Scottish Parliament, 8 January 2009

398 contributions from 87 members. The official report.

Official Report 8 January 2009

Homecoming Scotland 2009

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

The first item of business is a debate on motion S3M-3173, in the name of Jim Mather, on homecoming and its potential to support sustainable economic growth. I remind all members that Presiding Officers will no longer give a one-minute warning before the end of members' speeches. We are tight for time, so I ask members to stick strictly to the allocated time, or I will move on to the next speaker.

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

I welcome everyone to this important debate. This is an exceptional year for Scotland. There are only 16 days until the official launch of the homecoming celebrations, which are timely in these challenging times. The programme is ready to run and we have wind in our sails. Even currency weakness is a strength as far as the year of homecoming is concerned.

If we did not have the idea of homecoming on the stocks—it has been planned for some time, as members will know—we would need to invent it to boost the economy, and the tourism economy in particular. Its necessity is further endorsed by the reaction of our Northern Irish and Welsh neighbours, who wish that they had come up with the idea, and by the positive approach that we have had from VisitBritain which, to its credit, is promoting homecoming 2009 as a major reason to visit the United Kingdom and Scotland.

We are inviting the diaspora and affinity Scots throughout the world to celebrate our shared heritage by joining us this year for one of the biggest family reunions that the world has ever seen. It is an open invitation: people all over the world can declare themselves to be family members, and we are inviting everyone who has either an ancestral or an affinity link with Scotland to come this year and celebrate who we are, what we have done and what we can do together in practical thematic terms. We will celebrate the heritage of Burns—for which the 250th anniversary of his birth is the trigger—as well as golf, whisky, innovation, the enlightenment and our cultural heritage, with major iconic signature events such as the gathering, whisky month and Celtic Connections.

There is already phenomenal engagement from the diaspora and affinity Scots throughout the world. All party leaders were involved in the launch on 18 December and every local authority is engaged. There is substantial private sector support from companies such as Walkers Shortbread, the makers of Famous Grouse, Scottish and Southern Energy and Clydesdale Bank, with many more to be announced, and from our universities and communities. They are all united in the worthy goal of making homecoming 2009 a huge success and a source of long-term benefit for Scotland.

The priority for us, and for everyone in Scotland who has yet to engage with homecoming, is to get involved by telling friends and relatives abroad about what is happening this year; reconnecting with our own roots and with family at home and abroad; reconnecting with and revisiting the multitude of great places and great venues throughout Scotland; inviting friends and relatives back; visiting our own home towns; and helping to activate the increasingly connected network of Scotland's Scots, the Scots diaspora and the vast army of affinity Scots throughout the world. That latter community is pretty much limitless.

Homecoming and the high-priced euro are two good reasons for Scots to stay at home for a holiday this year and to get value and memorable enjoyment from being at home in Scotland in 2009. More than 300 events are taking place throughout Scotland, and EventScotland is working with every local authority in Scotland to deliver inspirational events across the country. That fits well with our legacy strategy of growing tourism revenues by 50 per cent by 2015, in spite of the challenging times.

The Government is providing a core budget of £5 million for events and promotion. That is seed funding, but others are piling in, including local authorities, private companies, Scottish Natural Heritage, Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland. VisitScotland is managing its budget this year with a homecoming 2009 theme.

The evidence shows that the marketing is working. A recent article from The Scotsman said:

"the Homecoming idea has suddenly become a brilliant marketing tool that could save the Scottish tourism industry in the coming year and beyond."

Just this week in The Scotsman, Mike Cantlay, who is convener of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority and an entrepreneur with businesses in Canada, said that his Toronto customer base is beginning to align itself with the idea. It is clear that the key audiences—the low-hanging fruit—for homecoming are the UK, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Ireland, but the scope goes beyond that to cover 40 countries.

The momentum is with us. There are now 9,000 direct links to the homecoming website from other sites, and every 35 seconds another North American will have registered on the website—the rate is increasing; it was every 38 seconds yesterday. Seventy-five per cent of those who are registering are interested or very interested in coming back to Scotland as a result of homecoming 2009.

Patrick Harvie (Green, Glasgow)

I note that the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism places great emphasis on the number of North Americans who are registering interest in homecoming. When I asked him at the briefing for the launch of homecoming whether any attempt had been made to assess the number of local as opposed to international tourists and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be associated with the increased tourism from homecoming, he told me that that had not been done. Why not?

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

We are seeking to ensure that any flights that come from the United States are full. In difficult times, we think that homecoming will play best to that market. Beyond that, we are cracking on with the "Caledonia" advert: 60 per cent of the Scottish population have seen it, and 66 per cent are aware of the year of homecoming.

Jack McConnell (Labour, Motherwell and Wishaw)

Will the member take an intervention?

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

I am pressed for time and keen to ensure that I move the motion.

The I am a Scot campaign is reaching 95 million people across the world through the website cometoscotland.com. Around 6,000 of the 8,000 passports for the gathering have already been sold, and momentum around our signature events is beginning to build in corporate Scotland.

In the current climate, homecoming is an ideal boost that is giving us a big push forward to ensure that tourism does well. The strengthening dollar and euro already bode well for Scotland. Our target return is an 8:1 ratio, so we expect to generate an extra £40 million from homecoming. We have the chance to capture the data and build on exceeding customer expectations so that we have more advocates and more people who are willing to come back, stay for longer, spend more and become repeat customers of Scotland.

That is all firmly in place. In addition, the Scottish homecoming cup, whose next round takes place on Saturday, will promote the event and give us further coverage in the media.

Homecoming is a great event, which has real momentum, and everything augurs well for it to have a great long-term legacy. I commend the fantastic homecoming programme, and I welcome the cross-party support for it.

I move,

That the Parliament supports Scotland's first ever homecoming celebration; recognises that the spectacular calendar of events and activities taking place this year from the weekend around Burns Night to St Andrew's Day will make for a unique year for all those joining the celebrations, including the people living in Scotland, the diaspora Scots and those with an affinity for Scotland who visit in 2009, and further recognises the potential for Homecoming Scotland 2009 to boost international and domestic tourism in support of the Scottish economy at this time.

Lewis Macdonald (Labour, Aberdeen Central)

In such tough economic times, it is, as the minister said, important to play to our strengths and to respond to opportunities. Homecoming 2009 offers opportunities to play to Scotland's strengths, and its timing has proved to be fortuitous in the current economic context. It is a long time since a boost to economic activity was quite so urgently needed.

Homecoming has the potential to play to some of our greatest strengths. It has a global reach among those whose families emigrated in centuries past, and a vast potential new market in the friends and relatives overseas of the people who have come to live and work here in more recent years. Rabbie Burns personifies the internationalism of Scotland, so to commemorate him while promoting Scotland as a destination worldwide is the kind of smart move of which he would no doubt have approved.

The issue for debate today is not whether homecoming is a good idea for 2009 but whether it is being promoted effectively, how significant a role it can play in sustaining the Scottish economy, and what more can be done to secure the best possible outcomes this year and to ensure a significant legacy. The wider picture of Scottish Government support for Scottish tourism is not entirely positive. Government investment in the sector is due to fall in real terms by 4.8 per cent in the next financial year and by 2.8 per cent in the financial year after that.

The response of ministers to last year's Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee report on achieving 50 per cent growth in tourism revenues was distinctly mixed; in some areas it is not yet clear what their final response will be. Labour's amendment highlights one concern that the committee raised regarding the withdrawal of adult apprenticeships in the tourism and hospitality sectors. I hope that the minister will go further on those today and guarantee that the apprenticeships will be available again in the future. It is not enough to say that training needs to be worth while and to reflect the needs of employers; it must also meet the needs of trainees and of the sectors as a whole.

Our amendment also highlights our concerns about Scottish Government support for the Scots language and cultural institutions. It is not acceptable on the 250th anniversary of Burns's birth that the Scottish Language Dictionaries should be obliged to issue redundancy notices because of uncertainty about future Government funding. Ministers could end that uncertainty and they would save a lot of anxiety for all concerned by doing so now rather than in three months. Those are two examples of areas in which Scottish ministers could take early steps to demonstrate their commitment to tourism and homecoming 2009, but they are not the only ones.

Perhaps the biggest question mark is over the funding of homecoming. As VisitScotland has conceded, £5 million to support the homecoming calendar of events is a "pretty modest" contribution. It is not the scale of funding that might be expected if homecoming were being given its full potential weight. On one level, it was good to see homecoming highlighted as one of the SNP Government's six points in response to the imminent risk of recession. Sadly, however, as with most of the other points, its inclusion in the economic recovery plan is not accompanied by significant additional resources.

I listened with interest last night when Alex Salmond told the BBC that he hoped to see £40 million in additional tourism revenues as a result of homecoming 2009. That aspiration needs to be seen in the context of other outcomes to which Scottish ministers are already signed up. In context, £40 million might turn out to be a "pretty modest" ambition.

The tourism sector and the previous devolved Scottish Government agreed a common target of a 50 per cent increase in Scotland's tourism revenues between 2005 and 2015. Scottish National Party ministers have endorsed that target. Achieving the target would require annual growth over 10 years in the region of 4 per cent, or £160 million. Therefore, the question is whether the First Minister's £40 million target is in addition to the existing targets for increasing revenues annually or whether it stands alone. If it is additional, a total of £200 million in additional visitor revenues is required, and that is a challenging aspiration.

All parties in the Parliament want homecoming to succeed. Almost all of us want it to attract international as well as domestic visitors. What we ask of ministers today is clarity about the objective criteria for success and how success will be measured. Is the aspiration this year for increased revenues of £200 million, of which £40 million will be an identifiable consequence of homecoming? If so, how will that contribution be measured? Alternatively, is the aspiration only to grow revenues by £40 million net, in which case, how will Scotland's longer-term targets be achieved?

Clear answers to those questions and a positive approach to other issues raised by Labour and other parties today will enable homecoming 2009 to progress with the broad support that it needs. I hope that the minister will respond accordingly. Like Burns himself, homecoming is too big and too important to be the property of any one party in Scotland today.

I move amendment S3M-3173.1, to leave out from first "recognises" to end and insert:

"welcomes and supports the calendar of events and activities taking place this year from the weekend around Burns Night to St Andrew's Day; recognises that this will make for a unique year for all those joining the celebrations, including the people living in Scotland, the diaspora Scots and those with an affinity for Scotland who visit in 2009, and calls on Scottish ministers to maximise the potential for Homecoming Scotland 2009 to boost international and domestic tourism in support of the Scottish economy by restoring full access to apprenticeships in the tourism and hospitality industries, bringing an end to uncertainty around future funding of Scots language and arts organisations and detailing how they will measure the contribution of Homecoming Scotland 2009 to supporting sustainable economic growth in the course of this year and beyond."

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Thank you, Mr Macdonald. I am sorry that there was a technical fault with the clock, but you were dead on time.

Gavin Brown (Conservative, Lothians)

I confess to being slightly more optimistic and upbeat than Mr Macdonald about homecoming, which I know, because I checked the website, is due to start in almost exactly 15 days, 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Homecoming is a hugely exciting initiative, which the Scottish Conservative party will support in its entirety. There are 101 official events and, almost as exciting, there are many unofficial events. I had a brief conversation yesterday with the Rev Sam Torrens, whose church in Edinburgh has arranged a completely unofficial event to which a group of parishioners from Maryland will come to try to find their roots in Edinburgh. If there are 101 official events, goodness knows how many unofficial ones will take place the length and breadth of Scotland over the year.

There are some new and exciting events. The gathering is one of the showpieces of the year; it will take place within a stone's throw of this building. From an economic point of view, I highlight the Forbes chief executive officers conference at which chief executives from across the world will come to look at Scotland.

Homecoming is a hugely exciting initiative that has the potential to have an economic impact. Although 2009 will be a tough year, we have at least the possibility of bringing more tourists to Scotland to spend more money here because of the unique selling point of homecoming. It is critical that that happens, because 218,000 people in Scotland rely on tourism for their income and livelihood.

The main issue on which I will focus today is the subject of the Conservative amendment. The diaspora has enormous long-term potential. Homecoming 2009 is a big prize, but a far bigger prize will be won if Scotland can reconnect with the 25 million or so people of Scottish descent around the world. If we can connect properly and engage with them in the longer term, it will be excellent news for Scotland, good news for our economy and even better news for our tourism trade. It is important that homecoming is seen not just as a series of events but as a process of re-engaging far better and deeper over time with the 25 million or so people of the diaspora around the world. Homecoming cannot be just a one-off; it would be a great pity if it were.

We have heard the minister speak about what the Government is trying to do; I would be grateful for a bit more detail about how it intends to capture details about people who are coming here or who are interested in coming here. For many years, one of the weaknesses in the system—I include all Governments of all stripes going back 20 or 30 years in this criticism—has been that the level of detail that we capture about our tourists is not anywhere near as good as it could be. We could have far better information that could help our marketing efforts in the future. We need to know people's contact details and what their connection is with Scotland. Are there connections with particular parts of Scotland that we ought to know about? Are such people considering coming back and, if so, why? If they are not going to come back, why not? Do they know anybody else who might be interested? Who are the 25 per cent of people who registered on the homecoming website but are not interested in coming to Scotland? Why are they not interested? How do we get more of the 25 million people of the diaspora to come to Scotland over a long period?

We will support the Liberal Democrat amendment but not the Labour amendment at decision time. The world is watching and we have to look at the bigger picture. I move amendment S3M-3173.2, to insert at end:

"; recognises that ensuring a lasting economic legacy will depend on capturing information on those who visit during the Year of Homecoming with a view to creating a substantial marketing database for engaging with the diaspora Scots going forward; further recognises that individual tourism providers will be the engines of economic growth generated as a result of the Homecoming, and urges the Scottish Government to ensure that the industry be fully engaged throughout."

Iain Smith (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

I am pleased to make an opening speech in this homecoming 2009 debate on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, as it gives me an opportunity to put on record our thanks to our former colleague Donald Gorrie. It was Donald who first floated the idea of having a year of homecoming to encourage Scotland's vast and far-spread diaspora to come home to celebrate its roots. His idea was to give a boost to Scotland's economy, not just as a one-off tourism fix but as a way of encouraging many to "haste ye back" and, indeed, some to return home for good, to help to boost Scotland's population and to provide new skills, talent and enterprise for the long-term benefit of our economy and society.

Donald Gorrie's idea was developed by the Scottish Liberal Democrats and found its way into our manifesto for the 2003 Scottish Parliament elections and from there into the 2003 partnership agreement between the Liberal Democrats and Labour. The partnership agreement said:

"we will ... use the celebration in 2009 of the 250th anniversary of Burns' birth as one means to encourage Scots worldwide to return to Scotland."

I am pleased that when the SNP took over the Government, it took forward the work that was already under way to develop homecoming 2009.

I was happy to be one of the Scottish Parliament's representatives to Scotland week in the USA and Canada last April. I took every opportunity to promote homecoming, as I have done on other occasions when meeting overseas visitors. I am happy to support and promote events such as the St Andrews festival in my constituency in November, which will be a key part of the St Andrew's day celebrations that form the finale to homecoming 2009.

I am not going to get into the debate about whether or not the calendar of events is spectacular. What is important is not the hyperbole that we adopt in the chamber but how we all work together to ensure that homecoming is a success. Homecoming must be more than a branding exercise and more than just doing what we would be doing anyway but calling it a homecoming event.

The Government has identified

"intensifying our activity and support for Homecoming 2009"

as one of the six points in its economic recovery plan. However, it remains unclear just exactly what that means. The budget allocated to VisitScotland by the SNP Government for promoting homecoming is less than the budget set by the previous Administration for promoting the year of Highland culture in 2007. Will the Government increase the budget available to VisitScotland to promote homecoming at home and abroad? We have all seen the homecoming advert, but many rightly asked why it was planned to show it only in Scotland. We are here already; we do not need to come home.

Perversely, the economic crisis presents Scotland with a massive opportunity, as the minister hinted earlier. The exchange rate, particularly against the US dollar and the euro, makes Scotland an even better value-for-money destination for both home and overseas visitors. It makes travelling abroad on holiday more expensive for Scots—and indeed for the English, Northern Irish and Welsh. Home tourism accounts for 85 per cent of all tourism business. There are great opportunities to promote the vast range of activities that Scotland has to tempt home tourists to holiday in Scotland this year.

Scotland has become a more affordable destination for many tourists from our key overseas markets, such as Ireland, Germany, France, Spain and, of course, the USA and Canada. What is the Government doing—whether it is through VisitScotland, other agencies such as Scottish Development International or British embassies—to build on those opportunities and to promote Scotland as the value-for-money destination of choice for 2009?

It is important that we continue to provide a high-quality tourism product and to improve the quality of that product. There is a serious danger that the credit crisis will result in many tourism businesses cutting back on investment and training, which will have an adverse impact on the quality of the product that they can offer. Perhaps the minister could explain what steps the Government is taking to support tourism businesses with investment and training during these difficult times.

We all want homecoming to be a success, but the Government needs to be clearer about what it is doing to promote that success, what its targets are and how they will be measured. That is why we will be supporting the Labour amendment this afternoon, and it is why I move amendment S3M-3173.4, to insert at end:

"and calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward details of its plans to promote Homecoming in Scotland, the United Kingdom and abroad in order to achieve maximum economic benefit from the celebrations."

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

We come now to the open debate. I ask for speeches of a tight four minutes.

Rob Gibson (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

The homecoming debate is an opportunity for us to unite around the theme that Scotland is a great place to come to and that we have something to sell around the world. We have already managed to contact many people. About 60 per cent of the Scottish population have seen the "Caledonia" advert, 70,000 have viewed it on YouTube and 100,000 will see it on Ulster TV. Through public service broadcasting networks and the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, there is an audience of 100 million in America. The adverts are being seen around the world. I am glad that a multiethnic approach has been taken, and we in the Parliament should welcome that. The "Bollywood Steps" dance spectacle, the Jamaican Burns night at Celtic Connections and the Scottish tides-Polish spring event in Perth all show the outward-looking nature of the campaign.

Bearing in mind our involvement in music and our contacts through the love of music, we should recognise the excellent remarks that have been made by the Hebridean Celtic festival, for example, which asks people to send e-cards around the world, not just to advertise that festival but to remind everyone that it is part of the year of homecoming. Following the experience of Highland 2007, festivals such as Blas are already attracting visitors from Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Éire, Australia and France, as well as performers from other countries. Keith Bruce wrote about the subject in The Herald. In the past, he had been a sceptic about winter festivals and so on, but he was delighted to comment on the outward-looking nature of the various events, in particular Celtic Connections.

