Skip to main content
Loading…

Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Criathragan Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 5 February 2026
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 2777 contributions

|

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Electricity Infrastructure Inquiry

Meeting date: 9 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

I guess that the blue hydrogen would come from Grangemouth and maybe on-site generation at Mossmorran. Beyond that and the Acorn project cluster, are we looking at green hydrogen going forward?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Culture in Communities

Meeting date: 4 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

I am interested to know to what extent, over the two-year process, there has been a different conversation in local communities about funding? Have discussions been galvanised about a transient visitor levy, 1 per cent for culture or funding from other sources? Is that embedding itself into future partnerships and future funding sources, or is it still embryonic? The momentum that you built up has to go somewhere. If, fundamentally, it is about funding and commitment over time, what are the areas that the community and peer-to-peer networks are trying to push forward? Are they trying to move the conversation on at local level about how things will be supported?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Culture in Communities

Meeting date: 4 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

I am happy to allow the discussion to move on.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Culture in Communities

Meeting date: 4 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

I have a lot of questions about how to sustain what has been created and how to develop the partnerships that have been established by the various projects and make them sustainable for the long term. It seems as though the Culture Collective has seeded all that work in the communities, but how do you then build the network for the long term and get partners in that network to feed into it, recognise its long-term value and move beyond that period of great creativity and innovation that has lasted for the six months or two years? Ultimately, the need is there, the benefit is there and the commitment to communities is there, and expectations will have also been raised. Where do you go next?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Culture in Communities

Meeting date: 4 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

Thanks very much for those introductions and, indeed, stories. You are all good storytellers, and you have given us some great examples.

I want to drill down a bit and look at what actually works with regard to funding, partnerships and so on. It sounds as if a diversity of connections is being made between your organisations and, say, statutory agencies, councils and other organisations in your area. Can you drill down into that and be quite succinct about what actually works? In previous evidence sessions, the committee has heard, for example, about the NHS in England employing people to go round and find social prescribing opportunities, and we have also heard about some of the partnerships that have emerged from community planning partnerships.

I am interested, though, in hearing your perspectives on the essence of this. How do you develop the funding partnerships that allow you to undertake more longer-term work in your projects? That question is open to whoever wants to come in.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Petition

Meeting date: 3 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

Coming back to the point that you have made several times about the inherent risk of greyhounds racing at speed around an oval track, I am interested in whether it is possible to reform that. Last week, I put it to GBGB that it could consider racing greyhounds on a straight track. Is that something that the industry has meaningfully considered? Is there a way of removing that inherent risk in greyhound racing, or is there something about the nature of the sport—how it is televised, how it has grown up or how tracks are constructed—that makes that difficult? I am just trying to understand, because it seems to me that, if you remove that inherent risk, you perhaps remove a central part of the objection to greyhound racing.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Petition

Meeting date: 3 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

Does Sam Gaines want to come in on that?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Petition

Meeting date: 3 May 2023

Mark Ruskell

GBGB also said last week that a phase out of or a stark ban on greyhound racing would just drive it underground. Is it possible to drive greyhound racing underground? I am trying to imagine how that would work. Maybe it is—I do not know. Maybe there are examples of that happening elsewhere.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Culture in Communities

Meeting date: 27 April 2023

Mark Ruskell

Related to that, I will ask about trends in availability of physical assets, whether that be the Filmhouse, a village hall, a playing field or an open space for an expansive art exhibition. What is the level of availability of such resources? Is there a tangible decline? Are particular resources in more decline than others? Are opportunities opening up for communities to get access to new forms of resources?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Culture in Communities

Meeting date: 27 April 2023

Mark Ruskell

I was particularly struck by the work that all the national companies are doing with schools around Scotland. I talked to a teacher who was involved in a Scottish Opera production with her school about how transformative that was for the entire school. That was a big undertaking, and it developed the self-esteem of the young people. I want to ask you about the resource implications of doing that, particularly on the school side, because it is quite a big commitment for a school.

We have also seen changes in the way that music tuition is provided for across councils. Is there resource available for schools to interact with in order to make your work in schools effective? What are your reflections, from the council resource side of things, on the music resources and general resources that are needed in schools to make your work effective?