Meeting of the Parliament 16 November 2023
As a committee member and on behalf of Scottish Labour, I am pleased to welcome the report, which highlights the benefits of a place-based approach to culture and the many challenges that its implementation faces.
The report is thorough and carefully considered, and I extend my sincere thanks to all who contributed to it, including the stakeholders who answered the call for views and provided evidence and the committee clerks, who did an excellent job of organising evidence sessions in Edinburgh, Orkney and Dumfries and of writing the report. I commend our convener, Clare Adamson, and fellow committee members for their constructive and collegiate approach. I also thank Sarah Boyack, who sat on the committee for Scottish Labour in the early phases.
Wellbeing, quality of life, physical health and mental health are all influenced by the quality of the places that we live in. I heard that yet again this lunch time in moving testimony from the recovery group from North Lanarkshire about using the power of music to tackle drug and alcohol addiction.
A place-based and community-led approach to service delivery, including cultural provision, has for some time been recognised as a useful framework that recognises that communities ought to be central to the delivery of creative activity in their areas, to ensure that that activity responds to distinct opportunities and challenges in different localities.
In that spirit, I pay tribute to organisations such as the Beacon arts centre in Greenock, which does tremendous work with young people in Inverclyde. I also pay tribute to the Bungalow bar in Paisley, which is an outstanding local venue that was recently named the best music-led venue in Scotland at the Scottish Licensed Trade News awards.
Our report notes that, despite many positive examples, the proper entrenchment of a place-based approach to culture is inadequate at present, and a huge amount of progress is required to make it a reality.
The report identifies a number of challenges
“for national public bodies and local government in delivering a place-based approach to culture where communities are central to shaping the cultural life of their place”.
The challenges are listed in the report as
“Supporting community-based cultural activity ... Funding culture in communities ... Providing and supporting local cultural services”
and
“Providing and protecting physical spaces in communities for cultural activity to take place in.”
The report rightly highlights, as has been mentioned, the “vital role of volunteers” in supporting community-led cultural activity. It is right, however, to acknowledge that such volunteering is “time and resource intensive”. As the convener said, the committee was concerned by the evidence that there might be
“disparities between communities who have greater time and resources to volunteer and those who do not”.
The committee’s view is that
“it is crucial for all communities across Scotland”
to be able
“to shape the cultural life of their places, and ... sustain the cultural activity which meets their needs.”
Ensuring that that happens is likely to involve the Scottish Government providing funding and support. The report rightly invites
“the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to explore whether further support can be provided to protect and encourage the vital contribution of volunteers to culture”
in their communities, including the communities with the fewest resources.
The report highlights the culture collective programme as an excellent example of place-based cultural initiatives. The committee calls on the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to set out how the programme’s legacy will be built on.
When it comes to protecting the future of local physical spaces for cultural activity, the committee rightly recognises that it is critically important that,
“For culture to thrive within communities, there must be spaces in which cultural activities can take place.”
The committee is, therefore, concerned that evidence has been received that
“some cultural and community assets are becoming less available, less affordable, and at risk of closure”,
including many churches, which, as Alexander Stewart said, provide a venue not just for worship but for culture.
I, too, urge the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to take all the action that they can to protect local cultural spaces. I also commend the committee’s suggestion of considering a role for Creative Scotland in delivering a capital programme to support the refurbishment and upkeep of such spaces.
In relation to the provision and support of local cultural assets, the committee is right to note
“the essential role of local government in the delivery of a place-based approach to culture”.
Therefore, the report is right to note with concern what it politely terms as
“the funding challenges facing local government”.
It notes the enforced reduction of cultural spend by local authorities in the face of persistent cuts to council budgets over many years. I hope that the Scottish Government will reflect on that, as well as its spending commitments in the cultural sector.
The report highlights the importance of
“a ... joined-up approach between local government and national agencies”
and that
“further progress is required to improve collaboration.”
I echo the report’s call for a further update before the end of the year on what progress has been made on the commitment from the Scottish Government
“to work with Creative Scotland to map local authority support for culture and explore future models of collaboration between national and local bodies.”
The challenge of funding is an overarching concern that touches almost all areas of the report. Cultural activity and cultural life—place based and otherwise—rely on Scottish Government funding and support. Years of standstill funding and increased costs have created a situation of chronic underfunding and a sector at breaking point. There is an urgent need for investment, support and a new long-term culture strategy. Finally, as many stakeholders highlighted, there is also a need for funding to be placed on a sustainable footing.
I commend the report to the Parliament, and I hope that we can all work together to ensure that we support culture in our communities—now and into the future.