We should not measure the benefits of homecoming Scotland only in bed nights and tourist dollars. However, we have an opportunity to set in place a year that we can measure at the end more clearly than was the case with the parameters that were set for the Highland festival of 2007. The report on that festival said that it was one of the most ambitious and complex cultural projects ever staged in the UK. Homecoming is more so. We should learn lessons from Highland 2007 and from the reports that were written about it so as to tighten up how we spend the money that is available for homecoming.

I am pleased to recognise that it is good for Scots to go and see other parts of their country, and I would be interested to hear other members' views on that. I note that Labour assumes that Rabbie would be supporting its amendment at 5 o'clock this evening. I will be glad to go to Ayrshire and to visit Rozelle house and see the paintings of the late Sandy Goudie, including his cycle of paintings inspired by "Tam o' Shanter". It would be interesting to hear what members representing other areas will do to get out a little more to other parts of Scotland.

I suggest that we should look more widely to attract people here. I know that Russian Hour television is filming a series about Scots who had a huge influence in Russia. Lermontov the poet is very famous there, and the geologist Sir Roderick Murchison, from my own area, is celebrated with a statue in Perm—there is a new word for the Parliament. It is in front of school number 9 in Perm, in case members are wondering. That sort of thing allows us to realise that there is a large amount of affinity around the country.

I am delighted that we are able to unite around the saltire in this campaign, and I will be delighted to see some other people using the saltire, doing more than just advertising our country. I am particularly pleased that VisitBritain has told us that it is getting right behind what we are trying to do here. This is an ideal context for—

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

I am afraid that I must move on. I am sorry, Mr Gibson.

Margaret Curran (Labour, Glasgow Baillieston)

This is a welcome debate for a welcome initiative. Of course I would say that: as Iain Smith pointed out, the homecoming was devised and directed under—Iain will forgive me—the previous Labour-led Administration. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work done by Jack McConnell, who is with us in the chamber today. As First Minister, he was deeply committed to the homecoming project, which he drove very effectively. I am sure that we would be interested to hear Mr McConnell's views on how it is being developed now.

We agree on the fundamental point that homecoming 2009 is a great concept and a fantastic opportunity. This morning's debate gives us the opportunity to examine the potential of homecoming for Scotland. We must also take the opportunity to feed back to the Government on what we think should be done and on how it is managing the process.

The potential of homecoming was always understood, but it takes on special significance in the context of the shift in global economic circumstances, particularly those that we are experiencing in Scotland. We must strive that little bit extra to squeeze all that we can out of the year.

Homecoming is essentially about promotion, connection and celebration. In Scotland, we have much to celebrate in what we are currently doing and in our heritage. I am sure that, at the 250th anniversary of Burns's birth, we will speak a great deal about his contribution to Scottish artistic and intellectual life. We must look beyond that, however, at the other examples of artistic endeavour and intellectual achievement that have made Scotland so proud over the years and centuries, alongside our great traditions of innovation and enterprise. I am sure that many members will talk about sport and whisky as we go through the homecoming year.

We Scots take great pride in our ability to connect and to be welcomed across the world. We have a reservoir of family and friends with a true bond to Scotland. They will forgive us if we try to make something of that this year and to maximise their potential for us. The whole debate around tourism and the economic results of homecoming will come centre stage, given the present economic climate.

I hope that the Government will pay attention to the serious points that Labour has made about how we capture that potential. We make them in the spirit of trying to make homecoming work, and I hope that they will be treated in that way. I think of myself as quite a generous person. I do not know Jim Mather terribly well, and I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there are one or two questions about how homecoming has been managed so far. I make a plea to him to recognise that there are certain things that he must get a grip of if we are truly to have confidence in homecoming and to maximise its potential.

The SNP Government has said that homecoming is the third point in its economic recovery plan. That clearly signals to the Parliament and to Scotland that the Government sees it as being of huge significance and that it is not just a welcome event and something to which the Government is deeply committed but something of true significance across all that the Government does. It is therefore legitimate for us to say that we are disappointed by and have concerns about the budget that the SNP is committing to homecoming—I am referring not just to the homecoming budget but to the cuts in the tourism budget, which Lewis Macdonald mentioned. It does not surprise me that the Tories will not support us on the matter of apprenticeships. It is not their strongest point. There is a serious issue to be addressed in that regard.

Points have also been made about the traditional arts in Scotland, and there are many other aspects that we need to prioritise. One of the greatest disappointments, which I will come on to now in the last few seconds of my speech, was the furore about the advert. It was necessary to superimpose—

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

I am sorry, Ms Curran. I said that I would have to move on after four minutes.

Roseanna Cunningham (Scottish National Party, Perth)

This is an uncontroversial debate that is not party political, although when Labour members talk about the approach that they are taking I sometimes want to reach for the nit comb. Of course the idea of homecoming predates the current Government. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Donald Gorrie and Jack McConnell, who initiated the enterprise that the Government is enthusiastically taking forward.

The massive and catastrophic change in our economic circumstances could not have been foreseen when homecoming was dreamed up. We started by fearing that folk would not come to Scotland because they could not afford a holiday, but now, out of the blue, we can see a silver lining to the cloud that is the collapse of sterling. However drastic sterling's collapse is, in some areas it brings opportunities, because this year it will be cheap for people to come here on holiday and we will be a destination of choice. VisitBritain has recognised that and will use homecoming Scotland as a big part of its international campaigning. I predict that the rest of the United Kingdom will try to entice some of our visitors to London or Cardiff before or after their visit to Scotland.

"Caledonia", the song that was used in the homecoming advertisement, has long been a favourite of mine, because it is about homesickness. I have listened to and loved it for many years, because I lived abroad for many years and absolutely understand—at every level—the pull of homesickness. People who have not lived outside Scotland for a long time will never be able to understand how strong that sense of homesickness can be. The advert will be incredibly useful, and I am glad that it is getting wider coverage and currency and that more and more people will see it during the year.

It is important to emphasise that we are not just targeting expats. I am looking forward to the Scottish tides-Polish spring events that will take place in Perth from February to April, which reminds us that Scotland has new homecomers. We can invite all the Poles who have worked here and then gone home because their economy is stronger to come back for a holiday, bringing with them the parents and families to whom they used to write and send money.

In the run-up to Christmas, I took the opportunity to write to all the Perths around the world, and I have had responses from Tasmania and New York state. I am glad that people are coming to Scotland. I encourage members to write to the mayors of towns that have the same name as their local towns.

Big industrial and corporate buy-in is down the line, and I predict that there will be more such buy-in as the year goes on. I wish that I had had my idea for a pilgrim way a couple of years ago—if I had done so, perhaps we could have launched the route this year. Individual members can take action.

I say to the critics, "Get over yourselves. Stop sneering. Stop taking a snobby metropolitan approach." Homecoming offers enormous incentives, and there will be a problem only if people turn their mouths down instead of up.

Cathy Jamieson (Labour, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)

Like all members, I wholeheartedly support national and international initiatives that support our tourism industry, and I want to ensure that businesses throughout Scotland get as much benefit as possible during homecoming year.

I represent not only Burns's birthplace in Alloway but Mauchline, where he lived for years, so members will not be surprised by my enthusiasm for celebrating the Burns legacy through a wide-ranging programme of events. I congratulate the community organisations that are working hard to make those events a success. Homecoming year in Ayrshire will begin on 23 January with the Burns wha hae event—a weekend of performance, theatre and live music. The renowned guitarist Martin Taylor will return to what was his home area for a number of years, where he left a legacy of community involvement in bringing music to young people. Thanks to the efforts of the Mauchline Burns club, we will enjoy the hugely successful holy fair and a traditional ploughing match at Mossgiel. In north Carrick, events will build on last year's successful street fair in Maybole, which marked the event at which Rabbie's parents met.

The events will be a success in their own right, and it is fair to acknowledge that they have received funding and support from the Scottish Government and councils. However, opportunities have been missed, and there has been no coherent approach to supporting tourism and local businesses and sustaining the arts, which is disappointing. The First Minister might urge businesses to accept the euro, but visitors to Alloway will find it nearly impossible to spend a penny, because South Ayrshire Council has closed the public toilets opposite the Burns heritage centre. Theatre goers will enjoy the performance on Burns night of "I, Robert Burns" at the Gaiety theatre in Ayr, but that might be the last time that they can do so, because the theatre is to be closed as a result of council cuts.

When Rob Gibson comes to Alloway to see the Goudie collection at Rozelle, he will also see a brand new primary school, which was commissioned under the previous Administration. He might share local residents' dismay at the poor state of the local roads, and if he goes up the road he will find that Belleisle park is run down and the pets corner for kids has been slashed as a result of council cuts.

The people who gather for this year's open golf championship at Turnberry might be astonished to find that the Maybole bypass and improved rail transport to Girvan were not higher on the Government's agenda.

Many people in the arts community will find it hard to reconcile the Government's warm words about supporting Scottish culture with the cuts and uncertain future that Scots language and traditional music organisations and projects are facing. A secure future for such projects would surely be a great legacy for 2009.

If we are serious about building investment, I hope that the Scottish Government will consider the campaign that the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations launched today. The SFHA is aiming to secure a real legacy for Scotland by campaigning for a house building programme, which would also bring benefits to the construction industry.

I want homecoming year to be a success. I want our local economy to benefit and I want our culture and heritage to be celebrated. Of course, I also want an Ayrshire team to win the homecoming Scottish cup, but I will say no more about that in advance of Saturday's game between Ayr United and Kilmarnock.

Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)

I take this opportunity to thank the minister for the useful assistance that he gave the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on interaction with Canada.

There is no doubt that in Canada there is huge enthusiasm for homecoming. My third cousin once removed—I think that that is right—Ted Gunn and his French-Canadian wife Louise, who live in Quebec, are coming to Caithness this year. They are not coming for an official homecoming event, but their decision to come reflects the enthusiasm that is out there. As Roseanna Cunningham said, individual members can take action, perhaps by encouraging their relations to come to Scotland.

Genealogy has not been mentioned, but it is hugely important. Every Canadian and American Scot would love to know more about where they come from. We can do more to develop and use records in Scotland.

It is important that we market different facets of Scotland. In the context of the marketing of the far north of Scotland—my constituency—I remind members that a fortnight on Tuesday an exhibition of photographs by Mike McCartney, the brother of Sir Paul McCartney, entitled "Mike McCartney's North Highlands", will be launched in the garden lobby of the Scottish Parliament. I hope that as many members as possible will come. The exhibition is not part of official homecoming marketing, but it will lead to a publication, which will be around for years to come and will form part of the bedrock for future initiatives. It is to the credit of the Caithness and north Sutherland regeneration partnership that it has taken the initiative as far as it has done. High-quality art and photography will help Scotland in the year of homecoming.

I spent Christmas in Northern Ireland and I saw with my own eyes that a flood of people came from the Republic of Ireland after Christmas to spend money. As members said, the strength of the euro and dollar against the pound represents a golden opportunity. It is an opportunity to support not just the tourism businesses in my constituency and all over Scotland, but also those businesses that are affected by tourism even if they are not directly associated with it, such as—dare I mention it—the Scottish food industry. I will not go into dairy products, as that would not be appropriate without me declaring an interest. [Interruption.] I hear Rob Gibson say, "Thank heavens for that." It behoves ministers and their officials to investigate how the money that will be taken can be spread as widely as possible to the benefit of other businesses.

This year also presents an opportunity in that many satisfied tourists will come back to re-experience a happy experience. If we can pull it off this year, that will act as a bedrock for future years when, we hope, the situation for Scotland and the UK will be far brighter.

It is hugely important that we do not miss the opportunity that the homecoming gives us. We can argue about budgets and what the targets should be but, from my perspective, what is most important is that the Scottish Government ensures that for the homecoming each part of Scotland plays to its strengths. I mentioned that my cousin Ted Gunn and his wife will come over, which is to do with a clan in the far north of Scotland. By coming to Caithness and spending their money there, they will make a difference to the local economy, which must be good news.

I return to the Mike McCartney exhibition. I have already used the expression and I will use it again: if we can demonstrate the beauties and attractions of Scotland not just on a one-off basis for this year but on a more permanent basis, that will act as a bedrock for the future. Making the maximum effort at this stage will pay dividends in the future.

I have finished 10 seconds early.

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

We are very grateful for that.

Willie Coffey (Scottish National Party, Kilmarnock and Loudoun)

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate on what will be an important year for Scotland. Homecoming 2009 will not only promote our country and all that it has to offer but bring Robert Burns to an international audience, many of whom will make his acquaintance for the first time.

As members have said, the events are many and varied and will be a perfect showcase for the beauty of our country and the talents of our people. There will be music, dance, singing, theatre, golf, clan gatherings, arts and crafts and family events, and, of course, the homecoming Scottish cup, which Cathy Jamieson mentioned. I am quite happy to nail my colours to the mast and say, "Killie for the cup!" From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs, That makes her lov'd at home, rever'd abroad.

The homecoming will offer something for everyone at home in Scotland and, we hope, will provide a wonderful experience for millions of visitors.

The current poor economic climate in the UK brings an opportunity to attract more visitors to Scotland, particularly from the euro countries and the United States. Nearly 2 million visitors from the European Union nations came to Scotland in 2007, the highest number of which—300,000—came from Ireland. What a wonderful gesture of friendship and fraternity it would be—it would also make sound business sense—if Scotland's shops, hotels, pubs and visitor attractions welcomed those visitors with open arms and accepted their euros directly. That would no doubt be welcomed, too, by the many other tourists who come into the euro zone from further afield, who might opt to visit Scotland for a homecoming event.

Exciting times lie ahead, and many people are making a huge effort to make the year of the homecoming a great success but, as usual, there are some gloom merchants who have to have their say. I cannot let pass without comment an article by Ross Lydall in yesterday's Scotsman, in which he attacked my home town of Kilmarnock and the efforts that are being made to revive it, which include making the new Robert Burns centre the centrepiece of a restored Kay park. Mr Lydall saw the remnants—and, we hope, the beginning of the end—of the neglect of many years, but he missed the enthusiasm and the determined efforts that are being made to turn things around. Although Kilmarnock may not have the riches and trappings of civic London, it has a richness and generosity of spirit that will endure such criticism. Shame on Mr Lydall for writing about us so negatively.

A year long festival of events will no doubt spring a few surprises along the way. By St Andrew's day, we will have a good indication of whether the homecoming has been a success and will be able to assess whether the momentum can be maintained to deliver the sustainable economic growth that we all seek.

The legacy of the homecoming year should be judged not just from the point of view of the economic benefits that it brings to Scotland, important as those are, but in the context of the opportunity that it provides to celebrate and share our culture with our many friends throughout the world. When was the last time anyone had a party and invited the whole world?

The homecoming is a glowing testament to the talent and power of Robert Burns, who, like Scotland, was loved at home and revered abroad. The American and French revolutions occurred in his lifetime, in 1776 and 1789 respectively. The compulsion to write about and interpret world events as he saw them, often at great personal risk, was too strong. Burns might have left us at the tragically young age of 37, but his legacy of work on themes such as love, liberty, humanity, compassion, social justice and equality is relevant to us today. Man's inhumanity to man may well feature in the next debate.

The homecoming will be with us shortly, so let us who are fortunate to be members of the Scottish Parliament open our arms and welcome our friends, old and new. Let the celebrations begin.

Elaine Murray (Labour, Dumfries)

My colleague Cathy Jamieson represents the birthplace of Robert Burns, but the bard's life ended in Dumfries, in my constituency. He and Jean Armour took over the tenancy of Ellisland farm, which is just north of Dumfries, in June 1788. He moved into Dumfries town in 1791 while he was working as an excise man and died there on 21 July 1796. He lived in Dumfriesshire for some eight years, which were extraordinarily productive, despite tragedy and his increasing ill health. Some of his best known works, including "Auld Lang Syne", "Tam o' Shanter", "Ae Fond Kiss", "The Slave's Lament", "Scots, wha hae", "A Parcel of Rogues in a Nation", "My Love is like a Red, Red Rose", and "A Man's a Man for a' that" were published during that period. The celebration of Robert Burns's life and the year of homecoming have a particular relevance for Dumfries and Galloway, as they do for Ayrshire.

The organisers of the year of homecoming events in Dumfries and Galloway have been extremely productive. The programme of events on the homecoming website runs to 58 pages. The events are varied and sometimes ingenious in their interpretation of homecoming. They include Burns suppers, lectures, exhibitions, poetry recitations, summer schools and, at Michael's church, where Burns is buried, the unveiling of a commemorative stained glass window and a wreath-laying event. Dumfries will host a mid-winter festival on 25 January, which will involve a procession of lanterns, a ceilidh and a fire show at the River Nith—I hope that the weather holds up for that.

It is a little-known fact that the bicycle was invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan in Dumfries in 1839, and in May the bike will come home to Scotland, as Dumfries hosts the world mountain bike conference. The first holding of the conference outside Canada will provide an opportunity to showcase the seven stanes mountain bike trail in Ae forest to an international audience.

The Border gathering takes place at the end of July. Every year, the event attracts people from the USA whose ancestors hailed from the Scottish Borders to visit and to discover more about their family history. This year, the Border gathering will link in to the clan gathering at Holyrood park.

Migrating wildlife is not forgotten. As part of the year of homecoming, the Wigtown Bay visitor centre in the Presiding Officer's constituency is promoting the observation of overwintering geese and the return of the Galloway ospreys from Africa. It is hoped that this year, some of the chicks that were born in Galloway will return there to nest.

There will be a multitude of events in venues across Dumfries and Galloway for locals and visitors to enjoy throughout 2009. I wish the organisers and promoters, who have put in so much work to ensure that those events happen, every success. However, I have concerns. I hope that visitors will arrive in Dumfries in their droves to see where Robert Burns wrote so many of his finest works. I know that they will enjoy the culture, the produce, the countryside and the hospitality of the region but, sadly, I doubt that they will be at all impressed by the state of Dumfries town centre and of the high street in particular, which is full of empty shops, overgrown gutters and buildings that are in need of a facelift. Dumfries and Galloway Council has talked a great deal about town centre regeneration for many years, and some of the responsibility for the failure to act lies at its door, but the Scottish National Party Government has also failed to take the issue seriously. In his summing-up speech in last June's debate on the small business rates relief scheme, Mr Mather said:

"The regeneration of town centres is now pretty much a given, and that will have an enormous effect."—[Official Report, 11 June 2008; c 9561.]

