Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop says a final decision not to provide funding was made on 22 December.

She hopes the organisers can pursue other options to take the festival forward anyway.

The government stands ready to offer advice on alternative sources of funding should they be approached, she adds.

Tory MSP Tom Mason - who is also a sitting councillor in Aberdeen - explains the decision was taking due to declining participation in the festival over recent years.

Ms Hyslop emphasises the need to support local organisations and events, suggesting Mr Mason was attacking the organisers of the youth festival.

Image source, Greig Ritchie

The charity regulator has launched an inquiry into the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF).

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) confirmed the move but said it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Last month, a number of Aberdeen City councillors who acted as trustees to the AIYF resigned.

The local authority then voted to withdraw funding for the annual event from 2018-19.

SNP MSP Gillian Martin asks the Scottish government what its response is to the potential withdrawal of funding by Aberdeen City Council to the Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

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External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop says the new strategy for engagement with China will be published in the spring of 2018.

Labour MSP Mary Fee asks whether the government will provide an update on the publication of its new strategy for engagement with China.

SNP MSP Richard Lochhead asks the Scottish government what its plans are for the Dallas Dhu Historic Distillery.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop says the draft budget includes £6.6m more for Creative Scotland, which she says doubles the investment for screen and continues funding for the Youth Music Initiative.

She says the reduction in lottery funding was a real concern, but the draft budget will help to mitigate the impact.

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton probes further on infrastructure for the screen sector and Ms Hyslop points to £10m funding and the opportunity to strengthen relationships.

Labour MSP Claire Baker expresses concern about the gap in access to culture between the richest and poorest.

Protecting the culture budget will play a key role in improving access, Fiona Hyslop says.

SNP MSP Ash Denham asks the Scottish government what support it is giving to creative industries and the arts.

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Culture, tourism and external affairs questions

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Justice Secretary Michael Mathson says the EAW is a significant part of the collaboration of internal security and law enforcement across the EU.

Mr Matheson says the EAWs may be lost with Brexit.

Ms McAlpine says the jurisprudence of the EAW is the European Court of Justice.

She says the UK government must drop its red line on the ECJ.

Mr Matheson says the UK government insists the UK will not be subject to the auspices of the ECJ.

The European Arrest Warrant operates EU-wide and replaced separate extradition arrangements between the EU member states.

The EAW was introduced in January 2004, and was prompted by the international anti-terror drive after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.

A national judicial authority, such as a court, can issue an EAW to get a suspect extradited.

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For an EAW to be valid, the suspect must be accused of an offence incurring a maximum penalty of at least a year in prison, or must have been already sentenced to at least four months in prison.

The EAW means faster and simpler surrender procedures for suspects.

EU states can no longer refuse to extradite one of their citizens on grounds of nationality.

Extradition no longer requires a political decision for a suspect to be handed over. The EAW means mutual recognition of criminal justice systems in the EU.

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine asks what recent discussions the Scottish government has had with the UK Government regarding the European arrest warrant.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says comparative data is not available, before listing figures for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Services.

Tory MSP Maurice Corry asks about efforts to tackle hoax calls to the emergency services.

The justice secretary says a range of measures have been taken, including educating people on how to appropriately use emergency and non-emergency numbers.

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SNP MSP David Torrance asks the Scottish government how many calls the emergency services responded to over the festive period.

Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC says further work needs to be completed before an informed decision can be made on criminal proceedings.

Willie Rennie highlights it has been 2.5 years since the deaths and calls for the process to be sped up.

After stating he is acutely aware of the impact the timescale is having on families, the Lord Advocate says substantial investigation is required and must be thorough.

He says the Crown Office is in touch with the families of the victims.

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Last Mayu we reported the family of a man who died in police custody exactly two years ago vowed they would"never give up fighting" to find out what happened.

Kadi Johnson said her brother Sheku Bayoh had been "brutally taken" from the family but they still had "no answers" regarding his death.

The 31-year-old died after being restrained by officers responding to a call in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on 3 May 2015.

He was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) submitted a report into the incident to the Crown Office in August 2016, and a fatal accident inquiry is due to take place, regardless of whether there are criminal proceedings.

It also emerged earlier in 2017 that relatives of trainee gas engineer Mr Bayoh intend to launch a civil action against Police Scotland.

Read more here.

In January last year we reported the findings from a review of police call handling which had been published by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.

An inquiry was ordered in the wake of a crash on the M9 in 2015 in which two people died after police call handlers failed to pass on an accident report.

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Derek Penman reviewed 98 notable incidents between April and November 2016.

About 23% involved handlers selecting the wrong location for the incident.

But the latest report from the independent police watchdog pointed out that the incidents looked at represented a tiny proportion of calls received by Police Scotland.

Read more here.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie asks when fatal accident inquiries into the M9 crash and the death of Sheku Bayoh will be held.

Two footballers lost an appeal against a civil ruling which said they raped a woman and that she was entitled to £100,000 damages.

Ex-Scotland striker David Goodwillie and former Dundee United player David Robertson had brought a legal challenge against Lord Armstrong's finding in favour of Denise Clair.

The appeal was unanimously rejected by three appeal judges on Tuesday 28 November.

Read more.

Image source, SNS AND CIARAN DONNELLY