Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.6
Today we received a response to our letter of 30 July, to Angus Robertson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.
Our letter sought further information on proposed plans “to reform the culture sector with a view to delivering more efficient, cost effective, sustainable services” as referenced in Mr Robertson’s letter of 5 June to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee updating on progress on the Culture Strategy Action Plan, as well as proposals and timeline for Public Service Reform.
We had also raised concerns regarding the over subscription of Creative Scotland’s Multi Year Funding programme and called for negotiations with Creative Scotland before the decisions in October to address the significant gap in funding by bringing more of the promised increased funding forward.
Please note our correspondence predated the announcement of cuts and closure of the Open Fund for Individuals, now reinstated. We addressed our concerns on this action via a joint letter from the Sector Support Organisations Group.
6 September 2024
Dear Lori Anderson,
Thank you for your letter of 30 July about the ongoing financial challenges facing the culture sector and the Scottish Government’s plans for support and reform activity going forward. Please accept my apologies for the delayed response.
I remain committed to working with Culture Counts and the wider sector to collectively identify barriers and broker solutions to immediate and long-term recovery and I fully understand organisations’ desire to have some sense of the planning horizon.
As you will have seen, the review of Creative Scotland (CS) was announced as part of the Programme for Government 2024-25 and now that the due diligence has been completed, the £6.6m has been released to CS. This includes £3m for their Open Fund for Individuals. The review of CS is related to the need to ensure that the remit and functions of CS remain relevant given the body was established in 2010 and the sector has faced a number of unique and difficult challenges over the past 4 years which may need novel solutions. The Scottish Government believes that it is important to undertake a review of CS now as part of a review of how the culture sector is supported more broadly. Given the commitment to increasing culture funding by £100m by 2028/2029, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that the additional funding can be used to best support the culture sector.
In terms of CS multiyear funding, the review of CS will not impact on the timing or outcomes of this process. The expectation is that CS will continue as business as usual and there will be no changes in their work whilst the review is undertaken. The review will help to inform the future direction of CS and the Scottish Government support to the culture sector.
Generally, the Scottish Budget continues to face significant challenges, and we are considering the implications of the actions announced by the Chancellor on 29 July for the Scottish public finances, and the next steps required by the Scottish Government. We will, of course, continue to engage with the cultural public bodies and the wider sector in order to make the difficult decisions needed around allocation of available funding. Details of the 2025/2026 budget will be published later in the year.
I am pleased to report that I had a very positive initial meeting with the new UK Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport on 31 July and I look forward to continuing to work with my counterparts in the UK Government, as well as those in the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation to support our culture and creative sectors.
I note you wish to discuss some of the points around reform activity referenced in my letter to the Constitution, External Affairs & Culture Committee of 5th June. This work is in its early stages and my officials are keen to meet and discuss this with you.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your new role and record my personal thanks to you for all the valuable work you have done as an advocate for the culture sector during your time as Director of Culture Counts. I very much look forward to continuing to work with you in your capacity as Director of Festivals Edinburgh and wish you the best of luck in your new role.
Yours sincerely
ANGUS ROBERSTON