I am sorry, but the situation has deteriorated. We now need direct intervention and investment in the infrastructure of our towns.

We all support the year of homecoming, but it and Robert Burns alone cannot save the Scottish economy. The Government needs to come forward with a programme of investment for the future of the Scottish economy beyond the end of 2009.

Trish Godman (Labour, West Renfrewshire)

We now move to the wind-up speeches. I call Liam McArthur, who has four minutes.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

This has been an interesting debate, which has been truncated to allow time for more pressing issues to be considered. Nevertheless, the debate has demonstrated the collective political will to make the year of homecoming a success.

Iain Smith reminded members of the role played by our Liberal Democrat colleague Donald Gorrie in floating the idea of homecoming. Roseanna Cunningham acknowledged that and rightly set out the role that all of us as individuals have in making the year of homecoming a success. Of course, the original vision for the homecoming went beyond that of providing an economic stimulus. Willie Coffey and Rob Gibson correctly pointed out the cultural and multiethnic dimensions of the year of homecoming events. However, by playing to our strengths, homecoming potentially has an important role to play as we enter difficult and uncertain economic times.

Contributions from throughout the chamber reflected on the amendments and made the point that, if the year of homecoming is to be more than a one-off shot in the arm for Scotland's tourism industry, the Scottish Government and its agencies must act to ensure effective promotion of the homecoming in Scotland, the UK and key overseas markets; ensure that our skills base is in the best possible shape to provide the range and quality of experiences that will have participants in this year's homecoming returning year after year; and ensure that we can effectively measure the impact of the year of homecoming and follow up the contacts that are made during it.

Gavin Brown will not be surprised to hear me express caution about the creation of a mega-database of personal details, although I appreciate his point. Mr Brown and, indeed, Jamie Stone are right to point out the role that businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises and those in some of the remotest parts of the country, will play in making the homecoming a success and, I hope, helping to sustain and grow their local economies.

In the limited time available to me, I simply echo the call of lain Smith, Lewis Macdonald and others for the minister to set out clearly and precisely how the Government intends to intensify activity and support for the year of homecoming, not least in the light of modest budget allocations or, indeed, cuts. What specific steps are being taken, for example, in light of changes in the relative strengths of the pound, euro and dollar to capitalise on the situation through targeting both domestic and overseas visitors? Action is also needed on skills. Everyone accepts that Scotland is never likely to be at the cheap end of the spectrum for tourists, but it can quite legitimately lay claim to the quality end. However, that requires greater focus on and investment in skills. The minister must spell out what action he is taking to support improvements in that area.

I have developed a healthy scepticism about information that emerges from St Andrews house. I was surprised but not astonished, therefore, when I perused my initial copy of the map of events for the year of homecoming 2009. While a sizeable number of the events are not new, that is not to say that they will not be spectacular. I was a little disappointed to note that the internationally renowned St Magnus festival in my own constituency had not made it into the programme. Perhaps the minister in winding up can explain the criteria and process for including pre-existing events. However, I was shocked to see that Orkney was set to host the brass in the park event, though not as shocked as people in the Borders. That appeared to come at a cost, however, as the Orkney science festival had somehow been relocated to Harris. The Western Isles also seemed destined to host the creative connections Shetland event in August, though any disappointment my colleague Tavish Scott and his constituents might have felt was surely tempered by the suggestion by the EventScotland map that Lerwick was set to play host to the Edinburgh arts festival. Thankfully, those errors have been corrected on websites and in the formal homecoming brochure.

The programme of events provides a solid basis for a successful homecoming on the 250th anniversary of Burns's birth. However, I hope that the minister will take on board the calls for action from throughout the chamber to ensure that the homecoming does, indeed, leave a long-lasting legacy.

Jamie McGrigor (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

The economic crisis that we face means that the year of the homecoming has an importance now that few could have envisaged when plans for 2009 were first put in place. However, like my colleague Gavin Brown, I am optimistic and upbeat about it.

Presiding Officer,

"Let me tell you that I love you and I think about you all the time."

Those are famous words from a famous song that are spoken, not sung, by Sir Sean Connery—007—possibly the most famous man in the world, in a good VisitScotland advertisement that should have stirred and shaken the emotions of women all over the world and sent them rushing to Scotland for a chance to see Sir Sean's knees during the year of homecoming. However, it was surely ironic that the ad was shown in Scotland and not elsewhere. In response to a written question from me, the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism told me:

"the advert is not being played on television or in cinemas beyond Scotland at this stage."—[Official Report, Written Answers, 18 December 2008; S3W-18519.]

I am therefore glad that the First Minister was able to boast only four days later about his delight that the advert would be seen after all by many millions of Americans, Canadians and others, as it would be screened on a number of key North American television channels, including PBS, CNBC, the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. I hope that my written question helped that outcome. However, none of my American friends to whom I have spoken recently has yet seen the advert. I therefore ask the minister which channels are showing it and at what times.

Michael Fry has certainly been publicising the homecoming. He said that Burns was an alcoholic, racist misogynist. I am sure that Michael Fry was being public spirited and that he simply wants to publicise the year of homecoming through this controversy. I really admire Burns, who, like so many other Scottish heroes, was active during the Scottish enlightenment, which led the world between 1740 and 1800. In 1760, Voltaire said:

"To see real civilisation you must now go to Edinburgh."

I believe that everyone should read the excellent book "The Scottish Enlightenment" by the Jewish New York professor, Arthur Herman, a man without a drop of Scottish blood in his veins, who simply says that the Scots invented the modern world. There were Scots like Robert Adam, the greatest ever British architect, who designed the White House; David Hume, the philosopher; John McAdam; George Stephenson; Thomas Telford—if only we had him today to build us a new Forth road bridge; John Witherspoon, who founded Princeton University, the greatest university of the English speaking world, which was based on the University of Edinburgh; Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate who gave the world 1,000 libraries; and great inventors like Alexander Bell and James Watt.

We should never forget that the River Clyde in its heyday built one fifth of the world's shipping tonnage and that Paisley was the largest cotton manufacturer in the world. We should remember, too, that the American constitution was written by a Scot, typeset by another Scot and printed by Scots because they were the best—Audubon's "Birds of America", the most valuable book ever printed, was printed in Edinburgh. Last but not least, of course, is the hero Adam Smith, the great Conservative and founder of modern economic theory.

However, the mythical, romantic heart of Scotland that is longed for by the diaspora is in the Highlands. I will highlight some of the varied events that visitors can look forward to, including the westering home to Islay weekends; the roots and boughs, summer in the straths events that are being organised by the communities of the Mackay country; and the clan Ross gathering. World-famous events such as the Connect music festival at Inveraray and the Hebridean Celtic festival will also be very important in 2009.

I must also advertise the family history centre in the National Archives of Scotland on Princes Street, which is a wonderful facility in a beautifully restored Georgian building that contains the very latest information technology. Anyone can go in there to trace their roots. I pay tribute to George Mackenzie, the keeper of the records of Scotland for initiating—

Trish Godman (Labour, West Renfrewshire)

You should be finishing now, Mr McGrigor.

Jamie McGrigor (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

Is that the end? Thank you, Presiding Officer.

Trish Godman (Labour, West Renfrewshire)

I now call John Park, who has five minutes.

John Park (Labour, Mid Scotland and Fife)

I am not quite sure how to follow that.

We have had a shorter debate on the year of homecoming than we had hoped for, but I have genuinely enjoyed it. The speech that we just had from Jamie McGrigor and those from Jamie Stone, Rob Gibson and Elaine Murray helped me to broaden my horizons. I have learned quite a lot during the debate that I did not know at the beginning of it.

I assure Gavin Brown that we in the Labour Party all welcome the year of homecoming and are enthusiastic about it. However, we want to point out that such a significant event must be properly supported. I am sure that he will agree with that. This is not about flag waving but about playing to Scotland's strengths. As my colleague Lewis Macdonald said, it is about Scotland's ability to take longer-term advantage of the many people who will visit our shores this year. Let us be clear that the homecoming is very important and that it needs meaningful support.

We have genuine concerns about standards of employment in Scotland; we had a members' business debate last night on the Evening Times and The Herald in that respect. The number of adult apprenticeships has been cut in the tourism and hospitality sector, which is an area of the economy that could be taking up the slack as other areas of employment contract in the coming year. However, for now, we have lost a key Government intervention that we believe is vital to the delivery of truly sustainable economic development. No one will disagree that there have been concerns about standards of employment in the tourism sector over a number of years. Opportunities for employees to develop are all but disappearing, which will do nothing to help standards of employment. One of the legacies of the year of homecoming that I would like to see is a pulling-up of employment standards in the tourism and hospitality sector. I hope that the minister has had some time to engage on that issue with business organisations, such as the Confederation of British Industry, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, and with the Scottish Trades Union Congress. Perhaps he will say in his summing-up speech what discussions he has had with those organisations.

As Jim Mather and many others mentioned, the value of sterling and a variety of factors mean that, in plain economic terms, Scotland will be an attractive place to visit this year. With people feeling concerned about the economy, they will be more likely to stay in Scotland. The pound's falling strength against the euro and the dollar mean that going abroad will be a less attractive option for many Scots. However, we should not use fluctuations in currency as a central plank of our homecoming strategy or of our tourism strategy, just as we cannot use the blunt measure of how many people visit Scotland this year to gauge the success of the year of homecoming.

For those reasons, we will support the Conservative and Liberal amendments, which raise a number of pertinent points about the importance of how we measure the success of the year. We need to capture the information so that our tourism sector can respond effectively. If homecoming 2009 is to play a part in helping the sector to achieve its target of 50 per cent growth by 2015, such information will be important not just to tourism but to Government in determining the type and level of support that it gives to the sector in future. I hope that the minister can respond to that point when he sums up.

Iain Smith was right to say that the homecoming concept was designed in a different economic climate. Because of the challenging economic circumstances, the readiness of business to engage will have changed. I hear what the minister said about the support that is being given by the wider business community, but perhaps he will say a little bit more about how the Government intends to engage with the business community over the coming year to ensure that that support is sustained for the duration of the year and beyond.

I echo Margaret Curran's comments about the role played by Jack McConnell and ministers in the previous Executive in initiating the year of homecoming. I also echo Liam McArthur's comments about the role played by Donald Gorrie.

Cathy Jamieson highlighted what homecoming will mean for community groups not just in her constituency but across the country. I do not share her hope that an Ayrshire team will win the homecoming cup; as a representative for Mid Scotland and Fife, I have several teams that I could pick from. However, I must be careful, so I will not pick one out.

I believe that many Scots and visitors will welcome and support today's debate and the events that will be taking place all over the country, but the real legacy for our tourism sector and for businesses, communities and other areas will come not from those events but from the Government's policy decisions to support homecoming. That is why we will support the motion and all the amendments. We believe that the debate complements homecoming and the idea of where we want to go in the future.

I look forward to supporting events across the country as an individual. Many members have said that they will urge their friends, families and colleagues to do the same. I look forward to playing my part in homecoming over the coming year.

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

As John Park said, much that is fresh has been said in the debate. It has been very good to hear the diverse, cross-party paternity and maternity rights to homecoming being strongly established. We are a small nation, but we have a big history and a strong legacy.

A key component that has come through in the debate is homecoming's start-up act, which is the Robert Burns legacy. Unlike Michael Fry, I see our national poet as a true patriot, a true romantic and a cultural giant. I stand full square behind Cathy Jamieson and Willie Coffey on that point. Burns is the trigger for the 2009 year of homecoming, which, as Gavin Brown said, is now imminent. The year will kick off with the launch of the world Burns supper in Alloway, to which all party leaders have been invited. International focus will be provided by Nicola Sturgeon and Michael Russell in Brussels—they will be running a Burns supper there—as well as by the Lord Advocate in London, by Kenny MacAskill in Canada and by the First Minister in Washington. Some 1,700 Burns suppers will take place worldwide, moving the year forward. We will be able to celebrate Scotland's unique contribution globally and commemorate where we are and where we are going.

On intensifying that activity, I will talk first about the advert, which will be shown in the States during Burns week. PBS will run a version of the advert based on the Connery contribution; BBC America will run the full advert; the Discovery Channel in North America will also run the full advert; and Google TV will run the advert in the USA. In March, the advert will have another week-long burst in Scotland and other parts of the UK. On Saturday of this week, Jenni Falconer will do the voice-over on an advert that will be broadcast at all homecoming Scottish cup ties.

On top of that, an evocative home of golf video will be subtitled in Mandarin and shown on Chinese state TV, thanks to the good work of Madam Tan here in Edinburgh.

Jamie McGrigor (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

I am glad to hear that homecoming will be properly advertised. However, has the minister taken into account the fact that people make their holiday plans now? Is homecoming being publicised enough abroad at the moment?

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

As I said earlier, our websites are effective. The come to Scotland website is registering a new contact every 35 seconds—some 100,000 contacts had been registered by November. We intend to have another burst of advertising on the website this month. We have 9,000 corporate links. All of that is beginning to work very well indeed.

Jack McConnell (Labour, Motherwell and Wishaw)

Will the minister take an intervention on that point?

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

I am really short of time, as I have two minutes remaining in which to get my points across. However, I will take an intervention.

Jack McConnell (Labour, Motherwell and Wishaw)

I am delighted that the Government has added further advertising to the campaign, following my intervention last month. However, I want to ask about another issue that I raised with the First Minister last summer.

The promotion of homecoming appears to be concentrated on the Commonwealth, North America and some European countries. It seems to me that the vision for homecoming should have at least some regard to the fact that the world's big new tourism markets will be China, India and elsewhere. Over the past few months, have additional events and activities been added to the programme to take account of that priority?

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

I thank the member for that lengthy intervention. If he had listened to what I said, he would have got the point that the home of golf video has been translated into Mandarin. We are also pressing the issue in 40 other countries.

As John Park suggested, we are specifically linking with business communities to ensure that we continue the intensification. We have a new point-of-entry campaign in all our airports. Each displays the homecoming theme along with key local strands. We are developing that flavour going forward.

To ensure that we secure a legacy from homecoming, we are measuring the data with the largest ever database, with links to 2.4 million Scots affinity organisations. We are taking specific measurement measures to ensure that we have things measured to the nth extent going forward. We are looking to have conversion studies on the effectiveness of the programmes as well as event organisation outcome reports. Omnibus surveys will be run throughout the country over the year to ensure that as many as possible in Scotland are aware of what is happening and to try to get beyond the 66 per cent awareness figure.

Next June, as Gavin Brown mentioned, Steve Forbes will bring global business leaders here for their annual European CEO forum. That gets to the nub of the issue, because the key message of homecoming is that Scotland is open for business. We have the hospitality, the skills, the culture, the expertise, the warmth and the innovation. We also have a hearty and very healthy obsession with ensuring that our visitors and inward investors find coming to Scotland a thoroughly rewarding experience.

Gaza (Humanitarian Disaster)

Trish Godman (Labour, West Renfrewshire)

The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-3179, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

First, let me take the opportunity to thank all parties for their support and co-operation in securing today's very important debate.

The scenes of devastation that we have witnessed in Gaza during the past 12 days have been truly horrifying. Concern is widespread, and is felt by Scots throughout the country, regardless of faith, colour or creed. The Scottish Government has already added its voice to calls for an immediate and complete cease-fire, and I hope that Parliament will do likewise today.

The Scottish Government strongly condemns attacks on civilians, whether Israeli or Palestinian. Like every other reasonable person, I believe that Israel has a right to defend its citizens from rocket attacks. However, it also has a duty to act reasonably, proportionately and within the obligations imposed on it by international law.

So far, the current offensive on Gaza has killed more than 600 Palestinians, more than half of whom were women and children, and injured more than 3,000 people. A couple of days ago, the conflict took a horrifying twist when a United Nations school that was sheltering children and their families was struck by Israeli mortars, killing 40 people. Such acts have rightly been condemned worldwide, as has the continued firing of rockets by Hamas militants. All sides involved must understand that the continuing violence is shattering any glimmer of hope for a long-term solution and lasting peace in the region.

Of course, today's debate is not primarily about the political situation in the middle east, on which each of us will have our own views. For my part, I believe strongly in the right of Palestinians to self-determination; I also believe that peace in the middle east demands a two-state solution, with a secure Israel and an independent and viable Palestinian homeland.

Today's debate is about the humanitarian crisis that is gripping Gaza. No one can fail to be affected by the images of children, women and the elderly suffering in the most horrific conditions imaginable. The humanitarian crisis has intensified in the past 12 days but its roots extend much further back. For the past 18 months, there has been a complete blockade of the Gaza strip, during which there has been no exporting or importing of any goods to or from Gaza. Basic essentials such as medicines, bread, rice and clean water have been in very short supply. That has obviously had a devastating effect on the lives of ordinary people in Gaza and crippled what was already a very fragile economy.

Approximately 85 per cent of the Gazan population is dependent on UN food aid, which, according to the UN relief and works agency in the region, has almost run out. Unemployment is severe, with more than 60 per cent of the population without any meaningful employment. Even before the current assault, Gaza's hospitals and health clinics were completely overrun and severely lacking in basic medical supplies.

I am aware that Sandra White, Pauline McNeill and Hugh O'Donnell recently braved a 13-hour boat ride across the Mediterranean to Gaza. They will no doubt speak about the appalling conditions that they witnessed.

Throughout the past 12 days charities and non-governmental organisations from across the world have been pulling together to help the people of Gaza. Scottish aid agencies have also played a significant role. I was delighted to speak at Islamic Relief's emergency fundraising event last weekend, along with Pauline McNeill. The strength of feeling that emanated from people who wanted to do whatever they could to help the people of Gaza was tangible, and a total of £160,000 was raised, which will go towards incubators and other medical supplies for the people of Gaza.

In addition to Islamic Relief, other aid agencies are working on the ground in Gaza, with people risking their lives every day to try to bring much-needed help and relief to that suffering population. Many aid agencies, such as Save the Children, Christian Aid and Oxfam, have offices and volunteer bases in Scotland, which shows that we are a deeply caring nation that, along with many nations worldwide, will do what we can to ease suffering wherever it happens in the world.

