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I agree that we need the Scottish Government to bring forward that resource in the budget to ensure that our creatives are supported, and I will continue to make that case.

I want to ask about your current resources and how you manage them. There has been a lot of discourse in the media about Creative Scotland’s administration costs. Analysis of the published accounts from 2022-23 shows that the percentage of Creative Scotland’s budget allocation that went on staffing costs rose to 12 per cent, which was up from 5 per cent or 7 per cent in previous years. Meanwhile, the percentage of budget that was allocated to grants in 2022-23 fell to 83 per cent, compared with 92 per cent in 2020-21 and 2021-22. I know that we have had Covid, uncertainty and cuts in budgets, and that we have had moves to multiyear funding and preparation for that.

Can you explain what was behind the increase in the proportion of the budget that is spent on administration and overhead costs? I appreciate that there may be a number of factors. Are there any on-going or planned efforts to reduce administrative and operational costs? Notwithstanding the point that we need to support the culture sector with funding, are there any areas in which Creative Scotland as an agency could be more efficient, given the resources that it currently has?

Good morning. We have talked about last year’s announcement of an additional £100 million over five years. A full timeline for delivery of that extra funding has never been shared but, clearly, if it were to be delivered on a linear path, that would be £20 million a year. The problem is that, despite £25 million being promised next year, only £15.8 million was provided this year. Does that not show that, in delivery of the £100 million, the Scottish Government is already behind schedule, if it is going on a linear path to meet that commitment? Given what you have said about the need for accelerated funding and front loading of the £100 million, £25 million would only get the Scottish Government back on a linear path, and that would not be sufficient to meet the challenges that you currently face.

Maybe Lori Anderson will answer that first.

We briefly touched on the Creative Scotland review earlier. Should that review be run independently of Government? Should it have a broader remit than just Creative Scotland? There was mention of looking at different funding streams, for example. You all deal with Creative Scotland—if not reliant on its funding, you deal with it in some way. In your experience, how can it improve as an organisation? Can efficiencies be made in the way in which it delivers what it delivers?

I want to ask about Glasgow specifically. We have fantastic cultural assets in Scotland. It was fantastic to visit the V&A in Dundee over the summer, and we have many great museums and galleries across the country.

We are talking about the squeeze on cultural funding nationally, and it is clear that it affects everybody. There is also a squeeze on local authority budgets, which everyone feels. Is Glasgow, with the Kelvingrove museum and other assets that are in many ways national assets but not regarded as national assets, particularly struggling? I accept that every local authority is struggling at the moment, but are there extra additional pressures in Glasgow because of that potential double whammy?

In the programme for government, the Scottish Government announced a review of Creative Scotland, which has potential impacts on budgets and the way in which culture is funded. What should the review include? For example, should it be independent of Government, as opposed to a Government review? Should it look at more than just Creative Scotland as an organisation, and should we look at how we support the creative industries and the culture sector more generally? What impact could the review have on funding?

The Scottish Government—my apologies.

Does anyone else have other thoughts?

I think that the V&A has received Creative Scotland funding. Is that correct?

On supporting businesses and providing guidance to them, is the Scottish Government considering more direct intervention measures, such as the establishment of a dedicated advisory board or a helpline for exporters? We have heard some suggestions about that in evidence sessions. We have talked about supporting small business and we heard that the Scottish Government is doing everything that it can. Is the Scottish Government considering other measures? What more can it do to help businesses to navigate the new trading regime?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. I want to go back to the issue of guidance and support for businesses as they navigate new trading arrangements and, indeed, the whole issue of trading. You have said on a number of occasions that the Scottish Government is doing everything that it can, but how is it evaluating whether it is doing that? You mentioned support from Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International and Scotland house in Brussels, but how is the Scottish Government evaluating the effectiveness of its support for small businesses so that it can back up its claim that it is doing everything that it can? What future changes will be made on the back of any such evaluation?