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The situation in Gaza is obviously very different from that in the west bank, in that there is a war currently going on in Gaza and the ability to get any supplies into Gaza is extremely restricted. That is one of the things that have caused real distress to the United Nations and its agencies. It is still only a very small proportion of humanitarian supplies—such as food and the oil supplies that are required to maintain generators for hospitals and other public services—that are getting in. That is only a tiny percentage of that which UNRWA calculates is required.

Mr Ruskell has named a number of towns, cities and communities in the west bank, which are in a different situation: they are not in the same war situation as Gaza at the present time. I am sure that communities in Scotland that have links there will be thinking a lot about what they can do, in exactly the same way that the Scottish Government has been thinking about what we can do to help people in distress. That is why we have been supportive of the United Nations, which has the organisation on the ground and which is best able to calculate how best to provide support. I encourage local authorities that have links with communities to avail themselves of the likes of UNRWA, the United Nations agency with responsibility for supporting Palestinians in the near east, as a primary point of contact. Many other organisations also have an established track record of working in the west bank and, in the past, in Gaza.

I am not aware that there has been any change in the guidance, but if it would be helpful to Mr Ruskell, I will ensure that I forward on to him—through you, convener—the current status of that. As I have just said, however, I am not aware of there having been any change in that guidance.

As I confirmed in my opening statement, in addition to our already-announced commitment of £0.5 million of support for the people of Gaza through UNRWA, the amount of money has been raised, and the total now stands at £750,000.

The United Kingdom Government has also announced humanitarian aid support, and members of the public who want to be supportive need to know that a range of organisations, not least UNRWA, can be supported. UNRWA has launched a flash appeal, but in addition there is the likes of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is very involved on the ground and is also seeking to raise funds to deal with the scale of the crisis. It is a good opportunity to underline what the Scottish Government, the UK Government and members of the public are able to do.

One of the hopes in the days ahead—I know that there is a lot of diplomatic effort behind the scenes to try to make this possible—is that supplies will be able to get in. It is not simply a question of being able to open the Rafah crossing. Given the level of destruction in Gaza, it is extremely difficult to get supplies to different parts of Gaza, so it is a very complicated situation.

I think that we can rest on the fact that the likes of the United Nations and the IFRC have impeccable track records and the strongest infrastructure on the ground. I have no doubt that there are other organisations that are extremely capable—for example, Islamic Relief is an organisation that is very active in Scotland, and there will no doubt be other faith-based charities and others that are very well established and are unimpeachable.

As long as people support those well-known and well-trusted organisations, I think that there is little reason to worry. Nothing has been raised with me that gives me concern, but should there be, I will make sure that the committee is updated.

There is a lot in Ms Forbes’s questions. First, on her observations about parents and children, the situation is heartbreaking, as is the feeling of powerlessness. I think that we have to ask ourselves how many children have to die before it stops, because it cannot go on forever. At some point, all conflicts—to my knowledge—come to an end, no matter how appalling or complex.

We might think back to situations such as those in South Africa or Northern Ireland in which resolution was thought to be impossible or unimaginable, or very far off. Indeed, I think back to efforts in the 1990s regarding the middle east. Again, that was thought to be unimaginable at the time. The international community needs to look at itself in the mirror and ask whether enough has been done between then and now. I think that we all have to be self-critical—self-evidently, not enough has been done. The current situation is an unresolved conflict, and there is more that we can do.

What can a small country of 5 million people in northern Europe do in such a circumstance? First, one should be conscious that one has agency. We might think of some of the most testing conflicts in which there have been peace processes—I am thinking, for example, of the role of Norway or of Finland, where we recently saw the passing of President Martti Ahtisaari, who played a big role in peace processes. We might think of the roles that were played in countries such as Sri Lanka, and see that these northern European nations—indeed, including our own—have been host to meetings that have sought to further peace processes, such as the talks in St Andrews in relation to Northern Ireland.

I have some experience myself in that area, having hosted the first ever peace talks outside the former Soviet Union involving Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. I think that it is true to say that Scotland can offer something, even if it is just a place for people to meet in private or in other circumstances.

The member asked about people and about capability. We need to be conscious that we have people with very significant experience in this area—not least Mark Muller, whom many members will know because of his role in Beyond Borders Scotland, which works out of Traquair house in the Borders, and his involvement with UN conflict resolution. We have very deep and capable academic expertise in the relevant area. Recently, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, which involves internationally well-respected academics in the field of international relations in peace and security, was founded.

A wide sector of organisations wish to be supportive and helpful. That can only work if the people who are involved in a particular conflict realise that the time has come for peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu does not think that; he thinks that now is “a time for war”—that is how he put it, quoting the Bible. We can wish and call for peace and ceasefires; however, unfortunately, if those calls are ignored, the killing, the dying and the loss of children to lots of parents will continue. Those people deserve better.

