{"id":16460,"date":"2024-10-03T09:31:23","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T09:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/?p=16460"},"modified":"2026-04-18T19:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:34:30","slug":"how-to-fix-the-scottish-cultural-funding-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/2024\/10\/how-to-fix-the-scottish-cultural-funding-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"How to fix the Scottish cultural funding crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAn attack on cultural funding is an attack on imagination,\u201d says Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association. Scotland without culture is unimaginable: \u201cwithout culture, what is there?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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That is a fundamental question for Scotland and the Scottish Government. According to the SNP\u2019s 2021 manifesto<\/a>, \u201cCulture is central to who we are as a nation. We have always valued culture and creativity\u201d. It\u2019s what we are and how the rest of the world sees us. But what is that worth in hard cash?<\/p>\n

Culture, of course, is much more than just its economic value, but that is considerable. The creative economy, includes<\/a>: \u201ccreative goods \u2014 audiovisuals, crafts, design, new media, visual and performing arts\u201d and \u201ccreative services \u2014 advertising, architecture, culture and leisure, research and development.\u201d The Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture\u2019s remit encompasses all that and more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scottish cultural exports contribute \u00a35Bn annually<\/a> to the national economy. That\u2019s about 2.5% of onshore GDP. Yet, at around 0.5%, Scottish spending on culture is amongst the lowest in Europe<\/a>. Real terms per-person spending in Scotland from 2009\u20132023 decreased by 29%<\/a>.\u00a0 England, and the UK as a whole, are similar, in stark contrast to leaders like Germany<\/a>, which invests nearly \u20ac1bn in culture in Berlin alone.<\/p>\n

Why has the Scottish Government given culture a hard time?<\/h2>\n

Financial decisions made by the Scottish Government have put the arts, and the country, in a difficult position. Finance Secretary Shona Robison stopped all \u201cnon essential\u201d spending, cutting \u00a3500m from the public sector<\/a>. Predictably, the SNP Government blames Westminster, citing the UK Government\u2019s alleged \u201cbrutal round of austerity<\/a>\u201d. Actually, as David Gow explained helpfully<\/a>, the Scottish Government has run out of money because of overspending, misjudged assumptions and a fundamental lack of planning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, there\u2019s no \u201cspare money\u201d. Creative Scotland, often in the news, has been caught in a whirlwind of cuts, u-turns, rows and political instability. Its recent decision to suspend the Open Fund for Individuals and cut funding to the Culture Collective and Youth Music Initiative was understandably unpopular. But artists\u2019 accusations that CS was using arts funding as a \u201cpolitical football\u201d to pressure the government are misplaced. That decision was not taken lightly, nor did it come from nowhere.<\/p>\n

Creative Scotland had said that if the \u00a36.6m Government cut from its budget wasn\u2019t reinstated, they would have to make tough decisions. Why cut from those funds rather than other programmes? Because the rest of the money is already committed and funding allocations are ring-fenced by the Government; a fact CS could perhaps have explained more clearly. The \u00a36.6m has since been reinstated, following an exchange of letters between Culture Counts<\/a> and SMIA<\/a> and the Culture Secretary.<\/p>\n

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EventScotland and VisitScotland have also suffered significant budget reductions. And I\u2019ve seen the knock-on effects firsthand. My media production company specialises in live streaming cultural events. Three of the big annual events that we work with, the World Pipe Band Championships, Piping Live! and Cowal Gathering, all had to deal with severely diminished budgets this year. Their strained event teams performed valiantly, and pulled the events off very well, but of course they had to make cuts of their own.<\/p>\n

Less can be more \u2014 in the right hands<\/h2>\n

Budgets across the creative industries have been decimated by the state of the economy. Micro businesses and creative industries freelancers have borne the brunt of it. I know people in film and TV who haven\u2019t worked all year. And many have left the industry.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t always been like this. Fiona Hyslop was culture secretary for ten years. I got to know her when she invited me to join the Creative Industries Advisory Group (later the Creative Industries Leadership Group<\/a>). Hyslop listened, discussed and took our views into account.<\/p>\n

She commissioned CIAG\u2019s first co-chair, Bob Last, to form a working group (which included me) to critique Scottish National Investment Bank plans. We had to explain how the creative industries worked (a recurring issue). We then made the case for simplified access to finance for creative businesses, which was heeded. Bob put it very well: \u201cSometimes less money dispensed more simply is more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

When her remit was revised in February 2020 and she became secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, Fiona quipped it was \u201ca reverse takeover of the economy by culture\u201d. Her joke landed well with our group, and wasn\u2019t baseless. She considered her revised remit \u201can excellent opportunity to bring the creative industries into the heart of the wider economy agenda<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

We were disappointed when Hyslop resigned<\/a> following a May 2021 election reshuffle. Word from government sources was that Hyslop was deemed to have \u201cgone native\u201d, taking the side of the industry. Heaven forbid a minister might actually represent the best interests of their portfolio.<\/em><\/p>\n

Does the Scottish Government understand what culture is?<\/h2>\n

When Angus Robertson became Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in May 2021, he delegated CILG responsibility to the culture minister, Jenny Gilruth. We found her receptive and ambitious, but as a junior minister, we wondered how much she would be able to do. She was moved to transport and replaced by Neil Gray.<\/p>\n

In March 2021, \u00a0Hyslop and CILG co-chair Brian Coane formed two working groups, one tasked with exploring Scotland\u2019s creative workforce development (chaired by ceramist and creative industries consultant Carol Sinclair) and the other investigating how to increase resilience in the creative industries (chaired by me). The two voluntary working groups spent nine months interrogating our topics through numerous meetings with sector development bodies and creative industries operators from all over Scotland.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The papers we produced were presented in March 2022<\/a>. They contained thoughtful, considered, evidence-based recommendations. We found Government\u2019s reaction, led by Gray, defensive and uninspiring. We rebutted it and requested a more imaginative response. Shortly after that Neil Gray put the group on hiatus. The two subsequent culture ministers, Christina McKelvie and Kaukab Stewart, did not re-engage CILG. John Swinney abolished the post when he became First Minister in May 2024. Despite the SNP\u2019s 2021 manifesto declaration, many of the Government\u2019s actions post-Hyslop have demonstrated a lack of appreciation for the value of the creative industries.<\/p>\n

The rapid turnover of ministers and inconsistent portfolio management has left culture adrift. June 2022 CILG minutes<\/a> note \u201ca worry that, if not given their place, culture and creative industries could be easily ignored\u201d.<\/p>\n

Give hope in hard times<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>During lockdown, Creative Scotland had to pivot from arts development to emergency funder. I contributed to regular working groups and sat on funding panels. I think public agencies did a good job of distributing cash. Sector development organisations like SMIA<\/a> worked with Creative Scotland to help provide a lifeline for businesses and freelancers.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>When the last lockdowns opened up all support stopped. Arts and events had an initial surge of activity. But with cautious audiences, businesses were unable to trade at full capacity. Many were carrying large losses. Festivals and grassroots venues suffered greatly. Many have closed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>But why should the government spend scarce cash on culture in a time of crisis when so many fundamental needs \u2014 NHS, child poverty, homelessness, the environment \u2014 cry out for investment?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Because they can\u2019t afford not to. Culture is the medium through which we can fix our problems and fund their solutions. \u201cCulture is central to building diverse, inclusive and prosperous communities\u201d, according to the Scottish Government<\/a>. I agree. Let\u2019s strengthen our weak economy by investing in culture so we can:<\/p>\n