Meeting with the Flemish Parliament's Committee for Culture, Youth, Sport and Media
On 21 October 2026, Culture Counts co-directors met with the Committee for Culture, Youth, Sport and Media of the Flemish Parliament for a reception and exchange of views. These meetings continue our international research into cultural policy and legislation - see our earlier international briefing and notes from meetings with Ireland and Wales.
Belgium is a federal country divided into three Regions and three linguistic Communities and the Flemish Parliament is the devolved legislature for Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The Flemish Parliament is unusual compared with Belgium's other regional and community parliaments because it combines the powers of both the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community within a single legislature.
It has responsibility for a wide range of policy areas, including culture, language, education, healthcare and social welfare. Its powers also extend to youth protection, family policy, childcare, support for disabled and older people, equal opportunities and the integration of migrants.
Key matters of discussion included:
Minimum income for artists: Flanders has an Amateur Arts Allowance (AKV), which is a flat-rate expense allowance for an artistic activity that does not provide you with social protection.
The arms-length principle: In which we were interested to learn that decision-making for artistic grants in Flanders sits ultimately with the Minister. We debated the relative merits of artistic freedom from political influence vs. the accountability of politicians for public money.
Free access to cultural institutions: We compared free entry to museums and galleries in Scotland with the more commercial model in Flanders. We were astonished to learn that there is a fee to be a library member in Flanders!
Visitor levy: Which is common in Flanders but new to Edinburgh
Investment in cultural infrastructure: On tours of cultural buildings in Glasgow, one elected representative had noticed how much more common single glazing is here than in Flanders, where buildings have been required to make investment in more energy-efficient buildings through a dedicated grant programme.
Fair work: In Flanders it is mandatory that salaries and government grants rise in line with inflation. Interestingly, this has led to challenges with employers and some cultural institutions moving out of Flanders to reduce payroll costs.
Longer term ambition: Flanders is pursuing a Horizon 2035 programme - a ‘master plan and overarching cultural policy framework’ to develop longer-term ambition for the culture sector. We shared learning from Scotland’s culture strategy in terms of vision, deliverability and accountability.
Cultural legislation: Flanders has a series of laws, known as decrees, covering different areas of cultural policy, including the arts, heritage and local cultural provision. We discussed the different approaches to legislation in Flanders and Scotland, including how laws can establish responsibilities for cultural provision and support collaboration between national and local government.
We were really pleased to have the opportunity to learn from those working in other contexts, to see how different places approach cultural policy and legislation, and to learn about international examples to help shape how we understand possibilities here in Scotland.