Scottish Government changes and UK Pre-election briefing
Culture Counts has produced the following briefing to keep you updated on recent changes within the Scottish Government and a UK pre-election round up.
1. Changes for Culture in Scotland
Scotland’s new First Minister, John Swinney undertook a Cabinet reshuffle, which saw minimal changes except for one stand out. Whilst we were pleased to see continuity in the role of Cabinet Secretary, Angus Robertson we were disappointed to see the role of Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development axed.
Whilst it has been reported that Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, will be covering these duties, this only relates to decision making that directly impacts Mr Robertson’s constituency area as an MSP and where there would be a potential conflict of interest. We have written to both the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary expressing our concerns over the loss of the Culture Minister role given the scale and scope of the Cabinet Secretary’s remit and appealing for it to be reinstated. We have also sought further clarity regarding the decision-making powers of Ms Forbes on culture matters which will affect some decisions relating to key areas of culture in Scotland’s capital, which, without a dedicated Culture Minister, will no longer be made within the Culture Portfolio.
2. UK General Election
On 22 May, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the General election would take place on 4 July. Parliament will formally shut down on Thursday 30th May, ahead of a five-week election campaign.
2.1. General Election impacts for Culture in Scotland?
Party Manifestos are anticipated to be published in the next couple of weeks and will reveal how much of a priority culture is for each party. We will be keeping a close eye on any commitments that are made and whether they are likely to have positive or negative implications for Scotland’s culture sector or could leave us behind the other nations in terms of provision, protection, and investment.
Culture is devolved in Scotland meaning most policy making and funding are the responsibility of the Scottish Government. You may be wondering therefore whether the UK General Election has any relevance for the sector?
Some areas that are not devolved and might have implications for culture include:
some creative industries including broadcasting, TV
data protection,
nationality, citizenship, and immigration including freedom of movement
equality legislation
some taxation including VAT rates
In liaising with culture colleagues across the other nations of the UK, we have a good idea of the range of policies being pushed to be taken up by political parties in the run up to the general election. These are noted below (with more details of campaigns and manifestos in at the end of this briefing) along with calls for collaborative working and recognition of the value of culture to society the climate crisis and the economy.
Campaign asks from across the sector:
Education - protections for creative education,
Funding - adequate levels of investment and ringfenced funding for arts,
Support for creative industries - 'radical' action to support the growth of cultural and creative industries
Support for freelancers – fair work
Access and equalities – addressing disparities and equity of public access.
Whilst these areas are shared priorities in Scotland, any commitments made by the political parties are unlikely to have a significant or direct impact in Scotland.
2.2. Potential policy areas which may affect Scotland’s culture sector:
Economy
Maintaining the Commitment to Cultural Tax Reliefs
From 1 April 2025, the cultural tax reliefs, Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGTER) were permanently set at 40% (for non-touring productions) and 45% (for touring productions and all orchestra productions). The UK government also removed the sunset clause for MGETR so that it becomes a permanent tax relief, with no expiry date.
Funding
Barnett consequentials
Any changes to spending in England may have implications for the block grants provided to Scotland and therefore funds available to culture.
Scotland able to access any consequential budgets for culture and creative industries.
1% for culture
Adequate investment is required for culture with a target for a minimum of at least 1% of overall spending budgets provided on a multi-year funding basis.
International working
Commitments to enable culture and creative industries to work, trade, partner and engage across Europe and internationally including enabling freedom of movement/access to visas to make international working more accessible.
Commitment to exploring opportunities for a return to the cultural European programmes including Creative Europe and Erasmus to reopen access to these important funding streams but would enable the sector to reconnect and collaborate internationally in ways that have been lost since Brexit.
2.3 Culture Counts Manifesto
Culture Counts Manifesto was crowd sourced by Scotland’s culture sector for the Scottish Election in 2021. We identified 8 asks for the Scottish Parliament & Scottish Government for the 5-year parliamentary term until 2026. Most of these asks are still relevant.
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1 Place
A commitment to the development of a Culture Act that will integrate culture into communities, enabling Scotland’s local economies and wellbeing to flourish and to deliver fair work. Incorporate minimum levels of cultural planning, stakeholder engagement and allow for percentages of local infrastructure projects to be invested into culture
2 Diversity
Invest in a leadership scheme to ensure that people from diverse backgrounds are heard at an early stage in the design process across Scottish Government policy-making and strategic thinking.
3 Climate & Environment
Introduce a Wellbeing of Future Generations Act; mirroring the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (introduced in Wales in 2015).
4 Brexit
In direct response to Brexit and in support of creative people across the nation: invest in an ‘Office for Cultural Exchange’ safeguarding international touring, festivals, and residencies.
5 COVID-19
To ensure a rounded economic and wellbeing recovery from Covid-19, make a commitment to embed culture in Scotland’s recovery action planning.
6 Education
Invest in a scheme to ensure that all children in Scotland of all ages are assured their right to regular access to a diverse range of cultural experiences.
7 Health
A commitment to cross-departmental working between Health and Culture, with a resourced action-plan to ensure an arts and culture offer supporting health, wellbeing, and quality of life in all Health and Social Care Partnership areas in Scotland.
8 Procurement
Increase opportunities for local enterprises and for the self-employed by transforming procurement into a simple, transparent, and open system that encourages local partnerships and consortiums; aligns structure and process with equality of opportunity.
3. UK Campaigns to join or support
Campaigners across the UK are pushing a number of policies to support the growth of culture and the creative industries. Follow the links below for the latest news or to follow or support their campaigns.
Please ensure you familiarise yourself with the latest campaign guidance and regulations.
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OSCR
Following the announcement of the general election, Scotland’s charity regulator has updated its advice for voluntary groups in collaboration with the Electoral Commission.
Scottish regulator issues new charity guidance ahead of the general election
Scottish regulator issues new charity guidance ahead of the general election T
wasps
Wasps, the UK’s largest artist studio provider, have produced a Manifesto calling for:
1. Support for artists by abolishing the punitive 20% tax on maintaining our nation’s historic and cultural buildings.
2. Fund Net Zero initiatives to reduce energy costs and tenants’ rents.
Equity UK
• Professional performers union, Equity plans to campaign, calling on all candidates to reverse years of devastating austerity to arts funding and pledge to ring fence arts and entertainment funding.
• It also wants a requirement for union contracts, and terms and conditions, for all public funding of the arts.
General Election - Stop the Cuts, Save the Arts | Equity
#SaveTheArts #StopTheCuts
Creative UK
Creative UK published a manifesto last month calling for 'radical new action' to unlock the growth potential of the Cultural and Creative Industries and is seeking "clear plans" from parties as to how they might capitalise on the sector’s ability to stimulate national economic and social prosperity. They want the next UK Government to put the creative economy at the centre of its policy making.
Manifesto Priorities:
1. Growth of the workforce by prioritising creative skills and education,
2. Modelling better ways of working for freelancers – including establishing a Freelance Commissioner
3. Build and retain creative talent – competitive fiscal reliefs and incentives.
4. Facilitate innovation by increasing investment in R&D
5. Enable innovation and provide security by protecting IP in the age of AI
6. Strength the UKs standing by supporting trade and exports
Our Creative Future: The Manifesto (wearecreative.uk)
Museums Association
In their Manifesto, the Museums Association calls for everyone to have the right to access to museums and for new public investment in museums across the UK. Priorities include:
1. Funding settlements for local government.
2. Funding to meet environmental obligations.
3. Funding for infrastructure.
4. Funding to grow digital capacity.
5. Maintain free access to National Museums.
6. Support for museums for repatriation.
7. Support for Fair work.
Museum Manifesto - Museums Association
Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre
• SOLT and UK Theatre are seeking a commitment for funding so that every child can attend the theatre at least once before they leave school.
• They are also calling for a sustainable and strategic approach to investment in cultural infrastructure to be taken.
Drama and Theatre Education Alliance
Advocating for:
1. The imperative for a thorough and timely curriculum review to open up a pathway to securing creative and cultural subjects within every child’s school day.
2. The need to establish/re-establish an entitlement to arts and culture for children and young people (with reference to the UN Convention of the Child)
3. The significance that creative subjects play at school and university in feeding the creative industries pipeline
4. The urgent need to improve representation and equity of provision and access to the arts and culture for children
5. The need for adequate levels of funding and investment in children’s arts and culture
DTEA | Advocacy (dtealliance.co.uk)
Art Fund
Priorities include:
• Public Access to Collections
• Cultural Education
• Sustainable Funding
#ArtIsEssential
#ArtIsEssential campaign coalition launch Creative Education Manifesto, calling on all political parties to protect the creative arts talent pipeline - CVAN
The campaign coalition has launched a Creative Education Manifesto, calling on all political parties to protect the creative arts talent pipeline.
UK Music
• Consider a long-term business rates cut for music spaces and reform Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes
• Put ‘Agent of Change’ protections in primary legislation to protect venues threatened with closure
Manifesto For Music: Protecting Music Spaces - UK Music
Music Venue Trust
Priority asks:
1. Consider a long-term business rates cut for music spaces and reform Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes
2. Put ‘Agent of Change’ protections in primary legislation to protect venues threatened with closure
3. Regulate against exploitative secondary ticketing practices
A Manifesto for Grassroots Music Venues 2019 (musicvenuetrust.com)
Making Music
Making Music has put together two key asks from and for their members to talk about or pass on to election candidates.
1. Make Space for Music – asking for protections to existing community spaces to enable successful music-making across the UK.
2. Add ‘Voice’ to Orchestra Tax relief – asking that HMRC include ’voice’ as an instrument to Orchestra Tax Relief – so choirs can claim this benefit as well
Election asks 2024 | Making Music
#MakeSpaceForMusic
Association of British Orchestras
Public campaign to celebrate the power and value of classical music and the UK’s orchestras.
The Power of Connection of Classical Music Campaign – Association of British Orchestras (abo.org.uk)
Cultural Learning Alliance
Cultural Learning Alliance have set out their aims for an accessible arts-rich education for every child.
1. Rethinking the role of the Expressive Arts in education
2. The need for change at a time of crisis.
Manifesto – Cultural Learning Alliance
Local Government Association
1. Access and inclusion. Locally accessible and inclusive cultural infrastructure for all, addressing the structural inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.
2. Creative growth. Removal of barriers to growth of creative industry clusters and micro-clusters to support the development of the creative sector as an engine of post-pandemic growth.
3. Cultural education and pathways to creative employment. Access for all in all places to a high-quality cultural education and routes into the burgeoning creative industries from schools through to Further and Higher Education and employment.
4. Health and wellbeing. A strategic approach to health and wellbeing in place that recognises the preventative and health benefits of culture in supporting our national recovery.
What Next
Asking all parties:
• To commit to ensuring that the arts, culture, and creative industries will have a meaningful place at the table when creating policy and strategy for education and skills, local government and place-making, soft power, international trade, technology, the future of work, and climate justice.
• That governments and political parties work in partnership with the sector, creating ways of governing based on listening and collaboration – particularly with those whose voices are not traditionally heard in this process.
Give an X Campaign
A youth led, non-partisan youth voter registration campaign designed to get every single young person registered to vote.
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Culture Counts Scottish Government changes and UK Pre-election briefing