Summary of Scottish Parliament Debate - Growing Scotland’s Creative Economy
On Thursday 24 September, the Scottish Parliament held a debate on the future of Scotland’s Creative Economy, with MSPs from across the chamber setting out priorities and perspectives on culture. This blog provides a brief overview and some key takeaways from Culture Counts’ perspective. We’d highly recommend watching back or reading the transcript of the debate.
The full text of the debate can be read here
The recording of the debate can be watched here
This was a debate on a Government motion in the name of Màiri McAllan MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic. The purpose of such debates is to allow MSPs from across parties to debate an issue, put their parties' positions on the record, and vote on the motion and any amendments.
The Cabinet Secretary’s motion (full text below) focused on recognising the contribution of culture and the creative industries to Scotland’s economy, communities and international reputation.
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S7M-01304: That the Parliament recognises the significant contribution that Scotland's culture and creative sectors make to the nation's economy, communities and international reputation; notes that these sectors support employment, innovation and skills development across all parts of Scotland; celebrates the success of Scotland's artists, creative businesses, festivals, cultural organisations and screen sector in showcasing Scottish creativity at home and abroad; welcomes the commitment to establish Screen Scotland as a distinct public body, in light of the sector’s potential for growth and the benefits of inward investment and domestic production to the Scottish economy; notes the value of the public service broadcasting ecosystem to the wider screen sector and the importance of broadcasters fulfilling their obligations to Scottish audiences and creative industries; acknowledges the importance of ensuring that creative career pathways are accessible and sustainable for people from all backgrounds; recognises the role that culture and creativity play in strengthening community cohesion and improving wellbeing; welcomes the Scottish Government’s ongoing efforts and increased investment to support growth within the creative economy and to develop opportunities for creative workers and businesses; recognises also the unique and welcome contribution that Gaelic and Scots language and culture make to enriching Scotland’s society and economy, and supports continued collaboration across all of society to realise the full economic, cultural and social potential of Scotland's creative industries.
MSPs from all parties put forward amendments, adding specific priorities to the motion before Parliament voted on it. The final motion passed with amendments from the Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats. (Full text of the final motion below).
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S7M-01304: That the Parliament recognises the significant contribution that Scotland's culture and creative sectors make to the nation's economy, communities and international reputation; notes that these sectors support employment, innovation and skills development across all parts of Scotland; celebrates the success of Scotland's artists, creative businesses, festivals, cultural organisations and screen sector in showcasing Scottish creativity at home and abroad; welcomes the commitment to establish Screen Scotland as a distinct public body, in light of the sector's potential for growth and the benefits of inward investment and domestic production to the Scottish economy; notes the value of the public service broadcasting ecosystem to the wider screen sector and the importance of broadcasters fulfilling their obligations to Scottish audiences and creative industries; acknowledges the importance of ensuring that creative career pathways are accessible and sustainable for people from all backgrounds; recognises the role that culture and creativity play in strengthening community cohesion and improving wellbeing; welcomes the Scottish Government's ongoing efforts and increased investment to support growth within the creative economy and to develop opportunities for creative workers and businesses; recognises also the unique and welcome contribution that Gaelic and Scots language and culture make to enriching Scotland's society and economy; supports continued collaboration across all of society to realise the full economic, cultural and social potential of Scotland's creative industries; recognises that fair work, including fair pay, secure contracts and safe working conditions, remains a significant challenge across parts of the creative sector, particularly for freelance and self-employed workers, who make up the majority of the workforce; calls on the Scottish Government to publish an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Culture Fair Work Task Force, which was published in December 2025; welcomes the Scottish Government's engagement with consultations for a proposed Culture and Arts Bill and believes that this Bill, developed through meaningful consultation with artists and the culture sector, would provide a lasting legislative foundation for supporting Scotland's creative industries; calls for the Bill to be ambitious and inclusive of grassroots organisations and individuals; notes that the games sector contributes around £200m annually to the Scottish economy, employs over 2,000 people and has produced internationally recognised success stories; considers, however, that there are opportunities to grow the sector further and better compete with other countries around Europe, and calls on the Scottish Government to unlock investment and growth in the games sector by establishing a national games innovation centre alongside regional hubs as a means of developing expertise, research, fair work, business skills and low-cost office space for start-up studios
For Culture Counts, there were some particularly welcome developments in the final motion, as well as a number of areas where the evidence and work of the sector were directly reflected in the debate.