I can advise Parliament that Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with the NGOs that are working in Gaza. They have been advised that, following a decision of the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Scottish Government stands ready to respond favourably to any requests for humanitarian assistance that might be made by those working on the ground. In addition, the First Minister has written to the Israeli Government to express our desire—and, I hope, that of the Parliament and the Scottish nation—for an immediate cease-fire.

As the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, the calls for an immediate cease-fire become louder. Since the conflict began, the Scottish Government has been echoing calls from the UN secretary-general and other world leaders for a cessation of violence. Let us be clear that only a complete cessation of violence will suffice. Three-hour pauses in bombing are not sufficient to feed 750,000 people. Only when arms are laid down and dialogue begins can the people of Gaza begin to hope to rebuild their lives.

Yesterday, I was encouraged—as was everyone else in this country and across the world—by the positive noises from both sides involved in the conflict around agreeing to principles of a truce. The efforts of French, Egyptian and UN diplomats to broker a truce must be supported, and the Scottish Government does so. In the meantime, we will do whatever we can to support our aid agencies in any way that we can to help alleviate the terrible suffering of the people of Gaza.

I hope that the Parliament will come together today to speak with one voice, and I urge all members to back the motion in my name. I know that it has the support of many across the chamber.

I move,

That the Parliament expresses its concern over the loss of all lives in the conflict in Gaza; joins the international community in calling for a ceasefire; acknowledges the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza; recognises and welcomes the role being played by those in Scotland involved in the humanitarian response, and supports the work of all charities and NGOs in Scotland that are responding to this situation.

Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow Kelvin)

This morning, it is right that we should spend some time discussing how Scotland can respond to the humanitarian disaster that is happening in the Gaza strip. I do not suggest that that exceeds our responsibilities, although the diplomatic response is rightly the United Kingdom Government's responsibility. However, our humanitarian response and our commentary are not unimportant in a matter that is of such human concern. The scale of the suffering to which the Deputy First Minister alluded and the subsequent dominance of the news coverage of the situation in Gaza means that the public expect us to add our voices to those of the international community and to recognise that the situation is of world concern.

This morning, we hear that, as predicted, the violence has spread, with reports of rockets being fired from Lebanon. It is right that we, as politicians, express our views, because that is in tune with the public's mood as they watch the disaster unfold.

Like Nicola Sturgeon, I put on record my thanks to all political parties and their business managers, who made it possible for us to have this short and important debate.

The world must focus on an immediate cease-fire on all sides. The UK Government is arguing hard for that, as is the UN Security Council. Before Christmas, I led a members' business debate on Gaza on the very last day of the parliamentary term; it is hard to believe that such a catastrophe unfolded days later.

I want to be clear that the inflicting of casualties on both sides of the conflict is to be condemned. Ordinary Palestinians and Israelis are suffering as a result of the failure to reach a peaceful settlement in the middle east. All acts of violence must be condemned.

While sharply criticising Israel's actions in strong language, Pope Benedict also said that both sides think of their own interests while innocent people die. Successive Israeli spokespersons have denied that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza; I can hardly find the words to respond to that statement. We have all watched the air strikes, of which there were 60 last night. Almost 700 Palestinians are now dead; on Tuesday, 130 were killed and more than 3,000 were injured.

As we know from our past discussions, it is difficult for the Palestinians to respond to such a crisis. There are no wheelchairs or crutches for those who are injured; there is a lack of basic medicine; and, in some cases, there is no anaesthetic to allow basic procedures to be carried out.

No inch of Gaza is safe. It is a built-up area with no hiding places. There is not much electricity or clean water. The sewerage system is at the point of collapse. Schools are not functioning and food is not available. There are no stockpiles of anything because of the crippling effects of the siege in the months leading up to the air strikes. Nothing can be repaired and, as we know, the hospitals cannot cope. Twenty per cent of the casualties have been children, and the health of the people in Gaza was poor to begin with.

As Nicola Sturgeon said in her opening speech, Sandra White, Hugh O'Donnell and I made the 15-hour trip—I emphasise the fact that it was 15 hours, and therefore too long—to Gaza. I have now been there twice, and the second time I was able to see the deterioration that had occurred since my first visit. It is important for people at least to understand the extent of the siege, its effect on civilians and how they might have responded to it.

I was an observer during the 2006 Palestinian elections, when Hamas was unexpectedly elected to govern. To understand the Palestinian response to the repeated failures to address the underlying issues and to bring about peace in the middle east, we must at least understand what is going on there. A homeland for Palestinians has been promised for more than 60 years, and the failure to keep that promise is the world's failure. The siege of Gaza has meant that an entire population has been collectively punished, yet, I am afraid, the siege was endorsed by the leaders of other nations, including Egypt—although I pay tribute to Egypt for trying to bring about a cease-fire now. Egypt's closure of the Rafah border has caused untold human suffering.

I spoke to Douglas Alexander this week about our humanitarian response, and I am pleased to hear that the United Kingdom was the first country to announce an immediate aid package of food and water. I have also raised the issue with David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, who is rightly arguing in the Security Council that any cease-fire agreement must include open and accessible border crossings. It is all very well to collect aid, but if we cannot get it into Gaza we will not be able to respond to the crisis. The siege must be lifted as part of any final deal. In the circumstances, the Scottish Government is right to respond to the humanitarian crisis, and I welcome the Deputy First Minister's statement this morning that the Government will do all that it can within our devolved responsibilities.

I spoke to people in Gaza this week, when I was able to get a connection. It is important to them, given that they have been isolated for so long, to feel that people in the outside world care about what is happening. We have a lot of hopes for the Obama presidency, which might bring fresh thinking in the middle east. Barack Obama has a lot of responsibility to bear, and I hope that he changes the course of American foreign policy.

However, the responsibility lies not just with President Obama. We know that the root of the conflict is the world's failure to establish a Palestinian homeland; the lack of commentary on the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory has led to this sorry situation. I am pleased to support the motion in Nicola Sturgeon's name.

10: 38

Ted Brocklebank (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

Few of us who spoke in Pauline McNeill's members' business debate on the last day before the Christmas recess could have expected the escalation in violence that we have witnessed in Gaza over the past two weeks. Indeed, all members will be united in urging an immediate and sustainable cease-fire.

The Scottish Conservatives deplore the tragic deaths of civilians in Gaza, including those of nearly 200 children. However—I make no apology for repeating my words of the previous debate—it is difficult to achieve the moral high ground on human rights with the Israelis given the fact that, within living memory, 6 million Jews were exterminated with absolutely no regard taken of their human rights. Of course, that does not give the Israelis carte blanche to ignore the human rights of their Palestinian neighbours.

I am glad that today's motion confines itself to what we, in Scotland, can do in a humanitarian role in Gaza. Foreign relations are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although it may have suited the First Minister's image of himself as a world statesman to call for an Israeli cease-fire, it is difficult to imagine how his plea specifically for Israeli restraint could prompt anything in Gaza other than the question, "Who is Alex Salmond?" What we can do here in Scotland is start to show a little more intellectual honesty in the way in which we report and comment on the Palestinian crisis. Even-handedness is not about accepting every claim from Hamas as gospel and every counter claim from Israel as propaganda. A little more scepticism might be applied to the claims from both sides.

In the members' business debate that we held before Christmas, there seemed to be little recognition among those who spoke of the fact that there are two sides to the conflict. Member after member condemned the Israeli blockade of Gaza—indeed, I did so myself—but with little apparent recognition of how and why it began. Hamas is a militant organisation that is funded by Iran, which itself is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and is widely believed to be developing nuclear weapons. It is the right of the sovereign state of Israel to protect itself and its people from militants. However inconvenient that fact might be, and however short memories have become, Israel happens to be boxed in by nations that are hell-bent on its obliteration. Indeed, the Hamas charter of 1988—which has never been rescinded—proclaims the necessity of Israel's destruction

"at the hands of Islam".

We are told that Israel's response has been disproportionate because more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed so far. Should we just ignore Israeli claims that Hamas has deliberately situated weapons under apartment blocks and in mosques and hospitals? Independent UN observers confirm that 75 per cent of the dead in Gaza so far have been Hamas terrorists.

Bill Wilson (Scottish National Party, West of Scotland)

Will the member take an intervention?

Bill Butler (Labour, Glasgow Anniesland)

Will the member give way on that point?

Ted Brocklebank (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

No, I will not. I have only four minutes.

Bringing about a cease-fire now is no easy matter, as there must be a cease-fire on both sides. It is pointless to demand that Israel stop launching rockets if Hamas is simply going to resume its random rocket attacks on the cities of Be'er Sheva, Ashqelon and Ashdod. Frankly, it is not in Israel's interest to prolong the current invasion, partly because Hamas will undoubtedly declare victory if it survives the Israeli onslaught—which it will, in some form—and partly because the current invasion risks escalating the situation on Israel's other borders, including the border with Lebanon, as we have already seen today.

This is a disastrous time for the 1.5 million people who live in the Gaza strip, who cannot flee and who are increasingly caught in the crossfire and the Israeli bombardment. There are also nearly 1 million people in the southern Israeli cities who are still under threat from Hamas rocket attacks. I agree with Nicola Sturgeon and Pauline McNeill that the best that we can do here in Scotland is support the work of all Scottish NGOs and charities in responding quickly and generously to the increasingly tragic situation.

In the debate before Christmas, hope was expressed that a new, charismatic American President might be able to break the logjam in the middle east and begin the process of achieving the two-state solution that Israel has accepted must be established. The events of the past 13 days make that look increasingly like a second-term objective for Barack Obama. I fear that, sadly, the agony of Palestine is set to endure.

Hugh O'Donnell (Liberal Democrat, Central Scotland)

The Palestinian people are paying a dear price for Europe's guilt about what happened to European Jews. I find Mr Brocklebank's comments completely inappropriate but unsurprising, given the fact that the Conservatives did everything that they could to prevent the debate from taking place, notwithstanding what the cabinet secretary said.

I congratulate all the organisations in Scotland that are taking practical steps to help the people in Gaza. Even those of us who were there recently can have only a limited understanding of what has gone on in the past two weeks. We have watched in horror as the conflict in Gaza has claimed innocent victim after innocent victim. We have watched the UN schools, for which the Israelis have the co-ordinates, being completely destroyed. The past two weeks have been a telling indictment of the international community. We have an outgoing United States President who is giving Israel carte blanche to do what is being done to the people of Gaza and, regrettably, an aching silence from the President-elect. We also have a European Union that is encumbered by clumsy decision making and confused messages.

Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of hope, which has been referred to by other members. It is the short respite in the bombing that has been promised by Israel, along with the talk of a cease-fire. The three hours to which Nicola Sturgeon referred is barely enough time to do anything—let alone to feed a population of 1.5 million—but it is a start, even if it is intended only to deflect growing international criticism of what Israel is doing.

As other members have said, Israel has every right to defend itself, but its current approach is self-defeating and conveniently ignores the roots of its existence in the Stern gang and Irgun. There is no more a military solution to this situation than there was to the situation in Northern Ireland. We must get the sides to talk to each other. We were brave enough to talk to the Irish Republican Army, so why can we not make the Israelis brave enough to talk to Hamas and Hamas brave enough to talk to the Israelis?

Jackson Carlaw (Conservative, West of Scotland)

Will the member give way?

Hugh O'Donnell (Liberal Democrat, Central Scotland)

I am sorry, but I have only four minutes.

The overwhelming use of force by Israel and the unacceptable loss of civilian lives are radicalising moderate Palestinians. We are now seeing Hezbollah launching attacks from Lebanon.

Britain must condemn unambiguously Israel's tactics, just as it has rightly condemned the Hamas rocket attacks. We must lead the European Union towards using its economic and diplomatic influence in the region to broker peace. That includes, if necessary, cancelling the preferable trade agreement that it is currently negotiating with the Israelis.

Finally, the world's leaders must accept that the response to the election of Hamas has been a strategic failure. Attempts to divide and rule the Palestinians by isolating them and collectively punishing an innocent civilian population in Gaza will not succeed. No terrorist organisation has ever been bombed into submission. To secure peace in the middle east, Hamas must turn its back on its terrorist activities to help to create Palestinian unity and Israel must recognise that the people of Palestine have as much right to exist on that land as the Israelis do. In Scotland, we must do all that we can to support the humanitarian efforts for the civilians in Gaza.

Trish Godman (Labour, West Renfrewshire)

We now move to the open debate. There will be four-minute speeches, and I remind members that no one- minute warnings will be given and that they should therefore keep an eye on the clock.

Sandra White (Scottish National Party, Glasgow)

I thank the Scottish Government and all political parties for acting swiftly to enable us to have this debate. It is important that the Scottish Parliament sends a message to Israel and the rest of the world that there must be a cease-fire and an end to the killing on all sides. I say to Ted Brocklebank that we cannot blame the Palestinians for the horrors that were visited on the Israeli people.

Some 700 Palestinians and 11 Israelis have been killed in the recent events. I leave members to ponder those numbers. Disproportionate? I would say so.

Like others, I have visited Gaza. I have seen the refugee camps and I have eaten and drunk with the people, and it breaks my heart to watch the continued bombardment night after night. Gaza is a densely populated area in which the people have suffered greatly through the siege. Members might have seen a small red-haired boy during the television coverage. We spoke to that boy when we were there, simply because he stood out because of his red hair. I wonder whether that small red-haired boy is alive today to speak on behalf of the people of Gaza.

We met people on the streets and in hospitals, and we met kids in schools. Those kids said to us, "All we want is a life the same as yours. We want to be free. We want to be able to study and move freely throughout our country." That is not too much to ask. Sadly, those kids cannot even attend their schools any more, because those schools have been bombed. As we have heard already, a UN school was bombed and 40 children were killed.

Yesterday, there was a three-hour cease-fire to allow aid to enter. That was a completely inadequate amount of time. How long would it take to get the aid in? How long would it take to get it to the right people? Furthermore, after the so-called truce, leaflets were dropped warning people to leave their homes or face air strikes. Following that, 60 air strikes were carried out. Where were those people supposed to go? Gaza is densely populated, and Gaza city is almost the same size as the middle of Glasgow. Where could those people go? Into the sea, which is patrolled by Israeli boats?

The UN and the international community have called for a cease-fire, yet they are ignored. What is the point of having institutions such as the UN if no one listens to them and no one obeys the laws that they create?

When we visited Gaza, the situation was dire. As the Deputy First Minister said, nothing was going in and nothing was coming out. Children were in incubators and people were on dialysis machines, and no one knew when those machines might be turned off because Israel controls the power. They had no fuel for ambulances to bring people to hospital. That was before the recent invasion; just think what it must be like now. Gaza is undergoing a humanitarian crisis of huge proportions. That must be stopped. There must be a long-lasting cease-fire, not just three-hour truces here and there, so that aid can be delivered to the Palestinians.

The situation cannot continue. There must be peace in the middle east, and there must be a two-state solution. There must be a Palestinian state, as people must be allowed their democratic rights. Bombing and killing people is not the way forward. I agree that both sides are engaged in killing, but the situation is disproportionate.

As I said, I see what is happening in Gaza on the television every night. I see the frustration of the people in Gaza and feel the frustration of people in Scotland and throughout the world. I visited a couple who left Gaza on the boat with us—an old man, whom we brought to Scotland for treatment that was unavailable in Gaza, and his wife. They now stay with their son in Riddrie in Glasgow. They are lovely people, and they gave me a warm welcome. I say to the people of Gaza that we want to give them a warm welcome. There must be a cease-fire, and the bombings must end.

Des McNulty (Labour, Clydebank and Milngavie)

Like many others, over the past fortnight I have found myself shouting at the television as I have watched the carnage in Gaza. There may be terrorists in Gaza, but there are clearly many more civilians, and they are being bombarded day after day by aircraft, helicopters and artillery. Last weekend the army moved in, and now even more civilians taking refuge from the bombardment are being killed and injured.

The barbarity of the acts that we are witnessing is accentuated by the calculations that lie behind them. First, there is the political calculation that sees the month before the inauguration of Barack Obama, combined with the run-up to elections in Israel, as a window of opportunity for the unleashing of a violent onslaught. Secondly, there is the calculated media and diplomatic offensive that has gone side-by-side with the military intervention and was months in the planning. It is regrettable that, in its coverage of Gaza, the United Kingdom media has chosen to give so much prominence to Israeli spokespersons proffering justifications for the indefensible rather than focus on the effects of sophisticated weapons on a civilian population.

Above all, media coverage—especially television news coverage—omits the vital context of the conflict, which is the fact that Palestinians have been systematically herded into smaller and smaller parcels of territory after forcible removal from their homes. In Gaza, the people have been barricaded in and deprived of vital infrastructure and supplies.

There have been Israeli casualties in areas close to Gaza as a result of the firing of mortar rockets. Any terrorist acts that lead to such deaths or injuries are to be condemned, and I do so unreservedly, but the systematic destruction that is being caused in Gaza by much greater firepower is neither a proportionate nor an appropriate response. Military action has not succeeded in preventing attacks on Israel in the past. The only solution is one that removes the source of the grievance, and that is where Israel has failed. The current bombardment of Gaza will make a negotiated solution all the more difficult to achieve—indeed, it appears calculated to do so, which is something that the international community should take into account in its response. We are dealing not with a humanitarian crisis that can be dealt with if medical and food aid are brought in to relieve immediate suffering following a cease-fire but with a continuing political crisis that will fester, with huge consequences for the whole world, until there is justice for the Palestinian people.

There is no doubt that both sides share blame for the failure to reach an agreement at Camp David. However, if Hamas has succeeded in winning the support of many of the people of Gaza, it is because the previous Palestinian leadership was weakened in its ability to negotiate successfully—and the undermining of that leadership was a deliberate act of policy by Israel and the Americans, who were not prepared to tolerate a strong Palestinian leadership. To achieve a political solution, Israel will have to negotiate with leaders who are chosen by the Palestinian people. It will have to make territorial concessions, including concessions in Jerusalem, which it is currently not prepared to do.

I want to see an end to the bloodshed in Gaza, but it is not enough simply to stop the bombardment. Peace requires justice, and engagement on the basis of mutual respect is a prerequisite of any progress, but it cannot be achieved by military means. The international community must demand justice for the Palestinians—justice whose legal basis is the UN resolutions that we have failed to enforce for so long. It is time for us to demand not just an end to the fighting but a lasting settlement. We have a responsibility—the whole world has a responsibility—to ensure that that is done.

Christine Grahame (Scottish National Party, South of Scotland)

I will not join the many armchair experts on the complex situation in the middle east and, in particular, the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Instead, I turn to somebody who knows what he is talking about. Writing in The Independent yesterday following the massacre at the UN school of 40 civilians, including old women and children, Robert Fisk asked:

"Have we forgotten the 17,500 dead—almost all civilians, most of them children and women—in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon; the 1,700 Palestinian civilian dead in the Sabra-Chatila massacre; the 1996 Qana massacre of 106 Lebanese civilian refugees, more than half of them children, at a UN base; the massacre of the Marwahin refugees who were ordered from their homes by the Israelis in 2006 then slaughtered by an Israeli helicopter crew; the 1,000 dead of that same 2006 bombardment and Lebanese invasion, almost all of them civilians?"

I say to Ted Brocklebank that Israel, to its Government's shame, has a bloody track record that stretches over decades.

In Robert Fisk's words, what happened at the UN school

"was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I'm afraid, it was."

I respect those words.

What are the excuses that we hear again and again? Robert Fisk writes:

"After Israeli artillery had fired shells into the UN base at Qana in 1996, the Israelis claimed that Hizbollah gunmen were also sheltering in the base. It was a lie ... Israel claimed the bodies of children killed in a second Qana massacre may have been taken from a graveyard. It was another lie."

As he states,

"we may well have the bodies-from-the-cemetery lie and we'll almost certainly have the Hamas-was-in-the-UN-school lie and we will very definitely have the anti-Semitism lie."

That is the backcloth to what is continuing.

I do not underestimate the fact or the number of the Israeli dead, but we have had 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week and thousands over the years since 1948. The size of the Gaza strip is just 360 km2, which is twice the size of Glasgow. With a population of 1.5 million, it is the sixth most densely populated country in the world. Its population density is 30 per cent greater than that of Glasgow, and some 40 per cent of the population are children. Wherever strong missiles and shells are aimed by the Israelis, they are likely to hit a child.

Let us not forget that, whatever we think of Hamas, it won the Palestine parliamentary elections by popular vote, and international representatives observed the elections to be fair and free. I say to Ted Brocklebank that, if the boot were on the other foot and what is happening in the Gaza strip were happening in Israel with the same power, force and deaths, there would be a huge international outcry and calls to put in more than international aid. There would be calls not only for an immediate cease-fire but for a free flow of goods, medicines and all the other things that a nation requires to sustain itself.

The people have been under siege for decades. Teachers and policemen are not paid, and people have to drink contaminated water because the sewerage system is breaking down. Fishermen are shot if they go beyond the dirty waters to fish because—of course—the waters are also occupied by the Israelis. Ted Brocklebank should start reading Robert Fisk.

Marlyn Glen (Labour, North East Scotland)

I am pleased that members have been given the opportunity to come together in this debate and I am sure that we can unanimously agree the terms of the motion. I welcome the Deputy First Minister's assurances on the many responses that the Scottish Government has already made.

As has been said, in December, Pauline McNeill secured a members' business debate on dignity for Palestinians. In that debate, we heard about the journey that she, Sandra White and Hugh O'Donnell had recently taken to Gaza and how things were at that time. Their descriptions were distressing and moving then, but now, as they feared, the situation has become much worse: we have not just a blockade of Gaza but what is being described as just short of all-out war. I have been careful with the tone of my speech to try to avoid becoming inarticulate with outrage, and I commend those who have managed to describe what has been happening in Gaza.

There are demonstrations throughout the world at which people are calling for a cease-fire. Here in Scotland, people are gathering outside the Parliament and elsewhere in Edinburgh, and in Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness and Galashiels, to name just a few, to call for a halt to the conflict. I watched the BBC news last night and heard about the three-hour respite from the conflict that has been granted to the Palestinians—three hours in which people can go outside, queue for food if they can find it, catch up with news and, sadly, bury their dead. I find the concept of a temporary humanitarian aid corridor reminiscent of the situations and language in the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four". It is a bizarre situation that I find horribly difficult to understand, given that everyone knows that the cease-fire will end and that the attacks will start again, which they duly did.

The BBC is beginning to analyse the very different strengths of firepower on the two sides and the consequently very different numbers of casualties. The public can make up their own minds about the rights and wrongs of the situation when they look at the facts. It is up to us to try to articulate those facts. However, yesterday's front-page news moves down the agenda today. Our debate is important because it can keep the conflict in the news here in Scotland and add to the international debate.

I am against all war and I deplore the loss of lives on all sides in conflicts. People in Gaza need food, cash and medical supplies. They need what everyone needs: the basics for a proper life. We must do everything in our power to ensure that there is a proper response. Supporting the motion is a small but necessary step.

Robin Harper (Green, Lothians)

Ted Brocklebank attempted to be fair and even-handed, but this not the time to be fair and even-handed; this is the time for us to express our horror at what is happening to the people of Gaza at the hands of Israeli aeroplanes, troops, guns and tanks. This is a time for us to recognise that what is happening is entirely unfair, disproportionate and unconscionable.

I congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on bringing the matter to the Parliament for debate this morning. I also congratulate her on restricting the terms of the motion to what we can do. However, I draw members' attention to something else that we can do. We can put political pressure on the European Parliament. In particular, the parties that are represented in the Scottish Parliament can lean on their European representatives.

In December, against the advice of the European Parliament, the European foreign ministers decided to upgrade European Union relations with Israel. I shall repeat this at the end of what I am about to say, but I appeal to members to lean on their representatives in the European Parliament and ask them to keep up the pressure. The decision must be revoked.

Sandra White (Scottish National Party, Glasgow)

Is the member aware that Alyn Smith MEP has a motion in the European Parliament on exactly that point? It proposes that we keep up the pressure on Israel and not have trade links while the conflict continues.

Robin Harper (Green, Lothians)

I thank Sandra White for that useful intervention. We can all lean on the other MEPs to support that motion.

The decision in December to support the upgrade in EU relations with Israel ignored the fact that Israel is in breach of an essential element of the earlier agreement, which requires states to respect

"human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement."

That is what both sides signed up to, but the agreement has been unilaterally abrogated by the Israeli Government. Israel and, indeed, the world would view endorsing an upgrade of relations at this time as an endorsement of Israel's gross and repeated breaches of international human rights and international humanitarian law.

The EU should go further and suspend the current EU-Israel association agreement, to send a strong message to the Israeli authorities about the EU's refusal to tolerate persistent human rights breaches. No new agreements must be made with Israel until it meets commitments on human rights and democratic principles, as enshrined in the current association agreement.

Violence can never be justified or condoned, and the longer the deadly blockade and occupation continue, the further away the conditions for peace will get. I appeal to members to lean on their MEPs and support the motion that has been lodged in the European Parliament. The Government must do everything it can and we must do whatever we can in the Scottish Parliament.

Bashir Ahmad (Scottish National Party, Glasgow)

I thank the Scottish Government for lodging the motion.

Since 27 December, we have witnessed an assault on Gaza that is unlike anything before. The numbers involved are truly horrific. Almost 700 Palestinians are dead and more than 3,000 people, including many women and children, have been injured.

As many of us know, Gaza has been under Israeli blockade for the past 18 months. Hospitals are fast running out of medical supplies and the region's power supply is at a critically low level. Furthermore, almost 85 per cent of Gazans depend on food aid. With the addition of the conflict in the past 12 days, we are now witnessing a full-blown human catastrophe.

I and a number of my parliamentary colleagues condemn the Israeli aggression that we have witnessed. I echo members' calls for an immediate end to attacks on the Gazan people. Hamas must also stop firing rockets.

As has been mentioned, aid workers from Islamic Relief and other Scottish aid agencies are risking their lives to help distribute the most basic essentials to the people of Gaza. They must be congratulated on their brave efforts, but we must consider what else Scotland can do. In previous conflicts, Scottish hospitals have treated the badly injured. I ask the cabinet secretary to look into that possibility to show the ordinary people of Gaza that we stand with them at this difficult time.

Peace is never achieved through the barrel of a gun; it is achieved only through dialogue. I sincerely hope that those who can effect change in the region act in a fair, balanced and humanitarian manner. There is no doubt that, as a nation, we will offer to play whatever role we can to achieve what many people see as impossible: a lasting peace in the middle east.

Patricia Ferguson (Labour, Glasgow Maryhill)

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this important debate. It is right and proper that the Scottish Parliament should express its view on the crisis in Gaza.

We all know the genesis of the current Israeli attack on Gaza. Colleagues around the chamber have ably talked about the history of the region; I will not repeat what they have said. In the past few weeks, Israel has claimed that the attack is an attempt to weaken Hamas. Let us examine that claim. Hamas forms the elected Government of Palestine. That might not be my or the UK Government's choice—it is certainly not Israel's choice—but it is the Palestinians' choice. If anything is guaranteed to strengthen Hamas's position, it is the current series of attacks. In a radio interview at the weekend, the only Fatah MP left in Nablus—which was once so associated with Fatah that it was known as "Fatah City"—declared his view that Israel's attack would undoubtedly strengthen the hand and position of Hamas.

The very nature of the Gaza strip means that an attack on Hamas is, of course, an attack on Palestinian men, women and children. Israel knows that. Israel's claims that it

"makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties"

surely stretch our credibility. It also knows that its actions in the months and years before the current incursion have weakened the Gaza strip's infrastructure, reduced fuel levels in the area and left hospitals struggling on back-up generators, many of which are already failing. Five UN health centres have closed because of the recent hostilities. If we add to that the lack of basic medical supplies, we can only begin to imagine the plight of the injured—of whom there were some 2,700 by 6 January—and the despair of the medical and nursing staff who are trying to treat them. No one can have any doubts about the scale of the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding before us.

I welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to assist the humanitarian efforts. NGOs such as the UN and the Red Cross have important roles, and we must neither forget nor underestimate their work and the perils that they face in trying to deliver assistance.

As has been mentioned, there was a three-hour break in hostilities yesterday to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered. That exercise, which was welcome, will be repeated today, but it is simply not enough. Agencies have reported that, during the brief lull, Gazans rushed on to the streets to buy essential supplies and check on friends and family members whom they had not been able to have contact with in recent days.

The conflict can end only by means of a cease-fire. Hugh O'Donnell was right to say that a military solution will not work. It is vital that the international community puts pressure on Israel and Hamas to end all violence as soon as possible.

In 1967, in the aftermath of the six-day war, the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed resolution 242, which still stands. That resolution emphasised

"the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security".

Time does not allow me to read out the full resolution, but suffice it to say its terms have never been honoured. It is as relevant today as it was in 1967. There must be a viable Palestinian state and a secure Israel, and the resolution is the key to solving the problems of the middle east, which must remain the ultimate objective.

Today, the Holyrood Parliament joins legislatures across the globe in calling for a cease-fire in the current crisis. The people of Gaza are calling out for such a cease-fire, and we must add our voice to theirs.

Jim Tolson (Liberal Democrat, Dunfermline West)

Like millions of other people, I am absolutely shocked by the huge scale of the Israeli attacks that have been taking place since 27 December and which we have seen on the worldwide television news. With 1.5 million people crammed into the Gaza strip, high levels of civilian casualties were inevitable. There is no credibility in the Israeli statement that the Palestinians have used people as human shields, because it is impossible to have human shields when so many people are crammed into such a small space anyway.

In December, I attended the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on Palestine. The feedback from Hugh O'Donnell, Sandra White and Pauline McNeill on their audacious boat trip to Gaza was absolutely heartbreaking. There was also feedback from Palestinian people, many of whom had suffered for years in their homeland at the hands of the Israelis. There was feedback, too, from aid workers who had been attacked and harangued out of Gaza, and from Scots who had lived in Gaza and had felt that in many ways they were living under occupation. We heard heartbreaking points from all. We heard that no spare parts are allowed for sewage systems and how Israeli gunboats force fishermen to remain close to the shore and to fish in waters that are contaminated with sewage, which inevitably contaminates the food chain.

I decided to be no armchair supporter. I was sufficiently moved to join 2,000 demonstrators in Glasgow last Saturday. A cross-party group of MSPs was there in support of the demonstration, although there were no Tories. The demonstration, which was on behalf of and in support of the people of Gaza and Palestinians worldwide, was peaceful but vociferous. The heartbreaking news about what has been going on in Gaza, particularly since 27 December, was well elocuted by many. I cannot condone the rocket attacks on Israel, but the Israeli response is utterly disproportionate. All violence must stop now and not just for three hours per day. Violence breeds violence and only a democratic settlement will bring lasting peace.

Nicola Sturgeon was absolutely right that almost all Scots are concerned about the situation. As she said, the violence is shattering and hopes for a long-term peace are the way ahead. I back those sentiments fully. The motion's focus on charities and NGOs pulling together is the right approach. The one point on which I agree with Ted Brocklebank is that that is one response that Scotland can make, whereas we cannot act on many other matters. Nicola Sturgeon also referred to the MSPs' trip to Gaza in November. That was a brave and audacious attempt by our colleagues to provide aid. They definitely managed to do that and I am glad that they did. At the end of the day, as Nicola Sturgeon said, we hope that the Parliament will speak with one voice on the issue. It is crucial that we do so.

Pauline McNeill was one of the members who went on the trip to Gaza. She talked about how Scotland can respond to the crisis in humanitarian ways. We heard much about that at the demonstration last Saturday. People can comment here and elsewhere on what is happening to try to ensure that the Palestinians' story gets out to a worldwide audience. We can also comment on the scale of the suffering, which has been going on for many years and not just since 27 December. Pauline McNeill rightly suggested that the public expect us to add our voice to that of others. The world focus must be on an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Some Israelis, and even George Bush, have denied that there is a humanitarian crisis. There is no credibility whatever in that statement. I am glad that Mr Bush is going, but I wish that I could believe that the Israeli Government will be more reasonable in the future. I do not hold out too much hope of that.

Ted Brocklebank's speech was sad indeed. Although he deplored the tragic deaths of civilians in Gaza, including those of 200 children, he soured the debate somewhat, which was rather sad to witness. Hamas is not just a militant organisation—no more than the Tories are in the Parliament. It is unfortunate that Ted Brocklebank took that line. My colleague Hugh O'Donnell, who took part in the trip to Gaza, made a good speech. I am glad that he congratulated the organisations that are taking practical steps to help people in Gaza. The Liberal Democrats' UK leader, Nick Clegg, has called on the UK Government to stop arming the Israelis. I certainly back that call.

Jackson Carlaw (Conservative, West of Scotland)

Naturally, the debate has at times been emotionally charged—so it must be when images of raw conflict are broadcast into our homes as it happens. The debate has borne witness to the personal commitments of members from across the Parliament to the troubles and peoples in the region and to members' passions. I make no complaint about that. The motion acknowledges the suffering, about which we have heard testimony, and recognises and welcomes the role that Scotland can play in adding to the international humanitarian relief, even though responsibility for international representation rests with the Government at Westminster.

The Parliament has a direct responsibility for the public in Scotland. The actions of the Government of Israel are the responsibility of that Government and not of the Jewish population here in Scotland. I therefore express my dismay that the heightened language of some is being used to justify remarks by others, publicly published, that can be described only as dangerously anti-Semitic. We have a duty to choose our words carefully, as do the press in their columns. For example, it was questionable for The Herald to publish remarks from a well-known contributor that included veiled threats to

"the state of Israel and Jews all over the world."

Two and a half years ago, during the events that culminated in the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, similar language and lack of editorial control in The Herald and The Scotsman, particularly on their websites, led to an unprecedented level of hostility to the Scottish Jewish community, the vast majority of whom live in Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Many talked of feeling intimidated, for the first time in their lives, when walking the streets and they were appalled by a disgraceful attack on the Jewish cemetery in Glasgow. In the past 24 hours, senior members of the Jewish community have reported to me an increase in nuisance calls to Jewish—not Israeli—organisations and the distribution of hate mail to the community. I have a copy of one piece of such mail, which is chilling and as fundamentally unacceptable as are attacks on the integrity of the Muslim population in Scotland, or fear and suspicion of that population, in response to domestic terrorism.

In this month, when we commemorate the millions of lives that were lost in the Holocaust, we must remember that paying lip service to that commemoration is not enough. The debt that is owed to the international Jewish community was recognised in the establishment of the Israeli state. It has a right to exist and to defend itself. However unwelcome the observation is today, the fact is that, ever since the withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas has continued to pepper Israel with rocket attacks. Those attacks are now being complemented with the use of longer-range successor rockets, the reach of which places nearly a million Israeli citizens at very real risk. It is the duty of their Government to defend them.

Some people have raised exaggerated expectations for President-elect Obama. He has been reluctant to become involved in the debate ahead of his inauguration, but he has previously commented thus:

"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing".

I applaud that comment. There is not much difference between Obama's reaction and that of the Bush Administration.

This is not a time to speak against a cease-fire—far from it. The Israeli objectives—to destroy the weapons supply tunnels that are tolerated by her neighbour and effectively to emasculate the Hamas military potential—need to be secured promptly, as much to prevent the escalation that the rockets that were launched a few hours ago from Lebanon might presage as for any other reason. However, the cease-fire must be a cease-fire on all sides. Therein lies the difficulty, for unlike the Irish Republican Army, which, in the talks on and resolution of the conflict in our country, accepted that an armed solution had no future, Hamas has no such compunction. There is no point in Mr O'Donnell ignoring that truth, nor for that matter in Christine Grahame quoting Robert Fisk, passionate as he is, as anything other than a highly partisan anti-Jewish correspondent. Any cease-fire cannot be used by Hamas as an interlude to rearm and recommence rocket attacks.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation that is determined to have an armed struggle and which has set its face against the reason of most others in the region, who have recognised that a negotiated two-state solution is not only the only proper solution, but one that is actually achievable. Meanwhile, the 1.5 million civilians in Gaza are trapped in the most ghastly of situations. Their security and welfare have been ruthlessly exploited by Hamas, which deliberately sites its rocket launchers in schools, mosques and elsewhere where it hopes to hide behind human shields and exploit the consequences.

The current conflict must end promptly. We must all hope that the Franco-Egyptian initiative achieves that. Thereafter, with fresh moral authority, the incoming US Administration of Barack Obama needs to work with the people, including President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, who are dedicated to securing a positive and lasting peaceful solution. Hamas can participate if it finally accepts the very clear conditions that were set in 2006: to renounce violence, abide by previous agreements, and accept the basic right of the state of Israel to exist.

