Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2024
I am sorry—I will not at the moment. I need to make some progress.
We have opportunities to make that a reality through education reform, through the acceleration of flexible and remote learning and through apprenticeships and wider work to co-ordinate and deliver skills for rural Scotland, including as part of our response to the review of land-based learning.
In our discussions at the Scottish rural and islands youth parliament, the importance of arts and culture and their role in community development was also discussed, and we are exploring how that role will be recognised in the forthcoming rural delivery plan. We are increasing funding to the cultural sector by £15.8 million in the next financial year. That is the first step in demonstrating our on-going commitment to the arts, and it will contribute to the cultural richness and resilience of our communities.
Agriculture and our environment were also among the key areas that were highlighted and discussed by the youth delegates. They discussed the need to ensure that farmers and crofters have good livelihoods and that they can work their land in environmentally friendly ways and help to feed Scotland’s people.
We are due to publish our good food nation plan soon, and the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill is currently progressing through the parliamentary scrutiny process. Through those key pieces of work, we will explore ways in which to promote local produce, reduce food miles, ensure our food security and recognise the quality and high welfare standards of the food that we produce in Scotland.