About the Inquiry
This page contains information on the Committee's work in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Evidence
Call for Views on the Impact of COVID-19 on Scotland's Culture and Tourism Sectors
The Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee held a call for views on the impact of COVID-19 on Scotland's culture and tourism sectors. More information on the call for views can be read below:
The call for views is now closed and the Committee is not accepting any more submissions.
Written Submissions
The following written submissions to the Committee's call for views have been received:
Oral Evidence
The Committee took evidence on the following dates:
Thursday 11 March 2021: Creative Scotland
The Committee took evidence from Iain Munro, Chief Executive, and Isabel Davis, Executive Director, Creative Scotland.
Follow-Up Correspondence from Meeting of 11 March 2021
Following the evidence session on 11 March 2021, the Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government on issues raised during the meeting:
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture replied to the Convener's letter on 18 March 2021:
Thursday 11 February 2021: Scottish Government Budget 2021-22 and Culture
The Committee took evidence from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, and David Seers, Head of Sponsorship and Funding, Culture and Historic Environment Division, Scottish Government.
Thursday 28 January 2021: Culture: Representative Organisations and Trade Unions
The Committee took evidence from:
- Lucy Mason, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Scottish Theatre;
- Moira Jeffrey, Director, Scottish Contemporary Arts Network;
- Bill Armstrong, Scotland Chair, Writers Guild of Great Britain.
and then from:
- Lynda Graham, President, Scottish Artists Union.
- Paul McManus, Negotiations Officer Scotland, BECTU
- Barry Dallman, Acting Regional Organiser, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Musicians Union.
Papers for meeting on 28 January 2021 (623KB pdf)
Written Submission from BECTU (108KB pdf)
Official Report of meeting 28 January 2021
Thursday 21 January 2021: Tourism: Enterprise Agencies and Scottish Government
The Committee took evidence from:
- Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chair, South of Scotland Enterprise Agency, Charlotte Wright, Chief Executive, and Anna Miller, Head of Tourism, Highlands and Islands Enterprise;
and then from:
- Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, and Bettina Sizeland, Deputy Director, Tourism and Major Events, Scottish Government.
Papers for meeting on 21 January 2021 (566KB pdf)
Written Submission from COSLA (70KB pdf)
Official Report of meeting on 21 January 2021
Thursday 14 January 2021: Scottish Tourism Recovery Taskforce
The Committee took evidence from Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive, VisitScotland, Marc Crothall, Chief Executive, Scottish Tourism Alliance, and Jane Martin, Managing Director, Business Services and Advice, Scottish Enterprise.
Thursday 17 December 2020: Hospitality Sector
The Committee took evidence from Willie Macleod, Executive Director - Scotland, UK Hospitality, Stephen Montgomery, Spokesperson, Scottish Hospitality Group, David Weston, Chairman, Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association, and Bryan Simpson, Industrial Organiser, Unite Hospitality.
Thursday 1 October 2020: Sustainability of the Newspaper Industry and Impact of COVID-19 on Print Journalism
The Committee took evidence from Joyce McMillan, Chair of the National Union of Journalists, Edinburgh Freelance Branch, Dr Eamonn O'Neill, Associate Professor in Journalism, Napier University and Peter Geoghegan, Chair of The Ferret and Investigations Editor at openDemocracy.
Following the evidence session on 1 October 2020, the Committee agreed to invite the Scottish Newspaper Society to submit written evidence. The Scottish Newspaper Society's submission was received on 11 November 2020 and is published below:
Follow-Up Correspondence from Meeting on 1 October 2020
Following the evidence session on 1 October 2020, the Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government, UK Government, COSLA and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) on issues raised during the session:
The following responses have been received:
Thursday 3 September 2020: Heritage Sector
The Committee took evidence from Philip Long, Chief Executive, National Trust for Scotland, Alex Paterson, Chief Executive, Historic Environment Scotland, Caroline Clark, Director, National Lottery Heritage Fund in Scotland and Giles Ingram, Chief Executive, Abbotsford Trust.
Thursday 27 August 2020: Culture Sector
The Committee took evidence from Julia Amour, Director, Festivals Edinburgh, Nick Stewart, Music Venues Alliance Coordinator for Scotland, Music Venue Trust, Alex McGowan, Executive Director, Citizens Theatre Lucy Casot, Chief Executive Officer, Museums Galleries Scotland and Sandy Sweetman, Director, SW Audio Ltd.
Thursday 20 August 2020: Tourism Sector
The Committee took evidence from Riddell Graham, Director of Industry and Destination Development, VisitScotland, and Marc Crothall, Chief Executive, Scottish Tourism Alliance.
