20.10.2023: UK Music Interim Head of Public Affairs Hannah McLennan attended the Scottish National Party conference, where she met key stakeholders including the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Angus Robertson MSP. 

The Conference took place between Saturday 15 October and Tuesday 17 October in Aberdeen. It brought together SNP Members of Parliament (MPs), who represent the party nationally in Westminster and Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) from the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. SNP councillors, journalists, and business leaders were also in attendance.  

The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland; the party holds 64 of the 129 seats in Holyrood and 43 out of the 59 Scottish seats in Westminster. It has 453 local councillors of 1,227.  

Whilst at the conference, Hannah met with Angus Robertson MSP (pictured), the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, whose brief includes music. The two discussed UK Music’s Here, There and Everywhere report with its focus on music tourism, the asks in the Manifesto for Music and some of the work in Scotland around social prescribing and music as a health and wellbeing tool. 

Angus introduced Hannah to Richard Lochhead, MSP the Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, whose brief includes AI. Angus, Richard and Hannah discussed the need for AI to be underpinned by robust copyright legislation and the potential introduction of personality right legislation. They talked about some of the other work going on across the creative industries in this area, including film and TV.

Hannah also attended panels on education, sustainability in the whisky industry, and parental leave and childcare. She joined a Channel 4 reception where she spoke to Alison Thewliss MP, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music, about the Manifesto for Music. 

Whilst at SNP Conference, Humza Yousaf announced plans to double SNPs investment in Scotland’s arts and culture over the next five years in line with inflation, sharing that by the end of the five years, the investment will be £100m higher than it is today. UK Music welcomed the announcement.