Culture and Arts Bill
From our perspective, one of the most significant additions to the motion was a clear reference to the proposed Culture and Arts Bill.
Thanks to Q Manivannan MSP's amendment, 89 of 129 MSPs have now backed the Scottish Government's commitment to consult on a Bill. They also agreed that a Bill developed through meaningful consultation with artists and the culture sector would provide "a lasting legislative foundation for supporting Scotland's creative industries"
Making the case for cultural legislation is a core part of Culture Counts' work, so it was encouraging to see Parliament back the principle of taking consultation and development work forward.
Fair work
The other major addition that came through the Scottish Greens’ amendment was recognition that fair work remains a significant challenge across parts of the creative sector, particularly for freelance and self-employed workers.
The final motion calls on the Scottish Government to publish an update on implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Culture Fair Work Task Force, published in December 2025.
Culture Counts was a member of that Task Force, so we were particularly pleased to see its recommendations featured in the debate.
The issue was also raised directly with the Government during the debate, who confirmed that implementation work is in progress and that an update will be provided in due course.
For a sector where freelance and self-employed workers make up such a large part of the workforce, turning the recommendations of the Task Force into action remains an important next step.
Topics covered:
The debate was wide ranging, MSPs discussed:
Funding for culture, including multiyear funding and support for the national performing companies,
fair work, low pay and the insecurity many freelance and self-employed workers face,
the proposed Scottish artists minimum income pilot,
access and participation, including the youth culture pass, free instrumental music tuition and the film and screen curriculum,
how cultural funding is spread across Scotland, and the need to support rural areas and places outside the central belt,
establishing of Screen Scotland as a distinct public body,
public service broadcasting, BBC spending in Scotland and funding for Gaelic broadcasting,
Gaelic, Scots and British Sign Language,
festivals, including the pressures of rising costs in Edinburgh,
venues and cultural spaces, and the pressures on them from business rates, rising costs and local authority budgets,
skills, colleges and routes into creative careers,
the games sector,
freedom of expression and the arm's-length principle
how the value of culture should be measured.
Throughout, there was broad cross-party recognition of the importance of culture and creativity to Scotland, economically, socially and in Scotland's international reputation. MSPs from every party gave examples from their own constituencies, from festivals to grassroots venues and community arts organisations. The disagreements were more often about mechanics of how the sector should be supported, what role the Government should play and how culture's value should be understood.
In closing the debate, Alyn Smith MSP, Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education, said that "the answer does not necessarily involve legislation" and described the consultation as a way to "focus minds" and bring people into the discussion.
Progress towards a meaningful consultation on the question of legislation is a huge opportunity. Providing a chance to step back from individual policies and look at the bigger picture - how different parts of government and the wider public sector can best work together, and with artists and cultural organisations, to support a sector that reaches across Scotland's economy, communities and public life. During the debate, David Green MSP mentioned our recent evidence in relation to Public Service Reform. With the Scottish Government pursuing such an ambitious programme of public service reform, now is the right time to consider how culture's contribution to health, wellbeing, education and communities can be properly recognised and supported.
In our view, the breadth of the issues raised in the debate shows precisely why dedicated legislation is needed. All of the issues raised by MSPs are interconnected, and individual interventions will only take us so far if they are developed in isolation. A Bill could provide the framework for bringing these strands together, creating a more coherent and long-term approach, and the conditions for Scotland's vital and vibrant cultural and creative sector to thrive.