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Good morning. My question relates to rural areas, which we know are in danger of being left behind when it comes to Scotland’s housing emergency. Many jobs in rural Scotland tend to be lower paid, with wages in general not keeping pace with inflation. There is also less local infrastructure and less access to public services, which makes it less likely that young people will stay, so they often move to other parts of the country. How do we tackle depopulation? Could addressing that issue be the answer to tackling Scotland’s housing emergency in our rural areas?

I do not have a question at the moment, convener.

Thank you. It is great to be back on the committee and I look forward to working with you all once more. My only declaration of interest at present is that I was a serving councillor on North Lanarkshire Council between 2017 and 2021. Of course, if there are any future declarations of interest, I will update the committee as and when appropriate.

I associate myself with Paul O’Kane’s comments about the fact that access to legal services is vitally important to everyone. We have been speaking about human rights this morning. We need to ensure that people can access legal services when they need to. I share the concerns about the annulment as it is presented in the motion. That is not because I do not believe that the matter should be looked into. It absolutely should be looked into.

I seek reassurance from the minister with regard to the review of legal fees, which she touched on briefly in her opening statement. The committee could explore that or the Scottish Government could pursue it directly on the back of what we have discussed today. It would be helpful if the minister could address that when she sums up. I sympathise with the points that have been raised about ensuring that people can get access to justice support when they need it.

We can take that point, and we can look to work together on these important issues, but the human rights bill is not coming into place so that we can scrutinise, debate and inform it. The right to food and the right to housing have been mentioned by other colleagues. Are you disappointed that we cannot have discussions about the right to housing and the right to food, which could have been incorporated in the bill?

It is about looking at what the Scottish Government can do in relation to issues here in Scotland that are within its devolved remit. That is where I think the cabinet secretary should focus her interest regarding housing or the right to food. However, we do not have a bill where we can stack that up.

I thank the cabinet secretary for her time this morning.

Good morning, cabinet secretary and officials. The Scottish Parliament is one of the most powerful devolved Governments in the world, but there have been issues in relation to the Scottish Government acting outwith devolved competence when it comes to particular legislation that has gone through the Parliament. On the stakeholder engagement that has happened on the human rights bill over the past 10 years, has the Scottish Government overpromised and underdelivered when it comes to the bill’s timeframe and what the Government can do within its competence?

I disagree with that completely when it comes to what this Parliament can do within its devolved scope. We talk about issues such as the housing crisis and the right to food, with reference to the human rights bill. Those areas come under devolved competence and are therefore the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

Looking ahead, does the Scottish Government intend to bring the bill back before the next election in 2026, or will it hang on until after that election?

I understand where the cabinet secretary is coming from with respect to multiyear funding. Of course, it is not just Creative Scotland that is looking for a new way for the Scottish Government to allocate funding to those organisations. Historic Environment Scotland is another one that would like to see a progression to multiyear funding. What conversations has the Scottish Government had with Historic Environment Scotland? I am very concerned about where its budgetary situation is in terms of the prioritisation of historic sites and whether there will be a significant reduction in the important work that it can carry out.

Good morning, cabinet secretary. We have spoken a lot about Creative Scotland and the review. Given the controversies this year, the review is timely and will, I hope, lead to better working relationships between the publicly funded body and the Scottish Government. However, it is right to say that the decisions that Creative Scotland can take depend on the budget that the Scottish Government provides.

Creative Scotland’s chief executive, Iain Munro, has stated that lack of clarity about the budget was part of the reason why it decided to close its open fund. Cabinet secretary, I have in front of me a freedom of information document, dated 27 August, that requested any correspondence between you and Creative Scotland regarding the announcement of the closure of the open fund. The response that I received stated that there had been no discussions between you and Creative Scotland regarding that significant announcement. We are talking about £6.6 million, so surely there would have been correspondence between the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland. Why did such discussions not take place? If they did, can you clarify what discussions took place?