Culture Counts Response to 26-27 Scottish Government Budget
Culture Counts welcomes this year’s Scottish Government budget. A headline uplift of £24.1m takes Scottish Government’s total planned expenditure on culture through the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio to £338.6m. This follows previous increases of £48mil in 25-26 and £1.6mil in 24-25.
A detailed breakdown of culture budget allocations for 26-27 is provided below.
In the coming weeks we’ll be releasing a new culture spending tracker resource, which places these latest commitments by Scottish Government in the context of overall culture spending in Scotland by including that expenditure made by Local Authorities, as well as tracking the long-term effect of inflation on this investment’s real-terms value.
This expenditure meets a number of previously made commitments to the Museum Futures Programme, Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funding, Culture Collective, Creative Communities, Screen Scotland and National Cultural Collections.
However significant need remains, particularly among Scotland's National Performing Companies whose funding has been at standstill for more than a decade and an apparent cut to Historic Environment Scotland of £3.8m.
Most concerning of all is the position of Scotland's individual artists and grassroots organisations. In recent years, the total funding available through Creative Scotland’s Open Funds for Individuals and Organisations has not risen with in line with demand or inflation, as the real terms value of National Lottery proceeds available to support these funds has declined.
If our collective ambition for a thriving cultural sector extends to individual artists and grassroots organisations and collectives, greater Scottish Government resource needs to be allocated to the open funds, in order to avoid a growing gap in opportunity across the sector.
While the renewed commitment we’ve seen from Scottish Government in investing in culture is extremely welcome, these yearly spending decisions are only one part of the picture.
With the next Holyrood election fast approaching, Culture Counts is clear that this upward trajectory needs to be built upon to secure the sector’s position for the longer-term.
In order to secure that long term future, and create the conditions for sustainability and growth, it is clear that a strategic legislative framework is required. Our proposal for A Culture Act for Scotland could futureproof and integrate culture into all areas of public life. This is not about safeguarding the status quo. Legislation could establish a surer footing for culture in all its forms and enable the sector to grow and thrive, acting as a key driver of Scotland’s economy, society and global reputation.
Development of a Scottish Culture Act over the course of the next parliament is the route to ensuring security, long term growth, and crucially, that the sector doesn’t ever find itself in a position of campaigning for funding to secure its immediate survival.
Further information:
Below is a further breakdown of what’s contained within each of the budget lines included in the table above. This is taken from a previously published Level 4 breakdown:
National Cultural Collections: National Museums of Scotland (NMS), National Galleries of Scotland (NGS), National Library of Scotland (NLS), Non-National Museums (funding for museums and galleries across Scotland via Museums Galleries Scotland, and direct funding for the Scottish Maritime, Mining and Fisheries Museums)
Creative Scotland: Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funding, Youth Music Initiative, Screen Scotland, Creative Scotland Operating Costs, CS Depreciation, Other Arts Activity
Historic Environment Scotland: HES Running Costs plus HES Depreciation and Impairment plus HES Direct Capital less HES income
National Performing Companies: Scottish Opera, National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ballet
Other Arts and Activity: Culture Arts Delivery and Policy, Sistema, V&A Dundee, Other Arts and Activity (other cultural opportunities and priorities including EXPO and Festivals)