Image source, bbc

Committee chair Joan McAlpine asks about the organisational review being undertaken by Creative Scotland.

Robert Wilson explains there were some "fundamental changes" needed.

Open Change in Dundee will be the independent organisation conducting the review, he elucidates.

Creative Scotland acting chief executive Iain Munro explains there will be changes to grants under £15,000.

Ms McAlpine asks if all funding will be changed as a result of the review.

Mr Munro says it is important to get the balance between the different funding strands.

Image source, CREATIVE SCOTLAND

The chief executive of Creative Scotland quit in July, in the wake of the arts body receiving heavy criticism over its funding decisions.

Janet Archer gave no reason for her decision in a statement confirming she was to step down, external.

She said it had been an honour to serve the country's artists and creative industries for the last five years.

Two Creative Scotland board members resigned in February in a row over its latest round of funding.

And an inquiry by a Holyrood committee concluded last month that Creative Scotland's funding system falls "well below" the standard expected of a public body.

• Arts funding system 'below standard'
• Creative Scotland board members resign
• Read more here

Creative Scotland chair Robert Wilson says it has been a "challenging year" for the organisation but argues much has been achieved.

"Everyone at Creative Scotland is committed to rebuilding that trust and that confidence in our organisation."

He points to an independent evaluation of regular funding rounds, which will feed into a broad review of funding to take place next year.

Image source, Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Creative Scotland's funding system falls "well below" the standard expected of a public body, an inquiry by this committee found in July

The arts organisation has been heavily criticised over funding decisions, which saw board members resign in protest earlier this year.

MSPs said the organisation needed to urgently address strategic failings.

Creative Scotland praised its staff and said it was conducting a review of the funding process.

Read more here.

Image source, Creative Scotland

The committee will now take evidence on Creative Scotland from:

• Creative Scotland, external chair Robert Wilson
• Creative Scotland , externalacting chief executive Iain Munro

Read the committee papers here., external

Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott asks about the £30,000 salary threshold and its impact on industry.

Prof Manning replies migration is not a solution to generalised skill shortages, as it increases labour supply and demand.

Image source, bbc

The average earnings of migrants is 30% lower than the average, but if the vision for Scotland is a high wage, high productivity economy, then this will not help, says the academic.

Mr Scott says a hotelier told him that they simply can't get staff for lower wage roles and if the salary cap is £30,000 he won't get migrants.

Many of the jobs in hospitality will not be eligible and they are not high quality, Prof Manning says.

The first evidence session draws to a close.

Image source, Getty Images

International students in the UK should not be removed from targets to reduce migration, recommends a report commissioned by the Home Office.

The Migration Advisory Committee, which gives the government independent advice on immigration, says there is no clear case to support such a change.

But the report calls for an easier move into work for overseas students.

Universities UK, which lobbied for students to be treated differently, said it was "disappointed".

Read more here.

Tory MSP Alexander Stewart asks about post-study work visas.

Such a visa with unrestricted work rights would increase demand on our educational institutions, says Prof Manning.

But it is important that this increased demand is focused on obtaining high skilled work, not on any work, he explains.

On the removal of students from the net migration target, the MAC chair says this would involve an "awful lot of work" because of a lack of statistics at the moment.

Green MSP Ross Greer presses Prof Manning as to whether freedom of movement has benefited the UK economically.

The MAC chair replies that the impact of freedom of movement was small, with neither big costs nor benefits.

The issue of freedom of movement is that there is not control of the numbers or the mix of people who come to the UK, insists the academic.

Green MSP Ross Greer says the Home Office is "not famous for its efficiency, its accuracy".

Was there an evaluation of how long it would take the Home Office to implement the recommendations, he asks.

Prof Manning says it is not within the MAC's remit to consider this but accepts it would be "naive" to not be aware of such issues.

"The Home Office needs to engage much more with the users of the system," he says.

The proposals are based on the assumption the Home Office is able to operate a system which is transparent and fair, he adds.

Image source, bbc

The chair of the Migration Advisory Committee argues that in Canada, remote communities saw a lower retention rate than economically vibrant areas.

Ms McAlpine points out Canadian government research showed the Atlantic region, which had lowest retention rate, still had a 56% retention rate, which is "rather good".

Prof Manning accepts the evidence was mixed, but posits migration is not a particularly good solution to depopulation, rather the economic inequalities should be addressed.

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan asks about the potential risk of staffing problems in social care.

Prof Manning replies that relying on migration does not address the underlying problem facing the sector and is only a short-term fix.

Mr McMillan accepts that migration alone will not solve the problems facing the sector, but highlights the time it takes to train new people.

The MAC representative says carer assistants do not require much training at the moment and often these employees are paid the minimum wage.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Claire Baker says there was consensus in the Scottish parliament that there should be regional variation within the UK migration system.

Prof Manning explains they did not express a view on whether migration should be devolved or not.

He argues the economic case for a distinctive Scottish migration policy was not very strong.

"Regional differences are not so large as to justify regionally differentiated policy. "

Ms McAlpine asks whether regional variation was considered and highlights business concerns about setting the threshold at £30,000.

Prof Manning explains that there was only a small difference between England and Scotland.

The convener points to analysis indicating tax rises may be necessary to compensate for the loss of migrants.

The MAC representative insists that restricting lower skilled migration may improve public finances.

Image source, Getty Images

A report into the immigration system concluded that Scotland does not need a "very different" policy to the rest of the UK.

In September the Migration Advisory Committee said it had no view on whether immigration should be devolved to Holyrood.

But it said it did not believe Scotland's economic situation was sufficiently different to justify radically different policies.

The Scottish government wants the power to tailor its own migration policy.

It argues that the move is necessary because of the country's ageing population, and to prevent population decline - particularly in rural areas.

• UK 'should not favour' EU workers post-Brexit
• Do we really know how many people come to the UK?
• Read more here

Committee convener Joan McAlpine asks about migration of lower-skilled people.

Prof Alan Manning highlights that people already in the UK would remain and proposals are about restricting future flow.

On the £30,000 threshold, Prof Manning explains this figure is close to median earnings and any migrant coming in below this is "making the UK or Scotland a lower wage kind of economy."

"That isn't really our vision for the future."

If there are skill shortages we want to see upward pressure on wages in the affected sectors, which is why we've suggested the threshold he adds.

Image source, SAMRYLEY

The Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee will continue its immigration inquiry by taking evidence from Migration Advisory Committee, external chair Professor Alan Manning

Read the committee papers here. , external