Hansard

I thank members for their kind comments about my convenership of the Education and Culture Committee throughout the bill’s passage. I thank in particular the committee clerks for their support, because without their hard work, our work would not have been possible. I thank the Scottish Parliament information centre for its support of the committee and I appreciate the dedication of the committee members in scrutinising the bill. I also thank the witnesses who provided oral and written evidence to the committee as it was extremely helpful in our deliberations.

As the cabinet secretary and other members—Neil Findlay, in particular—did, I also thank the National Library of Scotland for hosting us on our useful visit to the national library building on George IV Bridge. The visit helped us to identify some of the hotspots in the bill, and the issues and pressures that are faced by the National Library in its day-to-day work.

Obviously, the National Library of Scotland Act 1925 was passed some time ago. There is no doubt that it was time for change. I will cover some of the issues in my brief remarks.

Minimum board size was one of the things that particularly concerned the committee. We are pleased that the cabinet secretary agreed at stage 2 to increase the minimum board size from 6 to 8 people. That was a welcome change by the Government. I agree with Liz Smith that the original arguments did not really stack up in terms of how the board would operate at the smaller size, so I am delighted that the size was changed.

I want to pay particular attention to the relationship between the National Library of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates, which is an important and practical relationship that we must protect. Given the history of the two organisations, it was absolutely critical that we got it right in the bill. I am delighted that the Government agreed to make amendments at stage 2 to ensure that the relationship between the two organisations will continue. That relationship benefits the organisations and it benefits all of us.

I will touch briefly on the ministerial power of direction, on which there has been a lot of discussion at stage 2 and today. For me, one of the cruxes of that issue—rather than the detail—was the idea of future proofing the bill. We must make sure that the bill will allow the NLS to carry out its activities into the future, so we have to look at the limited powers of direction that are provided for in the bill in that context. The purpose of future proofing is to ensure that, in a rapidly changing world, certain principles are protected through legislation. Promoting diversity of access and collaboration fall into the category of things that should be included in the bill, so I am delighted that they have been maintained.

It could be said that the bill is perhaps overdue. The National Library currently operates under legislation from a different time; it is not just decades old, but is from before the age of digitisation and the modern era. Future proofing the bill is essential because the National Library of Scotland has a crucial role in Scotland’s cultural life: conservation and preservation of our national treasures in print, film and digital formats are essential.

I am delighted to support the bill.

16:28