Thursday 25 June 2020: Scottish Government: Tourism
The Committee took evidence from Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism and Bettina Sizeland, Deputy Director, Tourism and Major Events, Scottish Government
Thursday 21 May 2020: Scottish Government: Culture
The Committee took evidence from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, Scottish Government.
Thursday 14 May 2020: Scottish Government: Tourism
The Committee took evidence from Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism and Bettina Sizeland, Deputy Director, Tourism and Major Events, Scottish Government.
Written Answers on COVID-19
The following Parliamentary written answers in relation to COVID-19 which engage the Committee's remit have been published. This document will be updated and published on a rolling basis:
Scottish Government Budget 2021-22
As part of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government's budget 2021-22, which focussed on the impact of COVID-19 on Scotland's culture and tourism sectors, the Committee wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture and the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism on 18 February 2021:
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture replied to the Convener's letter on 5 March 2021:
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism replied to the Convener's letter on 10 March 2021:
Pre-Budget Scrutiny
The Committee has agreed to focus its pre-budget scrutiny on issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on the culture and tourism sectors. The Committee has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture and the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism as part of this scrutiny:
The following responses have been received:
Follow-Up Correspondence from Meeting on 11 February 2021
Following the evidence session on 11 February 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture wrote to the Committee with follow-up correspondence on issues raised during the meeting:
Follow-Up Correspondence from Meeting on 21 January 2021
Following the evidence session on 21 January 2021, the Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government as part of its budget scrutiny:
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism replied to the Convener's letter on 12 February 2021:
Correspondence
Follow-Up Correspondence from Oral Evidence Sessions on 14 and 21 May 2020
The Committee took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism on 14 May 2020 and from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture on 21 May 2020 and wrote to the following organisations following those meetings:
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Trust for Scotland replied to the Convener's letter on 28 May 2020:
The UK Government Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Heritage replied to the Convener's letter on 9 June 2020:
The Convener's letter to the UK Government of 28 May 2020 was also copied to the Financial Conduct Authority and the Association of British Insurers for comment. Responses from these organisations are available below:
Follow-Up Correspondence from Oral Evidence Session on 25 June 2020
The Convener wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism on 29 June 2020 regarding international travel:
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism replied to the Convener's letter of 5 August 2020:
Follow-Up Correspondence from Oral Evidence Session on 20 August 2020
The Convener wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism on 2 September 2020 in relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, hotel occupancy and support for larger hotels and the long-term sustainability of the sector:
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism replied to the Convener's letter on 15 September 2020:
Follow-Up Correspondence from Oral Evidence Session on 3 September 2020
The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland provided the respective items of correspondence following the evidence session on the impact of COVID-19 on the heritage sector on 3 September 2020:
Other COVID-19 Related Correspondence
Scottish Government Updates
Culture Update: 8 February 2021
Culture Update: 21 December 2020
Culture Update: 26 November 2020
Culture Update: 29 October 2020
Culture Update: 1 September 2020
Culture Update: 6 August 2020
Culture Update: 3 July 2020
Culture Update: 1 and 10 June 2020
The Convener wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture on 1 June 2020:
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture replied to the Convener's letter on 10 June 2020:
Culture Update: 28 May 2020
Culture Update: 24 April 2020
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture wrote to the Committee with an update on the ways in which the Scottish Government is supporting the cultural and heritage sectors and individuals employed within the sectors during the pandemic on 24 April 2020:
Culture Update: 15 April 2020
The Committee wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture and the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism on 6 April 2020 to seek written updates on the impact COVID-19 is having on the cultural and tourism sectors and individuals employed within those sectors. The letters to the Cabinet Secretaries are published below:
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Tourism Updates
Tourism Update: 19 June 2020
Tourism Update: 24 April 2020
Other Scottish Government Correspondence
Creative Scotland Response to the Impact of COVID-19
March 2021
Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 5 March 2021:
January 2021
Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 29 January 2021:
December 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 16 December 2020:
November 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 18 November 2020:
October 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 15 October 2020:
September 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 21 September 2020:
August 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 21 August 2020:
July 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 14 July 2020:
June 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland replied to the Convener's letter on 1 June 2020 enclosing a further update:
April 2020
The Convener wrote to the Chief Executive of Creative Scotland on 28 April 2020:
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee on 24 April 2020 with a further update:
Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee with an update on 9 April 2020:
March 2020
The Chief Executive of Creative Scotland wrote to the Committee on 30 March 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 to the creative community: