Culture in Parliament - February 2023
Culture Counts monitors the Scottish and UK Parliament for discussions and questions about the Culture Sector. We’ve listed recent committee business and chamber questions in each house below.
The link attached to each item will take you to the Official Report, where you can read the Government response and further discussion around each item.
Scottish Parliament
Portfolio Question Time, Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, 1 February 2023
Levelling Up Fund (Culture Organisations)
Question by Siobhian Brown, Ayr
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on culture organisations in Scotland of the United Kingdom Government levelling up funding. (S6O-01840)
Question by Alexander Burnett, Aberdeenshire West
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Creative Scotland. (S6O-01843)
Budget 2023-24 debate (Committees’ Pre-budget Scrutiny), 26 January 2023
Contribution by Clare Adamson MSP, Motherwell and Wishaw
(excerpt)
Although culture spend represents a relatively small proportion of the budget, the return on investment in culture, heritage and the arts is significant. Culture enriches our lives and provides a platform for innovation. It is of strategic national importance, from Edinburgh’s festivals, which attract more than 4 million people to our capital each year, to Scotland’s screen sector, which contributes £500 million to the economy and is set to become a £1 billion industry by 2030. Our grass-roots cultural organisations work in communities up and down the country to change lives every day. Scotland’s cultural heritage is intrinsic to who we are as a nation. It plays a crucial role in how we market and position ourselves globally—Burns night, which was last night, is just one example of that.
First Minister’s Question Time, 19 January 2023
Celtic Connections (30th Anniversary)
Question by Bill Kidd, Glasgow Anniesland
This month marks the 30th anniversary of Celtic Connections. I ask, as one Glasgow MSP to another, will the First Minister welcome this landmark anniversary of a Scottish cultural gem and great contributor to Glasgow city’s economy, and will she be going along herself to enjoy it, jig time?