Committee
Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee 11 March 2021
11 Mar 2021 · S5 · Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee
Item of business
Cultural Sector (Impact of Covid-19)
Iain Munro
Watch on SPTV
Your question about the unions is an important one. Part of the change that was under way for Creative Scotland pre-pandemic was about how we move to open ourselves up and engage differently and much more collaboratively with people, organisations, partners and stakeholders right across our remit. Right from the off and throughout the pandemic, we have made sure that we continue to cultivate our relationships with sector development bodies and unions, and we meet them regularly through various programmes. It is important that we have kept those channels open so that we understand what people are thinking and feeling, and what they want to feedback on and ask us about. That dialogue has been on-going. Understandably, we have had very clear feedback and engagement with the unions on concerns about the protection of jobs. We recognise that the funding makes a contribution towards an organisation’s costs, but we have not been under any illusion that, despite the scale of investment that is available, it is not able to address 100 per cent of the needs of many of the organisations that will benefit from that support. That is particularly the case in the performing arts, where the fragility of the business model has been exposed in terms of its heavy reliance on earned income as a major component. That was good pre-pandemic or outwith pandemic times but, when the pandemic hit, the challenge—the cliff edge that has been referred to—for many organisations was revealed. In our regular funding of 121 organisations, we are a contributor to the overall costs of those organisations. Our regular funding on average—it varies by organisation, of course—is about 25 per cent of an organisation’s overall turnover. In running the hardship funds, we are doing our very best to make meaningful contributions that will explicitly enable the protection of jobs and the prevention of insolvency, particularly in the performing arts venues relief fund. The third dimension of that fund was that it invited organisations to provide ways of sustaining opportunities for freelancers and the commissioning of work. The performing arts venues relief fund was rolled out from last August and September. We built into it reporting from the organisations. We had some interim results in January; the full results will come in April, as the value of that investment runs out at the end of March. We will also get results from the culture organisations and venues recovery fund in April. I can tell you the interim results and what the projected results are, but it is important to understand that, in channelling that funding, we have done our best to be clear about its purposes and its requirements, but also to say that we are not shadow directors for any of the organisations. The organisations themselves take decisions independently for the businesses that they run in order to ensure that they have a viable long-term future. We have tried to afford organisations as much opportunity as possible to protect jobs and prevent insolvency with the support we have provided—and it is only a contribution—but, because of business decisions, that support will not necessarily ensure that every single job is protected. So far, insolvency has been prevented but, as the pandemic goes on longer and unless there is further support, a number of organisations are ultimately at risk. For completeness, the interim results that we got back show that, up until January, nearly 1,000 jobs have been saved and just over 2,000 freelance commissions have been made available through the performing arts venues relief fund of £12.5 million. We will get the first returns from the culture organisations and venues recovery fund in April, but the value of that funding runs out at the end of March. In the organisations that have been supported through that fund, the projection is that nearly 2,500 jobs will have been protected. The figure for freelance commissions is projected to be 2,400. Significant numbers of jobs and commissions are in play here, but I do not underestimate at all that, on an individual level, some people working in those organisations feel at risk in some way. We are trying to protect every single job, but we cannot guarantee that we can do that.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Joan McAlpine)
SNP
Good morning, and welcome, everyone, to the ninth meeting in 2021 of the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee. We have received apologies ...
Iain Munro (Creative Scotland)
Thank you, convener, and good morning, everyone. We are pleased to be able to give evidence to the committee this morning. I realise that this is the last pu...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you very much. As you noted, this is likely to be our final committee meeting of the parliamentary session. It will certainly be the last committee mee...
Iain Munro
In the early weeks and months of the pandemic, we internally swung in those early moves to provide the initial support. As I noted in my opening remarks, tha...
The Convener
SNP
Thanks very much. That is helpful. You talked about how individuals in Scotland get funding that individuals in the rest of the UK do not get. I note that, a...
Iain Munro
There was quite a lot wrapped up in your questions; I will try to steer my way through them. I agree that the issues are all important. I will address the ...
The Convener
SNP
Thanks very much. I will come back to some of those issues later. I will hand over to Claire Baker MSP.
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
Good morning to Iain Munro and Isabel Davis. I have met Iain during the process—I have some questions for you, Iain. You gave a helpful introduction to how...
Iain Munro
Again, there was a lot wrapped up in your questions. I will try to make sure that I cover everything. The vast majority of funds, including the culture org...
Claire Baker
Lab
Thank you. That is helpful. You mentioned that one of the purposes of the funds was to protect jobs, which is also one of the purposes of the theatre recov...
Iain Munro
Your question about the unions is an important one. Part of the change that was under way for Creative Scotland pre-pandemic was about how we move to open ou...
Claire Baker
Lab
I appreciate how challenging this is. Does the data tell you how many jobs have been lost and how many redundancies there have been, or does it just say how ...
Iain Munro
That data does not tell us that, although a sense of loss of income and loss of employment opportunities is emerging from the sector survey, which is also co...
The Convener
SNP
This is all absolutely fascinating stuff, Mr Munro, but I ask you to keep your answers a bit shorter. A lot of members want to ask you questions and I want t...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I have a couple of questions, primarily focused on screen. I will address them to Isabel Davis in the first instance, but some of them probably cut across wi...
Isabel Davis (Creative Scotland)
No, you will not find that document. As Iain Munro has pointed out, and as we all know, this year has been about getting our sleeves rolled up, getting all h...
Ross Greer
Green
Iain Munro wants to come in, I believe.
Iain Munro
Yes, very briefly. I think that you pointed to it, but the annual report and accounts, and the annual review for Creative Scotland, include sections specific...
Ross Greer
Green
Yes, thanks. I have the annual report in front of me, although I could not find the annual review. The Creative Scotland website annual review section goes u...
Isabel Davis
You might be aware that we have now, happily, almost entirely restructured Screen Scotland and we have individual teams—they work together, of course—across ...
Ross Greer
Green
I am conscious of the time, although this is very interesting and, in general, I am very pleased with the progress that has been made, because this has been ...
Isabel Davis
I would like to signal that we are now in a position whereby each of the component parts of what it will take for the screen industry to achieve success can ...
Ross Greer
Green
Fantastic. Thank you very much.
Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
I will focus on some of the practical elements around culture, not least because if anyone was asked to describe my engagement with culture more generally, t...
Isabel Davis
It is great to know that you are an old friend of Lynda Myles, who remains one of the leading lights in the Scottish festivals. Her days at the Edinburgh int...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Thank you very much for that. I should not overplay my relationship with Lynda Myles. I was at the biggest school in Scotland—our year was nearly 500 people—...
Isabel Davis
It is such a fast-growing industry that the gaps are everywhere. That is a very good question, and I think the answer is “all of the above” if we are to succ...
Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
The question I was going to ask was the one that Stewart Stevenson has just covered. I will go back to something that I think has been covered slightly. I re...
Iain Munro
You raise an important point. I will say up front that we have a keen eye to understanding the support that we are able to provide in and alongside the suppo...
Jamie Halcro Johnston
Con
Thanks. Do you want to come in on that, Isabel?