COVID-19 Update Report: Culture Strategy & Re-opening Guidelines

 

On Thursday 7th May Culture Counts hosted a members meeting to discuss the impact of COVID-19. We talked about emerging issues; problems related to reopening and we identified the actions we find are most important now for the Culture Strategy for Scotland.

Through meetings of our Core Members we aim to support decision-makers by providing information which may be key to supporting the sector through COVID-19 in the short, medium and long term.

The outcomes form the meeting include a Report which can be read in full below. We have also identified 6 Asks for Government to support the sector through immediate, short and long term challenges resulting from the COVID1-19 Pandemic.

Culture Counts works with key sector organisations such as the National Theatre of Scotland; the Scottish Music Industry Association; The Writers Guild and the National Trust for Scotland. A full list of members can be accessed here.

Culture Counts members want to be a part of the recovery and to support people’s mental health throughout this crises in a way that is safe and accessible to as many people as possible. Everyone has a right to participate in the cultural life of the community and Culture Counts members are working hard to figure out how to facilitate that.

6 Asks

Immediate: May/June/July

  1. We need to work openly and collaboratively with government on reopening guidelines as lockdown is gradually lifted; we need government to be clear around legal requirements and health advice.

  2. We need access to financial support schemes beyond June and October, including furlough, self-employed schemes and access to support for those who have slipped through the gaps.

  3. We need to work out how much stabilisation funds would be. How much can an attraction survive on before it’s gone? What is the cost to the longer-term sustainable economy if attractions close altogether and go into decline and disrepair? If people will be travelling less we need local attractions more than ever?

    Short Term: July/Aug/Sept

  4. A temporary removal of VAT on ticket sales may be helpful, as long as a ticket exemption would not mean that organisations are curtailed from claiming back other current VAT exemptions.

  5. Universal Basic Income Trials. Can self-employed people within the cultural sector contribute more to the sustainable economy if they are supported by a UBI? If the answer is not UBI, what is the answer?

    Longer Term: Sept/Oct

  6. We need government support for digital inclusion, skills and hardware, and a recognition that digital inclusion can deepen and widen experience, while not being a replacement for the collective experience of live performance.

 
Lori Anderson