Meanwhile, I give every encouragement to people in Scotland who are responding to the humanitarian situation. Theirs is an urgent response to the immediate need of innocents who are caught up in the heart of an avoidable tragedy.

Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow Kelvin)

The business manager of the Conservative party was quite helpful in allowing us to secure a debate this morning. However, I am sad to say that the speakers from the Conservative party have not reflected their business manager's spirit. [ Interruption. ]

Alasdair Morgan (Scottish National Party, South of Scotland)

Order.

Ted Brocklebank (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

Will the member take an intervention?

Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow Kelvin)

I will not.

I want to address the points that were made by Ted Brocklebank and Jackson Carlaw, who should perhaps clarify their position.

Ted Brocklebank suggested, or inferred, that 75 per cent of the Palestinian casualties were Hamas terrorists; he did not say that directly, but he implied it. Does that mean that the children who have been killed in the air attacks—20 per cent of all those killed—are the terrorists? There have been bombings of whole families—of 15 or 16 members of the same family. Are they the terrorists? What about the women who are lying on hospital floors, who cannot be treated because there is virtually no space for them? Are they the terrorists? Surely the Conservatives cannot believe the propaganda on that.

We have not witnessed anything like this for years in the middle east. Let me make our position clear. There has been a suggestion that we are not calling for a cease-fire on both sides, but that is not the case; we are calling unequivocally for a cease-fire from Hamas and from the Israelis, who have the most powerful army in the world.

Robin Harper said that perhaps the problem is that we have been too even-handed in our approach. Many commentators have said that while we have clearly supported Israel's right to defend itself, its right to security and its right to exist, our failure to criticise its repeated violations of international law is perhaps where the international community has failed.

Hugh O'Donnell was brave enough to ask why only the Palestinians should pay the debt for the horrors inflicted on the Jewish people.

I cannot leave Jackson Carlaw's point unanswered. He is absolutely right to say that there have been attacks on Jewish communities in this country. I, and others, have written directly to The Scotsman and The Herald about the blogging that I believe is anti-Semitic. We are in unity with the Conservatives on that point. Many Jewish people in Scotland have spoken out bravely about Israel. We always make the clear distinction that we are talking not about the Jewish race, but about the actions of the Israeli Government and leaders. I have always believed—and this is true now more than ever—that the Israeli people and the Palestinian people want a settlement. Let us be clear that the leaders on all sides have failed to deliver that.

Patricia Ferguson and others talked about the Palestinian elections of 2006. I was there; I observed the elections and even I was shocked by the radicalisation that had taken place in the west bank as well as the Gaza strip, with 70 per cent of the popular vote going to Hamas. That would not be my choice—Patricia Ferguson said that, too—but we can see why people made it.

When I met Isaac Herzog, a Labour minister in the Knesset, who has been on television in the past few days, he admitted to me and to other MPs that they humiliated and failed the Fatah leadership and, as a result, the Palestinian people wondered what the point was of voting for a moderate Government if it was going to be ignored. What was the world's response? We asked Hamas to lay down its arms and enter into dialogue, but on day 1 of the elections we withdrew all the financial support. Ever since then, the ordinary people of Palestine have suffered.

I am afraid to say that there are analogies with what happened in Lebanon, which I also visited, when the Israeli army bombed a UN shelter in Qana to which civilians had fled. Under international law—perhaps this will be disputed, too—people are not supposed to bomb UN points of security to which people have fled. In Qana, there are graves of civilians who were killed when the shelter to which they ran, with big blue UN flags displayed everywhere, was bombed. A similar thing happened last night. Even the UN workers said that there was no evidence of firing from the school. Are they not telling the truth, either—who knows? I like to think that the end result was unacceptable to any human being.

I am glad that we have had the opportunity to exchange views, which is important. We must find points of common ground, despite the fact that we may disagree about how to resolve a conflict that has been around for 60 years. On Saturday, members of the general public came along to hand over things from their medicine cupboards, such as medicine that was in date, because they wanted to do something practical. We can do something practical, too.

Since I came back from Gaza in April, I have been working with Edinburgh Direct Aid to try to get a convoy of medical aid and equipment to Gaza. That will prove difficult now. It would be crazy to suggest that we should even attempt it until the current situation has been assessed. It would be a symbolic gesture, but I think that Scots want to make that connection. They believe what we believe and, like everybody in the middle east, they want peace. Until we get peace, they want to do something practical to help. I appeal to all members of the Parliament who want to do something practical to write to pharmacies in their area to ask whether they are willing to donate medicine. If we cannot take it to Gaza, there are plenty of agencies that will.

On Friday, Greater Glasgow Health Board agreed to donate the decommissioned equipment that can be taken to Gaza. As we know, people there are in need of absolutely everything. We have perfectly good equipment here, such as full anaesthetic machines, which they could use. It is just a question of getting it over there.

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

It is absolutely right that the Parliament discusses these issues. Throughout the debate, we have heard the depth of feeling that the developing humanitarian crisis in Gaza has generated here and elsewhere. In Scotland, the UK and beyond, people have been demonstrating because they are sickened by what they are seeing and because they recognise that a death by violence is an unjust death.

We have heard about the history and complexity of the politics of the region, which are long standing. We heard about the failure of UN resolutions and the failure to secure a viable two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.

All citizens of the world have the right to go about their business without fear of attack and, as we have heard today, a people must attend to its security. However, the Israeli Government must also know that world opinion and its long-term self-interest cannot be reconciled with the effects that the recent bombing and ground offensive have had on the people of Gaza.

More than 600 Palestinians have died since the military offensive began and more than 13,000 people have been displaced. As Sandra White and others have said, people have been displaced within a tight settlement, which has been blockaded for such a long time. These people have nowhere to run to. Food is in short supply and more than 70 per cent of people are without a water supply. Medical facilities are under extreme pressure. As the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said, having a three-hour cease-fire each day on both sides and having a humanitarian corridor open, is completely insufficient to feed 750,000 people a day. A permanent cease-fire is needed.

Whatever one believes about the politics of the region, the humanitarian plight of the people of Gaza is straightforward. At least we have achieved consensus on that today. I am glad that we can all add our support to those Scots and Scottish organisations that are contributing to the international efforts to confront the food, water, energy and medical emergencies that the conflict in Gaza has brought about.

A number of NGOs and aid agencies that are based in Scotland are currently working in Gaza. For example, Christian Aid Scotland is supporting the partner organisation the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, which is working in Gaza's hospitals. Also, Mercy Corps Scotland expects to deliver more than $250,000 of food, non-food items and medical supplies to the war-affected families. However, its truck-load of food commodities remains in the queue of vehicles at the closed border for entry into Gaza. The border is also closed to humanitarian personnel. Mercy Corps is continuing to lobby and make applications for entry into the Gaza strip to enable it to disperse those supplies.

The British Red Cross has donated £75,000 to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. We have heard much in the debate about the work of Islamic Relief. Its assistance includes emergency food supplies, food aid to hospitals and the purchase of medical equipment in the west bank for delivery to Gaza. In addition, Save the Children is providing food and medical supplies and Oxfam UK, which works with partners in Gaza, is trying to gain access.

As Nicola Sturgeon said, Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with NGOs who are working on the ground in Gaza. We stand ready to respond favourably to any request for humanitarian assistance. In that regard, the main problem at the moment, according to Department for International Development, is not the lack of assistance that is being offered but the ability to get that assistance to the people of Gaza. As Des McNulty said, we all have a responsibility to try to help any people who are suffering as much as the people of Gaza are suffering; they need that human response from the rest of us.

I return to the cease-fire. Only a complete cessation of violence will suffice; three-hourly pauses in bombing are absolutely insufficient to help the Gazan people. Only when arms are laid to rest and dialogue begins will the people of Gaza be able to rebuild their lives.

We are in contact with DFID, as we are with the Scottish NGOs and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is essential that, when we are enabled to be of assistance, the response should be a co-ordinated one. DFID has pledged £4 million of humanitarian assistance. Again, it has stated with our full backing that full and safe access for supplies and aid workers is essential. On behalf of the Parliament, I express our respect for Scottish aid workers who go to places of danger. We respect their absolute care for the plight of others wherever they live in the world.

The long-term peace and security of the peoples of Israel and Palestine depend on meaningful dialogue and a two-state solution. At times, one can feel that people have been talking for long enough and that we are hitting our heads off a brick wall, but finding a meaningful solution to any violent conflict around the world is never easy. Any solution depends on dialogue and on people of closed minds opening up their minds. We have seen examples of that many times round the world. I am sure that each member can think of an example.

Closed minds have to be opened; there has to be a new beginning. Courage and bravery on both sides are needed if people are to start afresh and sit down together. All Governments must care seriously about the people whom they represent. Governments around the world, particularly those with influence, should be striving to represent their people and working to achieve a solution.

I ask members to support the motion at decision time.

Question Time — Scottish Executive — General Questions

Jeremy Purvis (Liberal Democrat, Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the operations of Disclosure Scotland with regard to adults who were looked-after children. (S3O-5442)

Kenny MacAskill (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)

Disclosure Scotland has no knowledge of whether any individual applicant was previously a looked-after child and no information would appear on a disclosure that identified an individual as having previously been looked after.

Jeremy Purvis (Liberal Democrat, Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale)

The cabinet secretary is aware of correspondence that I have had with a constituent who was given a supervision order during the time that she was a looked-after child. Under Disclosure Scotland practice, that remains on her criminal record until the age of 40. If she had not been a looked-after child, the information would have been wiped at the age of 16. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the relevant police authority took 11 months to decide who was responsible for making a decision on whether the information should be wiped from the record.

As a result of correspondence with the cabinet secretary, I am glad to say that the matter has been resolved, for which my constituent and I are grateful. That said, will the cabinet secretary review the procedures, law and protocols that differentiate between those who were looked-after children and those who were not when it comes to what appears on a Disclosure Scotland form?

Kenny MacAskill (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)

I thank the member for the prior intimation of his substantive question. First, I apologise for the difficulties in the timescale, which were due to administrative oversight. Lothian and Borders Police have now addressed the matter.

We accept that there is an anomaly here, but it is clear that this is a question of balance. We do not seek to prejudice the situation of someone who was a looked-after child, but we need to ensure public safety and the care and welfare of our children. Ministers are considering a variety of options. I assure the member that we are seeking to ensure that we get the right balance between protecting children and ensuring that people who were looked-after children subject to an element of protection are not further prejudiced.

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

NHS boards across remote and rural Scotland are working with their community planning partners to improve access to health services.

The Scottish Government is supporting the work of NHS Scotland's remote and rural steering group, led by the chief executive of NHS Highland, which will, amongst other things, develop a national framework within which boards and their partners can take local decisions that reflect local transport and health care priorities.

Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)

I recognise the genuine hard work that the cabinet secretary and her team have put into addressing the problem. There is a lack of public transport in the Highlands and, even where it exists, people often have to wait for a long time for services in inclement weather. There is also the unhelpful attitude of those who answer telephone calls from patients.

Next week, local authority representatives and I will meet constituents and health professionals to discuss the problem and to establish proposals. I hope that the cabinet secretary will undertake to examine closely those proposals and work with the people on the ground.

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

I absolutely agree on those concerns. Good-quality transport is essential if we are to ensure good-quality and equitable access to health care, particularly for people living in rural communities. We need to ensure that such transport is provided right across Scotland. The challenges in so doing are particularly acute in remote and rural areas. It is essential that NHS boards, regional transport partnerships, local authorities and other agencies where appropriate work constructively together in this regard.

I welcome and am interested in the meeting that the member described. I give him the absolute assurance that I will consider any proposals that are made as a result.

Rob Gibson (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

In light of the meeting, will the cabinet secretary consider proposals such one that would see NHS Highland running the ambulance service in the north? That could be a means of enabling us to achieve the integrated approach that is missing at the present time.

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

I appreciate the sentiment that lies behind the question, but integration depends not on structural changes, which can often be a distraction, but on agencies working together. I make it clear on a regular basis to NHS boards and the Scottish Ambulance Service that it is absolutely essential that they work together in a cohesive and integrated fashion to ensure that the needs of patients are put first.

Some of our more remote and rural areas give particular challenges to all those agencies, but that does not mean that they do not have the responsibility to work together. As the members who are involved in the issue are aware, if an example of integrated working not working as it should ever comes to light, I will look into the issue as speedily as possible.

Rhoda Grant (Labour, Highlands and Islands)

The minister is aware that volunteer patient transport service drivers are crucial to patient transport in remote and rural areas. There are two volunteer drivers in the west Highlands north of Skye, which is not enough to provide the service. Will the minister look at the costs to NHS Highland of providing taxis where the service fails and at the number of missed appointments that are due to failure of the service? Will she guarantee that no patient will lose their patient guarantee if they miss three appointments due to failure of the service?

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

The last point that the member raises would be taken into account if a patient missed an appointment not through their fault but through the fault of another part of the service.

I agree that volunteer drivers and volunteers generally in the NHS make a valuable contribution; I put on record my thanks to them. Volunteer drivers provide a fantastic service that is important to local people. Often the service is provided by people who are known to patients; it is also cost effective. I appreciate the great sacrifice that volunteers often have to make. I know that recently high fuel costs have been a particular problem for volunteer drivers. That is why the Scottish Ambulance Service has committed itself to looking regularly at the mileage rates that are paid to volunteer drivers, to ensure that those are increased where necessary and appropriate. I agree with the premise of Rhoda Grant's question. Without the contribution of volunteer drivers, many parts of Scotland would suffer a great loss.

Kenny MacAskill (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)

I last met Steve House on 12 December in Easterhouse in Glasgow—I think that the member was present at that meeting—when I announced the Government's £1.6 million funding package in support of the national violence reduction unit's ground-breaking community initiative to reduce violence project to tackle gang violence in the east end of Glasgow. I am sure that the member will join me now—as he did then—in welcoming the project and acknowledging the good work that is being done in his constituency and throughout east Glasgow by Glasgow City Council, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board, the violence reduction unit and the police to tackle this most serious issue.

Frank McAveety (Labour, Glasgow Shettleston)

I associate myself with the minister's remarks. Has he discussed with the new chief constable—who in my experience is a direct and hands-on chief constable who wants to give support to communities—the way in which we provide support to victims of crime, especially the old issue of how we can give them greater support? What view would the minister take on a member's bill relating to victim support in Scotland?

Kenny MacAskill (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)

The Government has made it clear, on the record, that it is trying to ensure that victims remain at the heart of our justice system. We want to ensure that victims are treated with dignity, respect and compassion. I have discussed the specific issue that the member raises only tangentially with Mr House, and I have not discussed the proposal for a victims commissioner. We have said that that is an interesting suggestion that we are happy to consider, but our first priority is to ensure that victims are treated as victims and that the agony that they have endured and the injury that they have suffered are not compounded. That means that they must be treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve in their first interface with the police, the prosecution and the courts.

Equally, we must ensure that we fund and resource victim support properly, as we are doing. Record funding of £5 million has gone to Victim Support Scotland, and £25 million has gone to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. We are more than happy to consider the concept of a victims commissioner, but our clear priority is front-line services and ensuring that victims are treated with dignity and compassion, as opposed to having a commissioner deal with problems once they have arisen.

Stewart Stevenson (Scottish National Party, Banff and Buchan)

We have a fully committed programme of transport infrastructure investment to 2012 that targets improvements to the A9. Dualling the A9 is a Government commitment. We are delighted that for the first time the project is included in a national transport strategy in Scotland. Furthermore, design work to dual the Birnam to Luncarty station section of the road is progressing currently.

The strategic transport projects review now provides a robust framework of schemes, the delivery of which will be prioritised in each spending review. A timetable for undertaking further work on the A9 upgrade from Perth to Inverness will be developed as part of the prioritisation process. That will be set in the context of overall affordability and our commitments to other STPR proposals.

Murdo Fraser (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

I am surprised that the minister is being so equivocal on the question of the completion date. On 11 December, that fine paper The Press and Journal reported that

"a source close to First Minister Alex Salmond",

no less, revealed that the dualling of the A9

"will be completed by 2020"—

no ifs, no buts, no qualifications and no suggestions that that is dependent on what the Treasury may or may not say about Forth bridge funding. Will the minister indicate clearly whether the road will be dualled by 2020—yes or no—and if not, why not?

Stewart Stevenson (Scottish National Party, Banff and Buchan)

The member will be aware that previous Governments of which his colleagues were part and Governments made up of other parties failed to make the kind of commitment that this Government is making to the A9. The substantial investment that is being made has been widely welcomed in the whole of the Highlands and at the southern end of the A9. The member should have absolutely no doubt about the Government's commitment to the A9 and about the fact that we will not wait until 2020 to make appropriate progress on the road. We are making such progress now and will continue to do so.

Dave Thompson (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

What is the Government's estimate of the total investment in transport infrastructure in the Highlands that is contained in the STPR? How does that compare with the investment that was made by previous Scottish and United Kingdom Governments in the 20 years prior to the STPR?

Stewart Stevenson (Scottish National Party, Banff and Buchan)

I thank the member for giving me the opportunity to reinforce some aspects of my previous answer. I do not have with me the entire list of interventions, but I have one or two of them, which amount to £4.2 billion—a very substantial investment that has already been widely welcomed and is unprecedented in modern times, if we compare it with the interventions of all previous Administrations.

Des McNulty (Labour, Clydebank and Milngavie)

We have had no dates from the minister, so I ask him to give some dates in response to this question. When will the Government implement a programme of road widening on the A82 at selected locations between Tarbet and Inverarnan and between Corran ferry and Fort William?

Stewart Stevenson (Scottish National Party, Banff and Buchan)

We are aware of the issues relating to the A82. As I said in answer to a question from John Scott in December, there were 13 deaths on the road in 2007. For that reason, we are treating as a matter of urgency the issue of improvements that are geared towards creating greater safety on the A82. I note that constraints on the A82, such as traffic lights, have been in place for 20 years or more, so it is welcome in the west of Scotland that, at last, this Government is engaging to provide in early course the improvements that are necessary to improve safety on one of Scotland's more dangerous roads.

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

I have regular monthly meetings with NHS board chairs and will meet them next on Monday 26 January.

Mary Scanlon (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

Will physiotherapy services be discussed at the next meeting? The previous Liberal-Labour Administration revealed that, in 2006, 28,000 patients were waiting for physiotherapy in Scotland. Last year in Inverness, many patients had to wait more than a year for physiotherapy. What plans does the cabinet secretary have to reduce waiting times for physio, to increase mobility, reduce pain and help people to get back to work?

Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Govan)

I agree strongly with the sentiments that are behind Mary Scanlon's question. The member is right to point out that access to good-quality physiotherapy services is an essential part of rehabilitation of patients, which is an important part of our strategy. The Government has a strong commitment to the reduction of waiting times generally. Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff, we have had considerable success in bringing waiting times down.

As I have said previously in the chamber, the Government, in addition to continuing the downward pressure on waiting times, is considering what further services can be brought into the scope of waiting times. We have already given a commitment on audiology, and we are considering other ways in which we can improve physiotherapy services—for example, we have been working on some of the issues that have presented a challenge for newly qualified physiotherapists to try to get them into the service. We are examining different options to promote direct referral to physiotherapy services in a more joined-up and consistent way, in order to improve the delivery of service.

That is a priority for the Government, and I am happy to keep Mary Scanlon up to date on developments.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of NFU Scotland. (S3O-5437)

Richard Lochhead (Scottish National Party, Moray)

I often meet representatives of NFUS, including here in the Scottish Parliament, on farms throughout Scotland and at European Union councils. Most recently, I attended the NFUS less favoured area committee on 1 December, reflecting my concern for the challenges that the livestock sector is currently experiencing; and on 17 December I met the NFUS to discuss fallen stock, among other issues.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Does he recall giving a commitment in the Parliament during a debate last autumn to make every effort to bring forward less favoured area support scheme payments before the end of 2008? Does he accept that the failure to achieve that has disappointed many hard-pressed Scottish farmers and crofters? What steps is he taking, in discussion with the NFUS, to ensure that the next round of single farm payments and LFASS payments can be made in 2009?

Richard Lochhead (Scottish National Party, Moray)

I do not accept the premise of the member's question—we are making LFASS payments that will begin to arrive in accounts at the beginning of next week, which is quicker than last year. We have already paid 93 per cent of single farm payments, which is also quicker than last year. I know that that has been warmly welcomed by farmers and crofters the length and breadth of Scotland.

With regard to the substance of the member's question about making the LFASS payment and the single farm payment at the same time, great minds think alike on that particular subject—I am investigating whether that would be possible in future, because I understand the benefits. As ever with the common agricultural policy, it is not as simple as it might at first appear, given the need for separate audit and accountability processes, but I am investigating it to find out what is possible.

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

The Scottish Government submitted a written representation to Ofgem in November 2008, as part of its inquiry into energy retail markets.

We made clear our concern that some customers, especially those on pre-payment meters, were facing higher premiums than appeared to be justified. We support the initial proposals from Ofgem, as announced on 16 December, to change the supplier licence conditions to prohibit such unfair pricing. We have also supported the proposal for clearer billing information to make comparisons between different tariffs easier. We are continuing to engage with Ofgem on that on-going inquiry and would support any move that would reduce domestic energy costs.

In addition, as part of a series of meetings with the energy supply firms in recent months, we have made it clear that we wish prices for consumers to come down as soon as possible.

Alex Neil (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I thank the minister for that comprehensive reply. I ask him to draw to the attention of Ofgem the fact that wholesale prices have been reduced by around 40 per cent while retail prices have only been reduced by around 10 per cent, and that there is a need, in all fairness, to close that 30 per cent gap.

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

As a result of our representations and those of others, and as stated in the pre-budget report, Ofgem will now monitor trends in retail and wholesale prices to ensure that there is not an unnecessary time lag in price cuts. In addition, we are sending the message to the energy companies that they have a vested interest in competitive prices, because that keeps Scottish companies viable and competitive, keeps people in work and allows more people, families and businesses to be able to afford energy efficiency and energy prices.

Jamie McGrigor (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

Due to the very cold weather this winter, my constituents in the Highlands and Islands have been using more heating and are now worried about how to pay for it. Why is the cost of gas and electricity rising in Scotland when oil prices have reduced from $140 to $40?

Jim Mather (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

I have explained that we are putting on pressure about the time lag. In addition, in the interests of the constituents that Mr McGrigor and I share, and of constituents throughout Scotland, the Government is bringing forward an additional £10 million for the central heating programme in 2008-09. It has also established a carbon emission reductions target steering group on which all the major energy companies are represented to try to get Scotland's fair share of CERT spending and to integrate Government spending with private sector spending to maximise the effectiveness of energy efficiency programmes throughout Scotland. That will be announced as part of an energy efficiency assistance package in April this year.

First Minister's Question Time

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

To ask the First Minister what engagements he has planned for the rest of the day. (S3F-1322)

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Later today I will have meetings to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland.

I take this opportunity to wish all our viewers a happy new year.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

Concern has been growing—quite rightly—about how the First Minister will pay for the new Forth crossing. In the past he was unequivocal that it was a job for the Scottish Futures Trust. He said that

"If we have a new bridge, a bond issue is definitely the way to do it",

and as recently as last May, his finance secretary agreed, when he said:

"Of course that's the type of project that could be taken forward under the auspices of this model".

What happened? When did the First Minister finally realise that his Scottish Futures Trust would not work and could not build a bridge?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The finance minister announced to Parliament last year that the Forth crossing would be built using traditional public procurement. The reason why is obvious: the Forth crossing is the biggest capital project in Scottish history that is on a strict timetable to be built by 2016-17 and needs certainty of approach. Therefore, the public procurement model is the best way to build it. Unfortunately, it is also the only way to build it at present because it is the only method that can deliver the Forth crossing on timetable and on budget, which this Government is doing. The previous Administration could not even make a decision to build the bridge.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

When the First Minister and the finance secretary said that the Scottish Futures Trust would build the Forth crossing, did he not realise then that it was the biggest capital project in Scotland and that it needed certainty and a timetable?

The truth is that the Scottish National Party wasted two years on the Scottish Futures Trust fantasy, and when that all fell apart it gave the Treasury two weeks to consider its daft alternative, which was to bring money back from the future to spend now. The most basic understanding of public finance tells us that that is not credible.

The First Minister is right that his Government announced in December how the bridge would be built. The most basic rules of integrity in Government tell us that we do not announce how we will spend money that we do not have. What on earth did the First Minister think he was doing in bringing the single most important transport project in Scotland—"in a lifetime", according to Mr Swinney—to Parliament without there being a financial package in place?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Yes—but we have the money in the capital budgets and we are building the bridge. That is the difference between the SNP and the Labour Party. The question is this: Should we pay for the largest capital project in Scottish history over three years or over 20 years? Would Iain Gray buy his house over three years or would he do it over a longer period? It makes sense for the biggest capital investment in Scottish history to be profiled over a substantial period.

Iain Gray said that the Treasury was given two weeks to reply but, in fact, it took six weeks. I tell Iain Gray that the Treasury doesnae do anything in two weeks. There is a precedent in the international finance facility, which was dreamed up by the current Prime Minister, who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer. He argued that the public procurement process should be used because of the significance of that facility.

Iain Gray should pay close attention to the letter that came back from the Treasury because it blows out of the water any prospect of a private finance initiative or public-private partnership being the solution. It says in the letter that such an approach

"would not solve the budgeting problem"

because everything is now on-budget. Labour's old dodge of paying through the nose for PFI has been blown apart by the chief secretary's letter.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

The trouble is that the Government has demonstrated its inability to build anything, even using traditional public procurement. Only yesterday, the Low Moss prison project was delayed for two years. That £100 million project is far smaller and far more straightforward than the new Forth crossing, but the Government has been unable to take it forward.

The Government has a track record on iconic transport projects. One of the First Minister's first acts was to cancel the Edinburgh airport rail link, which came to more than half a billion pounds—£650 million was saved. He certainly has not used that money to build any schools or hospitals. It would be a start on the new bridge, however. What has he done with that £650 million?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

It is being spent on building the infrastructure of Scotland, including the M74 project, which is rather crucial to the economy of Scotland. [Applause.]

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Order.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The financing of the Forth bridge is a matter of substantial public concern, so it has been of great interest to hear the reactions of Iain Gray's Labour spokespeople when they have been asked whether there would be tolls if they were in charge of building—or not building—the bridge. Des McNulty said on Radio Scotland on 10 December that they

"would look at all possible options."

Even more dramatically, David Whitton—standing in for Andy Kerr this week—was asked by Glenn Campbell whether the project would be a PPP or whether tolls would be considered. He replied, with that air of certainty that the Labour Party can conjure up in such moments of crisis:

"I don't know if that rules them out or not."

With Labour, it would be no bridge or a toll bridge.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

The SNP inherited a budget that had the money for the M74 in it. It also had the money—[ Interruption. ] It also had the money—

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, North Tayside)

Absolute rubbish.

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Order.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

That budget also contained the money for the Edinburgh airport rail link. What has the Government done with that money? It has not built schools or hospitals with it.

Somebody once said:

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

The First Minister always has plenty of excuses, but we do not want to hear them. We want to hear how he will deliver what Scotland needs with the powers that he has and using the £30 billion at his disposal. That is the business of a serious Government, not penning fan mail to Sean Connery. Scotland needs schools, hospitals and a new Forth crossing, but the First Minister needs a fight with Westminster to hide behind. When will the First Minister start putting the interests of Scotland first, instead of the interests of the SNP?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The SNP always puts the interests of Scotland first. That is one of the major defining differences between the SNP and the London Labour Party. [ Applause. ]

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Order.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

In fact, 71 schools have been finished or substantially refurbished during our term of office.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Seventy-one. That is—[ Laughter. ]

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Order.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

That is well on the way to the 250 that were promised in the Government's programme. The Labour Party does not like it, but facts are chiels that winna ding: 71 school projects have been taken forward in this term of office.

Mike Rumbles (Liberal Democrat, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)

Not by you.

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Order.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

As far as the Government is concerned—[ Interruption. ]

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Order. When I ask for order, I expect to get it. Sorry, First Minister.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Even although it is the new year, Presiding Officer, you hope for a great deal from the Labour Party. I am hoping for a realisation that Labour's PPP/PFI dodge has been blown out of the water. It is not just that the Government must do as it is doing—building the greatest construction project in Scottish history on time and on budget—but we, as a Parliament, should recognise that we need the powers of a normal Parliament and a normal Government so that we can progress such capital projects in the best and most cost-effective way. That is the fundamental difference between a Government that is standing up for Scotland and a Labour Party that is waiting to hear from Westminster what it is allowed to do.

Annabel Goldie (Conservative, West of Scotland)

To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the Prime Minister. (S3F-1323)

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

I have no immediate plans to meet the Prime Minister in the near future.

Annabel Goldie (Conservative, West of Scotland)

In the 1990s, the Conservative Government secured land for a new Forth crossing. In 2007 there was, at least, a Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to realise the plan. The new Forth crossing will be one of the most iconic and important transport projects for Scotland in generations. Surely any First Minister worth his salt would have spent the past 18 months working out not just the design of the bridge but how to pay for it.

The public and Parliament want to know why a funding request to the Treasury on such an enormous project, which has such financial implications, was submitted only 14 days before the announcement. The First Minister just said—I quote him verbatim—that

"the Treasury doesnae do anything in two weeks".

If the First Minister is serious about the project, why has he spurned my party's offer of talks with our shadow Treasury team at Westminster to find a way forward? Is his refusal more evidence of his real agenda? Is it the case that he does not want to find a solution but wants only another row?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

I am afraid that I was not aware of the offer from the shadow Treasury team. However, I have received an offer from the Treasury team, which Mr Swinney has accepted, to reach an amicable settlement on the issue.

We have specified how the Forth crossing will be paid for: it will be built and paid for by conventional public procurement. Already, the advantages of that have been shown by the reduction in cost by £1.7 billion, because our approach provides certainty on how the project can be delivered.

The point about capital reprofiling is not about whether the Forth bridge will be built—it will be built—but about whether it will be accounted for over three years or over a longer period, which is the approach that any sensible business or family would take to a capital project. We know that PPP/PFI has been blown out of the water and we know that Labour is thinking about tolling the bridge. Perhaps Annabel Goldie, on behalf of the shadow Treasury team, can say what she thinks would be a better method than our chosen method of conventional public procurement, to deliver value for money for the people of Scotland.

Annabel Goldie (Conservative, West of Scotland)

It is a bit difficult for my party's shadow Treasury team at Westminster to hold discussions with the Scottish Government when the First Minister does not even know that the request has been made and special advisers have already spurned the request. That demonstrates the impotent approach to a vital issue.

The First Minister knew what he wanted two years ago. He loves the limelight but shirks the hard graft. He would open a can of beans sooner than he would open discussions with Westminster. He would rather burn bridges with Westminster than build bridges in Scotland.

There is only one conclusion: for the First Minister, this is not about building a bridge in Scotland but is yet again about picking a fight with Westminster. For him, it is a blame game. It is the politics of grudge and gripe, grievance and girn. Will he admit that this is about not Scotland's national interest but parochial Scottish National Party interest? Will he admit that he is putting his party before his country?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

It is best that we pursue the offer of talks with the Treasury, which says that it will respond constructively, before we consider talks with the shadow team—irrespective of who knows about them. Now that Annabel Goldie has informed me of the offer, I look forward to hearing the shadow Conservative team's views on how to finance a bridge.

The SNP knows how to finance the bridge. We will do so by conventional public procurement. We know that we are taking the money out of the capital budgets and we have already made substantial efficiencies and savings in that regard. I hope to be around to attend the opening of a Forth crossing that has been built by the SNP Government under conventional procurement. I might have to wait longer to find out from any other party how it proposes to finance the bridge, given that the other parties' chosen or favoured schemes of PFI have been blown out of the water. I live in hope that at some stage during the next few months a semblance of an idea will emerge from the other parties—whether or not that happens in talks with shadow teams—on how they would build the bridge. We know how we will build it: on time and on budget.

Tavish Scott (Liberal Democrat, Shetland Islands)

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. (S3F-1324)

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The next meeting of the Cabinet will discuss issues of importance to the Scottish people.

Tavish Scott (Liberal Democrat, Shetland Islands)

I have a letter that was sent to all eligible staff at the Scottish Inter Faith Council on 11 December. It is their redundancy notice, which was sent by the convener of the executive committee, Major Alan Dixon. He writes:

"despite every reasonable attempt made by the SIFC Executive Committee on your behalf, core grant funding from Scottish Government beyond 16 January 2009 has not yet managed to be secured ... we are hereby giving you notice that your employment with SIFC will terminate on 16 January 2009."

Can the First Minister explain why it is the right time to risk closure of the Inter Faith Council through Government dithering and delay?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

I am glad to inform Tavish Scott that the Inter Faith Council will not be closed, because the matter has been resolved. I hope that he believes that that is an example of effective action by the SNP Government.

Tavish Scott (Liberal Democrat, Shetland Islands)

I am delighted to hear that, but the First Minister needs to explain why redundancy notices were issued to all the staff at that time. If that is the case, we want that information to be put on the record and placed in the Scottish Parliament information centre today.

It is difficult to understand why, at this time of year, when the world is in the state that we see on our television news every day and when we have just had a parliamentary debate on Gaza, the Scottish Inter Faith Council was forced to issue redundancy notices before it could get straight answers from the Government. If the First Minister can now clarify exactly when the situation was resolved, we would all welcome that information.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Tavish Scott's correct response would have been to say, "I welcome the assurances that the First Minister has given. The Parliament should unite in welcoming the work of the Inter Faith Council." All organisations must submit their applications for funding, which must go through due process. Thanks to the intervention of the relevant minister, that due process has been completed. The Inter Faith Council's funding is secure and the damaging effects that Tavish Scott was worried about will not come to pass. In this new year, cannot he find it in his heart to welcome the Government's effective action?

Tavish Scott (Liberal Democrat, Shetland Islands)

I certainly welcome that action. All I am asking the First Minister to do is to put on the record in Parliament exactly when that action was taken and why redundancy notices had to be issued. Can he do that today, please?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

I welcome the fact that Tavish Scott has got round to welcoming our action. The record is this: when the issue came to pass because the funding position had not been resolved, the relevant minister intervened and resolved it. That is what happened—that is the process of events. I would have thought that any reasonable person, of whom there are plenty in the Inter Faith Council, would regard that as an example of effective government in action. No matter how many times Tavish Scott asks the question, he should welcome the fact that the issue—about which he was, no doubt, genuinely concerned—has been resolved.

Christina McKelvie (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

To ask the First Minister what implications the decision by HM Treasury to refuse the proposed funding package for the new Forth crossing will have for capital spending by the Scottish Government. (S3F-1346)

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The Scottish Government is prepared to fully provide for the construction costs of the Forth replacement crossing because its immense economic importance to Scotland means that the project has top priority in our capital programme. That view is widely shared in Scotland. However, if no adjustment is made to Scotland's capital budgets from the Treasury, there will be a substantial impact on other capital projects in the period 2013 to 2016, when the crossing will be under construction. We have sought HM Treasury's assistance in reprofiling the capital budget over a number of years to reduce that impact. The initial reply is disappointing, but offers further constructive discussions, which are being arranged and will be conducted in that spirit.

Christina McKelvie (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

Does the First Minister agree that what that case and the current economic situation show is that it is essential that the anomaly whereby local authorities and Network Rail have borrowing powers but the Scottish Government does not is rectified as soon as possible?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Yes, indeed. That question gets to the very heart of the issue. Previous Governments had the option of using PPP and PFI to get round the lack of borrowing powers but, as the letter from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury indicates, that is no longer an option. Indeed, it is obviously the worst option because if we proposed a Labour-type scheme for PPP, not only would the entire capital cost fall on a single year, which would swallow more than half the capital budget in that year, but we would then have to pay for the next 30 years the on-going borrowing costs of PPP. We would end up paying for the bridge twice—no wonder the Labour Party is thinking of tolling the bridge.

Jim Tolson (Liberal Democrat, Dunfermline West)

A new Forth crossing is of the utmost importance not only to my constituents in Dunfermline West but to the whole Scottish economy. Given that the Scottish Futures Trust and holding out the begging bowl to Westminster have failed, where is the credibility in the First Minister's assurances that a new crossing will be completed in 2016, when no funding is in place?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The funding is in place. That has been done by traditional public procurement. The advantage of doing it that way has been demonstrated by the substantial savings that have already been made in the cost estimates for the bridge. When, or if, any of the other parties comes forward with a better funding mechanism than the certainty of public procurement under our proposals, of course we will listen. However, we know that we can build a bridge on time and on budget.

