Seòmar agus comataidhean

To come back to my fundamental question: will there be more or less airtime for Scottish jazz talent as a result of your cutting “Jazz Nights” and the reforms that you have proposed?

Right. Thank you: there will be less airtime for Scottish jazz as a result of that.

What expertise do you have in commissioning across the three genres to which you propose to make changes and cuts? What kind of musical expertise do you, as commissioners, have in those areas?

Right, but you do not have specific skills in those musical genres. I suppose that my question is this: do you understand those musical genres, how important they are and the educational aspect for the listening public—the importance of having a curated show that takes the listener on a journey to understand that musical genre?

Okay. Thank you very much.

I turn to Baroness Drake. Please can you give a House of Lords perspective.

Do you see any advantage to structural changes in Westminster committees? Are the committees set up to allow scrutiny of overriding of the Sewel convention? Would innovation be needed there?

I heard recently that a German national radio station has commissioned a series of programmes about the Scottish jazz scene. It is showcasing Scottish jazz talent and is very excited about it. Do you not think that it is pretty shameful that our national radio broadcaster is not creating that space for Scottish talent but a German national radio broadcaster is?

Sixty per cent of the track listings on “Jazz Nights” are by Scottish artists, a great proportion of whom are emerging artists. There is no way that you can get that kind of coverage in “The Afternoon Show” or within the formats of linear programmes on Radio 2 or Radio 3 that end up on BBC Sounds. It simply cannot be done. You are constraining that genre. You are constraining the creativity and the talent of that genre into tiny little slots within mainstream programmes; are you not?

I do not want you to be a professor, but as I say, do you have expertise in commissioning?

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the unique position that Scotland has as the world’s most northerly non-Arctic country. I have enjoyed the contributions and insights from members so far.

I have attended the Arctic Circle assembly in Reykjavík twice as an MSP and have always left inspired by the opportunities for collaboration and learning between Governments, businesses, academia and the third sector. Attending those events has more often felt like coming home than visiting away, such are the warmth of the gathering and the willingness to share and learn from one another.

The geography, the economic, social and cultural history, and the future of our climate all point to the need for that greater collaboration between the people who inhabit and care for the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. In Scotland, we are undeniably part of that world. It is striking that, when you tilt the map on the northern latitudes, there is a seamless geography that runs from Greenland through Iceland to the archipelagos of the Faroes, Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles and the west coast of Norway.

That was not lost on our ancestors who explored, traded in and inhabited that world. Some of that history has already been brought into the chamber by Liam McArthur and Jamie Halcro Johnston. It reminded me that my grandfather was stationed at Scapa during the second world war in his work defending the Atlantic convoys.

I will focus a little bit on Orkney. I have to commend the leadership of Orkney Islands Council, which has prioritised its Arctic and Nordic engagement. It is clear that both Orkney and Shetland have much to gain from and share with their neighbours. I hope that the Scottish Government can see that ambition as a strength for Scotland as a whole and that the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture gives serious attention to proposals to invest further in Orkney’s Arctic agenda.

The shared geography of the west Nordic region means shared opportunities and learning. I have been struck, as Fiona Hyslop was, by the Faroese approach to developing fixed links across their islands, their ambition for offshore wind combined with tidal energy and the growing development of a new industry: kelp farming. We have a ban on kelp dredging in Scotland, but there is a golden opportunity to develop a licensing regime that allows a productive, profitable industry to emerge in Scotland, creating hundreds of jobs while operating within our ecological limits .Of course, in recent years, the Faroese have developed a licensing regime to achieve that objective, and I urge the Scottish Government to learn from and act on it.

Will Richard Leonard reflect on the importance of sub-nation states and petrol states coming together and committing to a just transition and to signing up to the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance?