Chamber and committees

My question is for Katie Gillham. I asked the previous panel of witnesses about the legislation that was brought in as a result of our leaving the EU. I am interested in your views on the objectives in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the priorities in the development of the joint fisheries statement and fishery management plans under the act.

I believe that, under the new legislation, the funding package runs for between two and three years, whereas the European funding package ran for up to seven years. Will that have an impact on the industry?

I thank the witnesses for coming along. Scotland and salmon farming are synonymous—I believe that about 75 per cent of supply chain is in Scotland. I am interested in hearing more about the innovative work that is happening, as well as how that work impacts on the environmental side of things, such as how you are reducing the environmental impact of salmon fishing.

I have a quick question that follows on from what Steve Carson said about the audience age range target for the BBC Scotland channel. How is BBC Scotland progressing on its diversity targets, both in front of and behind the mic or camera? I am also interested in the other big news story that hit the BBC, which was about equal pay.

It is great to welcome both of the witnesses to the committee. I want to make a voluntary declaration that I worked for BBC Scotland—I left 11 years ago.

Steve Carson, you commented on the reduction in spend in BBC Scotland on production last year, which was due to Covid. However, if I have read the figures correctly, I understand that the number of hours of production still hit the target. Therefore, I am interested to know about the mix of commissioning. Were cheaper programmes commissioned in Scotland? You also note in your report—and you have said—that the BBC has committed to exceeding network spending targets in future years. Therefore, can you give us an indication of the programming types and timescales?

Steve and Leigh Tavaziva have mentioned on several occasions the plan to move commissioners out of the London metropolitan area. Again, I would like to know the timescale for that, if possible, please.

Thank you for joining us. The session has been very informative.

To follow on from Dr Allan’s questions, I am interested to hear a bit more about the touring that we will—we hope—be able to start seeing happening in Scotland and about your thoughts on the fund that the Scottish Government introduced through the programme for government to get musicians and theatre companies out to more rural areas. They, too, are crying out for much more culture and creativity to come back to them.

I live on Islay, where the very successful Cantilena festival brings in young musicians. I am interested to hear what the MU is doing to support young musicians again. It is clear that, through lockdown, their education will have been taking place in their own rooms and online. What support structures are needed to ensure that the throughput of emerging artists in Scotland continues?

You have painted a very stark picture, Mr McManus.

I would like to move back to the issue of tours. We have festivals that have musicians coming across from Europe. I would like to hear your thoughts on how the present situation is impacting on the work that our musicians are doing. I have heard from musicians that they are concerned about the creativity that is brought about by their ability to spark off people from other traditions and countries across Europe. Looking at the funding, is there anything that we can do to support them in that regard, following on from what Dr Allan was saying about us losing access to Creative Europe?

I have some anecdotal evidence of that. Friends of mine and my mother were very appreciative of the religious output that the channel provided during lockdown.

You touched on what you have learned through the pandemic. On production, you mentioned quicker commissioning. I would be interested to hear you expand on what you said about that.

The BBC Alba channel started about 10 to 12 years ago—in fact, I think it was longer ago than that. Several times, you have mentioned BBC Alba’s involvement in co-productions. I am interested in looking at the different ways in which BBC Alba commissions. It commissions pasgan agreements for bundles of programmes from producers, followed by top-up commissioning rounds. That allows economies of scale to be achieved for the broadcaster and the programme producers, and it allows them to plan their output. You could argue that it also reduces risk on producer and broadcaster. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on that model for the BBC Scotland channel and more widely across BBC Scotland.

I have a brief final question. I am interested to know whether the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s performances have perhaps been impacted by the inability to get performers over from Europe. I appreciate that, with the Covid situation, there will not be many live performances, but what are you doing to alleviate any issues there for the future?

It was an interesting couple of days on Islay and Colonsay, and I know that you visited Shetland after the Argyll and Bute islands. I think that you will have picked up that each island is different, as I have certainly done from visiting a wide array of islands in my constituency. I was pleased to hear you talk about a tailored approach to agriculture and fisheries, and I hope that the same tailored approach will be taken with regard to islands, too, because, as you have highlighted, different islands have different needs. For example, Jura has benefited hugely in the past 10 years from having a clear community action plan, but it has now reached the point at which there is nobody with free volunteer time to continue the development of the island. Comparing that situation with the situation on other islands such as Colonsay, which you mentioned, demonstrates the need for different approaches.

I would like to understand a bit more about the infrastructure spend that was highlighted yesterday, and I would like to know more about carbon neutral islands, which is an important issue across Argyll and Bute and other island communities. For example, Tiree has a community wind turbine that has given the island a strong funding base that allows people there to do more in their communities. I am interested to know more about the different stages that various islands are at in that regard and about how the piloting will work.