunities for young people to access cultural and creative opportunities that they might not otherwise have been able to get involved with. Our funding to Systema Scotland fits within our overall work to widen access to high-quality cultural opportunities. We know those programmes in the last year or so will have had a really important role in helping young people with their wellbeing and confidence during the pandemic. There's also an exciting range of creative and cultural opportunities funded through the Get Into Summer programme. At the opportunity in August to visit one of those projects at Whale Arts, another organisation doing fantastic work in the Westerhales community through arts and culture. The past 18 months have been truly tough on our young people in particular. I'd like to commend Systema Scotland for the support that it has provided during the height of the pandemic continuing to support the families that it works most closely with. There is a great example of the way so much of our voluntary sector helped communities through the worst of the pandemic. In Systema Scotland's case, it adapted quickly to keep lessons going for the young people by going online. It provided IT equipment where families did not have this available. It helped families to access wider support while their children were not able to be at school. That is just a short overview of both the importance and power of culture and creativity to change lives and of the fantastic work that Systema Scotland has been doing in communities for more than a decade. We know from the research that the impact on young people from big noise programmes is really meaningful, so I'm delighted that they are opening a programme in Westerhales and also working with a new community in Fallon near Stirling. I'm proud in conclusion that the Scottish Government continues to invest and support their growth and I'm pleased to have had this opportunity to celebrate and highlight the fantastic work of the big noise programmes, both existing and soon to be. Thank you Cabinet Secretary. That concludes the debate and I close this