New Holyrood Culture Committee Announced

This blog is an update to our earlier post - Scottish Parliament Election 2026: Results, next steps and what it could mean for culture.

The Scottish Parliament has now confirmed the structure and membership of all new committees. Culture will be overseen by the Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee.

Committee members:

Patrick Harvie MSP - Convener (Scottish Green Party)

Colin Beattie (Scottish National Party)

Senga Beresford (Reform UK)

Keith Brown (Scottish National Party)

David Green (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

Pauline Stafford (Scottish National Party)

Jenny Young (Scottish Labour)

Remit:

The newly-formed committee has set out the following remit:

  • the Scottish Government’s EU and external affairs policy

  • policy relating to the UK’s relationship with the EU

  • the Scottish Government’s international activities, including international development

  • other areas of Scottish Government responsibility relating to devolution, intra-UK and intergovernmental relations

  • culture and the creative industries.

The committee combines the Mandatory Committee functions of Europe and External Relations, and the Subject Committee function of culture. (See here for more on committee types)

Changes from the previous parliamentary session:

There are a number of notable changes in the Commitee’s remit and makeup compared to the previous Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee:

  • The Constitution has been removed from the committee’s title, although it is likely that matters of this nature would still be included within its remit (see point 4 above).

  • The committee’s political makeup has changed compared to the previous parliament. It now includes a member from Reform, and has no members representing the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

  • Due to changes in the structure of the Scottish Government Cabinet, the new committee does not exactly mirror a single ministerial portfolio. In the previous parliament, the committee’s remit almost exactly aligned with that of the former Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture. In this Parliament, the committee’s remit will see it scrutinising the work of a number of ministers, including:

    • Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government - Jenny Gilruth MSP, on inter-governmental relations and cross-government delivery and outcomes

    • Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic - Mairi McAllan MSP, on languages - Gaelic, Scots, BSL, policy and support for culture, creative, arts, and architecture industries and festivals, supporting the creative workforce, Museums and Galleries Scotland and cultural collections, broadcasting and screen, Creative Scotland, national performing companies and intangible cultural heritage.

    • Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Energy - Stephen Gethins MSP, on external affairs, Europe and the European Union including alignment and Scotland's international network and Scottish connections.

Next steps:

We don't yet have a clear picture of the Committee's next steps in terms of work plan or areas of focus. These will emerge in due course, but we very much hope the Committee will continue its annual scrutiny of the Scottish Government's spending plans for culture. Pre-budget scrutiny is a core part of the committee calendar, and it is the main area within the committee's remit that carries associated spending. Beyond that, the Committee will be vital to progress around commitments made during the election, including the development of cultural legislation in Scotland and further budget uplifts for culture.

Visit the committee’s page on the Scottish Parliament’s website for more info about membership and updates on scheduled meetings and workplans.

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