Meeting of the Parliament 25 October 2023
I mean no offence in saying this, Mr Brown, but I would be happy to take an intervention from the cabinet secretary, whom I was requesting details from.
Let me tell members why we in the chamber need that clarity. The Parliament has heard time and again pleas from a sector that is crying out for help. VOCAL Scotland has told us that
“publicly funded cultural service provision has been depleted to the most basic level.”
Artlink has said that the current financial settlement is having a devastating effect, and Museums Galleries Scotland has warned of a
“hollowing out of museums services”.
Prospect has said:
“We are at the breaking point”,
and the Federation of Scottish Theatre has said that a
“continued lack of public investment … may result in what could very easily be seen as a wilful demise of the culture sector as we know it.”
Equity, which protested outside this building, has warned that our national reputation is diminished with further cuts to support and funding, and even Creative Scotland has warned that many organisations are at risk of insolvencies and redundancies.
The picture that has been painted is one of increased costs and chronic standstill funding. Many organisations are on their knees. Combined with the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, it is a perfect storm. Stability, security and the ability to plan ahead are vital to the sector.
The Scottish Government is to refresh its culture strategy, but it is clear that there is a huge gulf between the levels of ambition and the levels of investment that are coming from the Government. That is the very definition of setting up the entire sector to fail.
The Government should keep its promise not to cut Creative Scotland’s budget this year and give the sector the funding, certainty, confidence and backing that it needs. Over to you, cabinet secretary.
I move,
That the Parliament values greatly the enormous contribution of the arts and culture sector to Scotland’s national life and economy, noting that the creative industry is estimated to be worth nearly £4.5 billion and 80,000 jobs; recognises what many in the sector have described as a “perfect storm” of crisis in the sector, resulting from years of underfunding as well as the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis; condemns the Scottish Government’s decision to break its promise to the sector not to cut Creative Scotland’s budget by 10%, and notes the furious reaction in response; notes the commitment from the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture that Creative Scotland’s funding will be restored in 2024-25, but recognises with concern that Creative Scotland has stated that up to a third of its regularly funded organisations are at serious risk of insolvency in the short term, and over half are financially weak, which will require redundancies or other cost savings, and therefore considers that there is an urgent need for funding now; further notes the announcement made by the First Minister on 17 October 2023 to more than double arts and culture funding over the next five years, but believes that, in the current context, financial certainty for the sector is crucial; calls, therefore, on the Scottish Government to reverse the 10% budget cut to Creative Scotland with immediate effect; further calls on the Scottish Government to set out full details for its proposed increase in the arts and culture budget, including timescales for funding increases, and believes that it is essential that this is clarified ahead of the publication of a refreshed Scottish Government Culture Strategy.