Seòmar agus comataidhean

I am a wee bit conscious of the time because we also have a private agenda item this morning, but I will move to questions from Mr Stewart.

We need to bring proceedings to a close. Cabinet secretary and Ms Cooper, thank you very much for your attendance. I ask you to please vacate the room quickly, as we have another agenda item and we will be moving as quickly as we can to that. Thank you.

Were those online articles being read on the news section of the BBC website?

Thank you. Neil Bibby has some questions.

Our colleague Kate Forbes is joining us remotely today due to the weather that seems to be affecting most of Scotland.

Our second agenda item is our annual evidence session on the annual report of the BBC, which has a firm place in the committee’s calendar. We are delighted to be joined by Steve Carson, director, and Louise Thornton, head of commissioning, both from BBC Scotland, and by Alan Dickson, chief financial officer at the BBC. I welcome them all warmly and invite Mr Carson to make a brief opening statement.

I will return to Mr Ruskell’s theme about offering opportunities for new talent that is coming through. You mentioned Screen Scotland and one of the growing markets and successes in Scotland. I recently visited Bute high school with Education Scotland and Screen Scotland to see a project on an animation course for young people. Skills are an issue in that area, the more successful we get, because there is only a certain pool of people available. Steve Carson, you mentioned working with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the young musicians there. I am also thinking about the earlier comments about diversity. What are you doing to open pathways for young people in Scotland to have a career in the BBC in those areas?

That has exhausted our time with you this morning. I thank you all for your attendance at the committee. I will suspend the meeting briefly so that we can change witnesses for our next session.

Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. Your opening statement answered many of the questions that were asked by cultural organisations last week, so thank you for the clarity on those matters.

You mentioned the percentage for the arts scheme. This week, we have been discussing a visitor levy in the Parliament and the opportunities for local authorities in utilising that. Is there a worry that such levies are seen as fix-alls, and is the expectation of what they might be able to deliver higher than what we can reasonably expect?

That is more of a suggestion than a question, but please be succinct in your response, cabinet secretary.