Patrick Harvie (Green, Glasgow)

If the on-going commitment to an additional road bridge puts other projects—such as public transport investment—at risk, it will make the current Government's transport policy even less sustainable. In the light of the Treasury's decision on the matter, is not it time to take the cheapest, quickest and most sensible option and fix the bridge that we already have?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The majority of people in the chamber, and certainly the majority of people in Scotland, do not believe that we can risk the closure of one of the integral links in the Scottish transport system, which would be the inevitable result of anticipating that it would be possible to sort the current bridge without having to close it for a substantial time. I think the decision to have the new Forth crossing carries substantial support.

In terms of the risk to other transport projects, the risk is that there will be delay if we are not allowed to have the cost of this huge capital project spread over time. The analogy—I hope that Patrick Harvie will support this aspect—is with the ability that we have in respect of rail improvements, which are substantial across Scotland at present, for Network Rail to borrow. That has allowed us to procure a huge programme of rail facilities across Scotland. That is the mechanism that we need for all transport projects so that such uniquely costly projects can be spread sensibly over time.

Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow Kelvin)

To ask the First Minister whether the Cabinet will discuss its international development policy in the light of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. (S3F-1326)

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

Cabinet discussed the situation in Gaza on Tuesday. Our international development policy, as part of our wider international framework, sets out our position as a responsible country in the world, and already enables the Scottish Government to consider humanitarian assistance, where appropriate. We are in contact with non-governmental organisations in Scotland that are operating in the region and we stand ready, as the Deputy First Minister has indicated, to consider bids for support for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

The Scottish Government joins a wide range of people in the international community in calling for an immediate ceasefire and free access for humanitarian supplies and aid workers, and I have written to the Israeli ambassador to reiterate that call.

Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow Kelvin)

I thank the First Minister for that answer. On the 13 th day of continuous bombing in the Gaza strip, with almost 700 Palestinian deaths, it is fitting that the Scottish Cabinet has discussed how we can respond to this disaster in a humanitarian way. That will complement the £7 million that has been announced by the United Kingdom Government to go directly to Gaza. Does the First Minister hope, as I do, that the Scottish Parliament will tonight add its voice to the international call for a cease-fire? Will the First Minister be able to support the efforts of Edinburgh Direct Aid and others who are standing by to take to Gaza medical equipment and aid that have been donated by health boards, when it is safe to do so? Critically, can the First Minister consider helping in the appeal to Scottish hospitals to donate emergency medicines, where possible? Such medicines are desperately needed, and doctors in Gaza have made a special appeal for them.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The whole of Parliament and Scotland have been shocked by the scenes that we have seen from Gaza. People understand and know that warfare that is conducted in such a confined strip of land inevitably carries with it the risk of substantial civilian casualties, which is what we have seen.

On all three points that Pauline McNeill made, let me respond constructively. First, as the Deputy First Minister said, we stand ready to help NGOs that have plans for the area and to accept bids for assistance because we want to do our bit to help the humanitarian situation. Secondly, we hope that Parliament joins us in calling for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian assistance. Thirdly, we will look imaginatively and constructively at any proposals whereby the skills and abilities of the Scottish health service can be of assistance at this time. In all three areas, we would like to do even more, but what have outlined is the least that we can do. In terms of how Parliament—and the Government—presents itself, we think we are doing the right thing by the people of Gaza in contributing to the international effort.

Ted Brocklebank (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

I noted the First Minister's appeal on 3 January for an immediate Israeli cease-fire. This morning, he has told us that he has written to the Israeli ambassador to call for a cease-fire. In any future appeals, would not it be wiser to call for an abiding cease-fire from both sides?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

I am happy to say that: that is what "cease-fire" means and the Deputy First Minister said it today. The reiteration of the call to the Israeli ambassador has come because Israel is a state and states are bound by international law in terms of how they conduct military activities. It is entirely reasonable that we, as a Parliament and as a Government, make that call. Governments and states must abide by international law in their conduct of military activities and the implications for civilians. That is the law of civilisation as well as international law. I know that Ted Brocklebank supports that view.

Kenneth Macintosh (Labour, Eastwood)

Is the First Minister aware of the increases in anti-Semitism and in Islamophobic attacks that follow upsurges in violence or tension in the middle east? Will he follow the previous Executive's example in announcing new funds to improve security for Scotland's minority communities, particularly to tackle vulnerable sites such as faith-based schools, mosques and synagogues?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

We have responded constructively in other times of tension that had implications for community relations in Scotland and are ready to do so again.

Derek Brownlee (Conservative, South of Scotland)

To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government plans to take in 2009 to support the economy. (S3F-1340)

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The Scottish Government is taking a range of measures within its powers to support families and businesses affected by the economic downturn. One of those in the budget bill will be the welcome extension of relief on business rates for tens of thousands of small businesses under the business bonus scheme. We look for the support and good will of all members in ensuring the passage of that important measure in the upcoming budget bill.

Derek Brownlee (Conservative, South of Scotland)

It is amazing what can be done by adopting Conservative policies.

In that spirit, given that not a single business organisation in the country has a good word to say on local income tax, can the First Minister give us some clarification? Over the Christmas period, an aide to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth said that

"The reality of local income tax is that the proposal contains key advantages for Scottish business."

Can the First Minister name them?

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

The key advantage, as set out, is that a tax cut would help the economy and the people of Scotland. The other key advantage of a local income tax is fairness, in that it would be based on the ability to pay. Given that Conservative members supported our council tax freeze because, like us, they—I hope—understand the iniquity of the council tax, would not it be better to go the whole hog by supporting the abolition of the unfair council tax?

Alex Neil (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

Does the First Minister agree that, in a period of economic downturn and rising unemployment, the worst possible measure that the Scottish Government could take would be to implement £800 million-worth of public spending cuts, as has been proposed by some? Equally damaging would be any prospect of Mr Swinney's budget being voted down by Parliament, because that would also lead to higher unnecessary levels of unemployment.

Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party, Gordon)

There seems to be a choice of public spending cuts in Scotland from the other political parties in the Parliament. There is the £800 million of cuts proposed by the Liberal Democrats, although we have no idea how they would be made.

There is also the £500 million of cuts by the Labour Party, which I read in the paper this morning is already starting to have implications for Glasgow City Council. Perhaps now, after the Christmas recess, the Labour Party will admit that that amounts to £500 million worth of cuts in Scottish economy. Earlier this week, I was astonished to find the leader of the Opposition at Westminster joining in the call for public spending cuts by suggesting what I assume will be another £500 million of cuts, not for next year or the year after next, but for this year. So we have a choice between cuts of £800 million, £500 million the year after next, or £500 million more from the Tories. It is little wonder that, as the people of Scotland consider the array of cuts that are proposed by the opposition parties, this Administration will defend public services and be in office for a substantial length of time.

Margaret Smith (Liberal Democrat, Edinburgh West)

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Will you consider the fact that during First Minister's question, the First Minister suggested that the £1.7 billion reduction in the cost of the new Forth bridge is down to the funding mechanism. Will the First Minister reflect on his words and accept that at this morning's Transport Scotland briefing for local MSPs, we were informed that significant parts of the reduction were down to a range of changes, including loss of the multimodal element of the proposed bridge and the reduction in the amount of related road-building?

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

As the member well knows, that is not a point of order for me. However, it is now on the record.

Question Time — Scottish Executive — Europe, External Affairs and Culture

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is themed question time, and the first set of questions is on Europe, external affairs and culture.

Question 1 was not lodged.

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

The National Theatre of Scotland has been allocated £4.49 million from the Scottish Government in 2009-10.

John Wilson (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

In light of the international success of its production of "Black Watch", has the National Theatre of Scotland reaped any reward from increased ticket sales for the staging of subsequent productions?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

"Black Watch" has indeed been remarkably successful. The Scottish Government's international touring fund contributed to the cost of the NTS presenting the play in its enormously successful 2007 New York run. When the NTS was invited to play another season in New York in 2008, it earned enough at the box office from an audience of more than 26,000 to cover all its direct costs without the need for further Government investment. Ticket income from all NTS productions has increased by 46 per cent from £1.3 million in 2007-08 to a projected £1.9 million in 2008-09.

Ian McKee (Scottish National Party, Lothians)

To ask the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture when she next plans to meet European institution representatives and what business they plan to discuss. (S3O-5382)

Alex Fergusson (None, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale)

Before I call the minister, I must remind members that they are meant to stick exactly to the question that they lodge. Dr McKee, your original question refers to

"European Union counterparts and what business will be discussed".

I suspect that, on this occasion, the difference is not that big.

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I am always keen to engage with EU counterparts when the opportunity arises, and since taking office I have met a number of my ministerial counterparts including, most recently, ministers from the Governments of Catalonia, Hungary and Ireland. I also regularly attend meetings of the joint ministerial committee on Europe, at which issues of mutual importance are discussed. The committee will next meet in March. Of course, I take all opportunities to promote Scotland's interests, whether at home or abroad.

Ian McKee (Scottish National Party, Lothians)

How is the minister using her international contacts to promote the year of homecoming?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I take every opportunity to promote Scotland's year of homecoming—and, indeed, all of Scotland's attractions—to EU and other ministerial counterparts. For example, at the annual reception for the consular corps, which will take place on 20 January, the First Minister and I will invite representatives of the countries represented in Scotland not only to participate in homecoming but to consider how their country's citizens might take part.

Rhona Brankin (Labour, Midlothian)

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to bring a creative Scotland bill back to the Parliament. (S3O-5398)

I am sorry, Presiding Officer—I meant to say "back to Parliament".

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

It is always best to be exact, Presiding Officer.

As announced in Parliament on 3 September 2008, we plan to legislate for creative Scotland's principles and functions in the proposed public services reform bill.

Rhona Brankin (Labour, Midlothian)

I would be grateful for an exact response to my supplementary. Will the minister indicate the costs of establishing creative Scotland? Are reports that they have soared to £7 million accurate? Does she share my concern that those rising administration costs will result in money being diverted away from front-line arts spending? Indeed, is it not the case that the Scottish National Party has squandered the support for creative Scotland that had been built up by the previous Administration and has completely lost the artistic community's confidence?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

We are finalising the transition costs, which will be presented to Parliament at the appropriate time. That is as it should be.

Ted Brocklebank (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

Given the difficulties that the minister experienced during the passage of the Creative Scotland Bill in explaining to the Parliament which agency would be responsible for disbursing funding to the arts in Scotland, can she now tell us whether Scottish Enterprise or creative Scotland will be the lead agency in funding arts bodies?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

What is important to the Government and recipients of funding is having a transparent system for disbursing such funds. We are working with partners to create the best possible system for giving funding to creators in our country.

Iain Smith (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

The uncertainty and confusion over creative Scotland's future is entirely the result of the Government's incompetence. Will the minister explain why the Government is determined to go behind Parliament's back by establishing creative Scotland without returning to the Parliament to address our funding concerns? When will she come back to Parliament to answer the serious concerns that were raised when the Creative Scotland Bill's financial resolution was rejected last summer? Why is she unwilling to proceed on a cross-party basis? Why did she refuse my request for a cross-party meeting to consider the best way forward for creative Scotland?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

We will agree to differ on the difficulties of presenting plans for creative Scotland to Parliament last year. I contend that the Opposition lacked understanding, which forced the bill's failure.

It is perfectly right to bring our plans for creative Scotland back to Parliament in the public services reform bill. As Opposition members have said, we do not need to go down the legislative route, but legislation is important, not least to establish the arm's-length principle for the arts, which had never been mooted until our Administration produced the Creative Scotland Bill. Parliamentary scrutiny will take place when the public services reform bill is introduced.

Cathie Craigie (Labour, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth)

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to update the Scotland's culture website. (S3O-5401)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

The Scotland's culture website was a pilot that began in 2002, which the Scottish Library and Information Council developed and ran for the then Scottish Executive. I understand that the council is considering how to develop the site.

Cathie Craigie (Labour, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth)

I appreciate that the Scotland's culture website was established as a pilot, but I hope that the minister agrees that the information that the website supplies is especially helpful to people who are thinking of visiting Scotland as it is available in many languages. However, if a Google search by anyone who was thinking of visiting Scotland led them to that website, it would not set a good example—especially in our homecoming year—because it is not up to date. Is the website intended to be linked with relevant and updated material as soon as possible?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

As Cathie Craigie and I have said, the website started as a pilot portal. The Scottish Library and Information Council developed it until 2006, when the council decided, using its own funding, to retain a member of staff to develop the website. The council has examined how to continue to resource the website and is considering giving it a serious revamp.

In March last year, I announced our support for the establishment of digital access Scotland—a forum to encourage and improve access to Scotland's archives, libraries and museums—of which SLIC, Museums Galleries Scotland, the Scottish Council on Archives, Historic Scotland and the national collections are a part. I imagine that SLIC is working closely with its partners to ensure that the Scotland's culture website, for which it is responsible, corresponds with and enhances other work that the Government is funding.

Nanette Milne (Conservative, North East Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to develop cultural exchanges and visits abroad for young people from Scotland and vice versa. (S3O-5353)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

The Scottish Government and its partner agencies support extensive cultural exchange activity involving young people and will continue to do so in 2009 and beyond.

Nanette Milne (Conservative, North East Scotland)

In 2006, the minister's predecessor visited the Aberdeen international youth festival—I am a trustee of the charity that runs it. She was greatly impressed by the variety and talent of the young performers and by the relationships that had been established between Scotland and many other countries over more than 30 years as a result of the festival. I invite the minister to visit Aberdeen in August to see for herself the outstanding contribution that the AIYF has made to Scotland and its role in the year of homecoming. Can the Scottish Government offer practical support and advice to develop international cultural links with young people who participate in such festivals, particularly at this economically difficult time, when the importance of events such as the AIYF might be undervalued?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I would be delighted to visit the Aberdeen international youth festival this year and will try my hardest to do so. I was disappointed not to be able to go last year because I have heard very good things about it. The festival receives lottery funding from the Scottish Arts Council, and I was amazed to read that, since 1973, around 33,000 young people from 81 countries have performed at it. It is indeed a success. This year, the participants are also taking part in the year of homecoming, with support from EventScotland.

The festival is only one of many young persons initiatives in the arts that the Government funds. I am pleased to say that we also sponsored three students from screen academy Scotland to attend the world congress of film schools in Beijing in October 2008. We will continue to consider how we can best support such initiatives, because they are very important.

Kenneth Macintosh (Labour, Eastwood)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture plans to meet the Scottish Artists Union to discuss the establishment of creative Scotland. (S3O-5419)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I am currently arranging meetings with various groups to discuss the establishment of creative Scotland. The Scottish Artists Union is, of course, welcome to participate.

Kenneth Macintosh (Labour, Eastwood)

I think that I am pleased to hear that response, although I would certainly be pleased if the minister responded to the clear expressions of concern from Scotland's artistic community about the establishment of creative Scotland. Before or following her meetings, will she clarify exactly what reduction in support Scottish artists can expect to receive from an organisation with a standstill or smaller budget but greater responsibilities?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I remind Ken Macintosh that, last year, I announced to the Parliament £5 million for new and innovative funding for the arts and creativity under creative Scotland.

Gil Paterson (Scottish National Party, West of Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for architecture in Scotland. (S3O-5387)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

We have increased support for architecture to almost £2 million. A key priority is to integrate architecture more effectively with other policies on the built environment, including the reform of the planning system and the Scottish sustainable communities initiative. In autumn 2008, I commenced a review of Architecture and Design Scotland, and I intend to announce the outcome of that review before the Easter recess.

Gil Paterson (Scottish National Party, West of Scotland)

Will the minister give further details of how she intends to integrate policies on the built environment and improve place making?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

The aim is to provide a stronger focus on the creation of better places within a modernised planning system. The directorate for the built environment was established in February last year, and work is now under way that draws together architecture, planning and building standards. That includes policy on designing streets, advice on master planning and support for improved skills and training in urban design and place making. I intend to announce further work in a statement on policy following the outcome of the review of Architecture and Design Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson (Labour, Glasgow Maryhill)

To ask the Scottish Executive what role the directorate for Europe, external affairs and culture has in the cultural programme that will accompany the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games and what progress has been made with that programme. (S3O-5404)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

The Scottish Government's role in the development of the cultural programme is that of a full and active partner and the main sponsor of the games. The directorate for Europe, external affairs and culture is represented at all relevant working group meetings.

Patricia Ferguson (Labour, Glasgow Maryhill)

I am slightly disappointed that the minister did not follow up my question about the progress that has been made on the programme of cultural events that will accompany the sporting events in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games. Perhaps she will do that next. Will she also confirm that Scotland will adopt the model proposed by the state of Victoria, which hosted the Melbourne games, and ensure that access to all events in the cultural programme is free of charge to those who participate?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I reassure Patricia Ferguson that the work is in progress and that the Melbourne games in the state of Victoria are one of the successful events that provided a legacy that we are examining as we put together our programme for the games and consider the legacy that we can give the country. We are studying the international examples closely and taking them into account.

Marlyn Glen (Labour, North East Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on future funding for Scottish Language Dictionaries. (S3O-5406)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

The funding arrangements for Scottish Language Dictionaries that have prevailed until now do not serve the best interests of the organisation. I am currently considering how that situation may be addressed.

Marlyn Glen (Labour, North East Scotland)

I thank the minister for that answer, such as it was. I had hoped for an update on what the funding would be.

Does the minister agree that, to survive as an authoritative source of Scots, Scottish Language Dictionaries should be treated as a special case for financial support? Such organisations need the stability of secure, long-term funding, particularly in this year of homecoming. Does she agree that any uncertainty must be resolved as soon as possible?

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, Central Scotland)

I reassure Marlyn Glen that I am considering how the situation may be addressed. I do not think that the funding arrangements that were put in place by our predecessors in government best serve the interests of that organisation. The Scottish Arts Council, which funds Scottish Language Dictionaries, has agreed transitional funding until November 2009, which has allowed me the space to consider how best to take the matter forward.

The member may be interested to know that we are arranging a major seminar for 9 February, in Stirling, with representatives of the Scottish language groups, Scottish Language Dictionaries and other interested people, to consider the results of the audit of the Scots language that we commissioned and to discuss ways of moving forward to protect the heritage Marlyn Glen referred to.

Education and Lifelong Learning

Bill Kidd (Scottish National Party, Glasgow)

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the promotion of positive citizenship in schools. (S3O-5379)