NOW the weather forecast for the area over the Scottish arts sector. After a prolonged period of gloom, interspersed with heavy showers during the first term of the Scottish Parliament, a warm front moved in yesterday from Bute House with the appointment of the first expert adviser to an arts minister. A period of blue-skies thinking is now expected, with the outlook, though still uncertain, appearing brighter.

The hiring of Bryan Beattie to assist Frank McAveety is a welcome sign from above that the arts might at last be about to receive serious treatment from the Scottish Executive. It had been feared that with the downgrading of the arts minister's job from cabinet to deputy level that the sector was being pushed into the wings. Although the appointment of Mr Beattie - by the first minister - does not remove those worries entirely, it goes some way to assuaging them. Much of this optimism has to do with Mr Beattie himself. He is, as his job title states, an expert. A former director of the National Youth Theatre of Scotland, and the owner of his own firm, he has the right artistic and commercial mix. He impressed, too, with his directorship of the bid by Inverness to be the European Capital of Culture in 2008. The city may have failed to make the shortlist but the interest stimulated repaid the

effort expended tenfold.

He will need all his undoubted skills, and then some, if he is to deal with the many items in his in-tray. Among these are ensuring that Scottish Opera lives within its means, the setting up of a national theatre, and the fate of the Scottish Arts Council. He must also find a way to extend the reach of the arts beyond the major cities (that he is based in Inverness bodes well) and the usual, relatively privileged, audiences. All of this must be done within limited budgets. It is a heavy workload, made more onerous by the fact Mr Beattie will only be working two-and-a-half days a week.

Clearly, he will need allies, within the executive and the wider arts community in Scotland, if he is to make progress quickly. All sides should see the appointment as a vote of faith in the arts and try to capitalise on it accordingly, especially in the run-up to the spending review next March. So far, devolution has failed to deliver for

the arts, but by devolving some power sideways to a genuine player in the arts, the first minister may yet have found a way forward.