Committee
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee 01 February 2024
01 Feb 2024 · S6 · Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Item of business
National Outcomes
Pete Wishart
Watch on SPTV
The approach to Scotland across the whole of the UK embassy network could be categorised as mixed. It seems—we were told this consistently by a number of witnesses—that it centres around the enthusiasm of the leadership in the embassy, which is mainly the ambassador. If the ambassador is a Scot, lots of things happen around Burns night and St Andrew’s day, and there is more interest in ensuring that Scottish products are brought to market. I remember, about 15 years ago, being in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, when a Scottish ambassador was in post. At that point, it was so different from the other embassies that I had visited, because the first thing that the ambassador did for all guests was to get out a bottle of whisky. Such factors are important to how ambassadors engage with the many visitors who come through an embassy. We were consistently told that it was all about the leadership and their enthusiasm for Scotland. I will mention a couple of activities that our report recommends should be fast tracked and developed. There is training for senior civil servants so that they are brought up to speed with the range of specific and distinct Scottish issues. Our report suggests that more attention should be devoted to that, so that people have a better impression of the work that they would be doing on Scotland’s behalf and the interests that they should have. We are considering that work. It will come as no surprise to the committee that key Scottish activities in embassies happen for the national celebrations—for example, Burns night, which we have just celebrated, and St Andrew’s day. The Foreign Office always puts out a communiqué stating the expectation that those days will be celebrated across the UK embassy network. Again, whether that actually happens depends on the ambassador’s enthusiasm and leadership and whether they feel that they could find something that they want to do. Our report says that more could be done for those days. For example, we all look on enviously at what Ireland achieves for St Patrick’s day, its worldwide reach and the benefits that it brings to Ireland, its image of itself and how it is presented abroad.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Clare Adamson)
SNP
Good morning and welcome to the fourth meeting in 2024 of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. We have received apologies from ...
Pete Wishart MP (House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee)
First of all, thank you ever so much for the kind invitation to speak to the committee about what we consider to be one of our most important pieces of work ...
The Convener
SNP
Did you engage with the GlobalScot network when you were in New York?
Pete Wishart
We came across people who are associated with the network. We did not sit around the table or have any real in-depth conversations about its work, but we cam...
The Convener
SNP
I will open the meeting to questions from the committee.
Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Good morning, Mr Wishart. It is good to see you. I will touch on intergovernmental co-operation. It is good to see that there seem to be positive links. Th...
Pete Wishart
That was a good part of what we looked at in our inquiry. Some of the disputes and fallouts between the Foreign Secretary and the cabinet secretary did, in f...
Alexander Stewart
Con
You make some very valid points about the constructive work that is required and is being done, which is appreciated. As a member of this committee, I have c...
Pete Wishart
That has been a regular feature of our conversations with the Secretary of State. We are fortunate that we have three sessions with him in the parliamentary ...
Kate Forbes (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
SNP
Good morning. A number of Scottish Government staff have been before the committee, and we have discussed some of the distinct advantages of promoting Scotla...
Pete Wishart
There is no doubt whatsoever that those arrangements, which now exist in eight of our major embassies across the world, bring added value to Scotland. Most p...
Kate Forbes
SNP
We have talked about the value to the economy in trade terms. However, Scotland faces challenging demographic forecasts and it is somewhat frustrating that w...
Pete Wishart
Unfortunately, we did not look at that. A number of aspects of the oral evidence suggested that that is the case; we know that we have fantastic reach and th...
The Convener
SNP
I will bring in Mr Ruskell.
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
The “Promoting Scotland Internationally” report is really interesting, and I want to pick up on a couple of points.
The Convener
SNP
Sorry, but Mr Cameron has a supplementary following Ms Forbes’s question. Can I bring him in and then get back to you, Mr Ruskell?
Mark Ruskell
Green
Yes.
The Convener
SNP
Sorry.
Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I do not mind if Mark Ruskell goes ahead, in fact.
The Convener
SNP
Right. On you go, Mr Ruskell.
Mark Ruskell
Green
Thanks. I want to pick up on a couple of points in the report. There is a recommendation that the UK Government should work with the Scottish Government to ...
Pete Wishart
I do not think that we recommend directly that the Governments should work together to create some sort of Scottish brand. In our report we concluded that wo...
Mark Ruskell
Green
Regarding the international offices and the joint working between missions and embassies, we find that there are different programmes of work between, say, t...
Pete Wishart
The approach to Scotland across the whole of the UK embassy network could be categorised as mixed. It seems—we were told this consistently by a number of wit...
Donald Cameron
Con
Good morning, Mr Wishart—it is very good to see you. Thank you for your report, too. I want to ask you about the report’s chapter entitled “Beyond the tartan...
Pete Wishart
First, I point out that the introduction to that chapter was not mine. It was probably not the most elegant phrasing of the themes that we were trying to cap...
Donald Cameron
Con
Thank you for that—I did not intend to make that accusation at all. Your report is very clear about that aspect. 10:00 To move on to the linked question ...
Pete Wishart
Is it the diaspora that you are talking about?
Donald Cameron
Con
Yes—the diaspora in particular.
Pete Wishart
Again, we say in the report that it is a much underutilised resource. We reckon that there are 40 million people worldwide who claim some sort of Scottish he...