I am sure that the convener would not want me to repeat the evidence that I gave in my opening statement about the changed financial circumstances and the additional pressures on the budget, although I would be delighted to do that if Mr Cameron wants me to. Mr Cameron was here and he heard that. If he needs to hear it again, I would be happy to share that with the committee.

Mr Cameron asserted that organisations will not be assured. Is he saying that the regularly funded organisations will not be assured when they receive their funding? That would surprise me. Creative Scotland is informing its regularly funded organisations that they will be receiving their funding in the next few weeks as planned. I imagine that the organisations are significantly assured, even if Mr Cameron is not.

In relation to the difference between the start and the end of the year, that should be obvious to any fair-minded person. I appeal to people’s fair mindedness in understanding the extreme financial pressures and to appreciate that, given that we are at the end of the year, we are getting closer to the introduction of the multiyear funding of the regularly funded organisations.

It is for Creative Scotland to explain its funding mechanisms, and I have no doubt that you will ask the organisation back to the committee to give evidence. One way or another, the organisation will have been beginning to need to draw down its reserves in order to spend on its multiyear funding of organisations. The commitment has been given that they will be provided with that funding in the normal way next year, so there is no detriment in relation to the reserves and funding that are available for Creative Scotland when it manages the transition for regularly funded organisations.

I can say with 100 per cent certainty that I have not received any communication from any other parliamentarian or party to suggest that. I have heard calls for this or that to happen, or for more of this or that, but there have been zero suggestions that funding could be found elsewhere to deal with funding pressures in culture.

The funding that has been given to Creative Scotland in relation to the reducing level of national lottery payments has undoubtedly assisted in its being able to accrue reserves, which have most recently totalled £17 million, and I acknowledge that that is clearly important to the organisation. Mr Brown is right to say that, although the commitment of the Scottish Government to step in to bridge the funding gap was foreseen to be for three years, we have maintained it for five years.

We have already explored a bit the importance of multi-annual funding and the positive impact that it will have on the culture sector—it is what the sector and the Scottish Government want. However, that involves a huge transition programme from Creative Scotland, working on behalf of the culture sector in Scotland, and Creative Scotland needs to know that it has the resources in place when that process kicks in. As I have said a number of times from a number of angles, Creative Scotland will have the funding that it expected and requires to have in place to be able to do that work.

The global culture budgets of the Scottish Government are a separate issue but, as I have said, I will approach that subject with my colleagues in Government to ensure that we have the best possible settlement. The fact that Creative Scotland has been able to build up reserves reflects the fact that it has received funding from the Scottish Government in addition to the moneys that have been lost from the reducing amount from the national lottery.

In general, as we know, one person’s wish for ring fencing is seen by another person as an instruction to those who should be able to make those decisions. We hear that at the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee a lot, do we not? The pendulum of public opinion swings on that. To an extent, there is already budgetary ring fencing. If we look at the budget lines in my portfolio, we see that there are different ways in which festivals, for example, are supported.

I have always been open minded to good ideas, whether from the culture sector or from the committee, whose reports are excellent—I say that not just because I am appearing before you. I say to colleagues, and especially to colleagues from other political parties, that, if there are genuine suggestions about how things could be better organised, I appeal for people’s input on such matters. I have to sit here in the hot seat and answer to what we are doing in Government, and I appreciate that Opposition colleagues need to do what they do. However, there is no monopoly on common sense.

I am very interested in what we can learn from other jurisdictions and other countries about different funding approaches for the creative and arts sector. In the past, we have brought up ideas such as a percentage for arts, which is a potential new funding stream.

We must acknowledge the tremendous benefit that we derive from philanthropy. Last week, I was at the opening event for the new galleries at the National Galleries of Scotland. That project was significantly supported by Scottish Government funding. The galleries are world class; I encourage all colleagues to go if they have not yet been there. A lot of the key supporters of the project were at the event, and I was struck that—although one would not know this, because they do not advertise it—they are incredibly generous to, in that case, the National Galleries of Scotland, but we could say the same thing about their generosity towards the V&A Dundee, Celtic Connections and any number of things. Much more needs to be done in the philanthropy space not just to work with people who are so generous but to say thank you to them, because we need to work in partnership to ensure that we provide the maximum resource.

We also need to be aware of the significant financial support that comes to cultural organisations and venues from outwith Scotland. I am thinking of people from the Scottish diaspora, among others, who contribute really generously.

There is more that we can do in that space. If Mr Stewart has any new ideas in that respect, I would be delighted to work with him on them.

No.