Scottish Parliament Election 2021: Manifesto Summaries

* Prioritise the protection of libraries and cultural hubs to promote digital inclusion and skills development.

* Contribute to the revival of our town centres by supporting the repurposing of commercial properties into low carbon artists’ spaces such as studios, venues, cinemas, workshops and production facilities.

* Amend the Scottish Government Sustainable Procurement Strategy to allow artists, creative freelancers and microbusinesses equal access to procurement opportunities.

* Extend the Scottish Government’s Culture Collective scheme, which supports creative practitioners and communities to work together in adapting to the impacts of the pandemic, while providing vital employment for freelance artists.

* Develop an ‘embedded artists’ scheme that places artists and creative thinkers in local and national government, utilising their unique ways of thinking and working to imagine and co-design new spaces and systems for communities, economies and participatory democracy.

* Encourage collaborative working between the health and cultural sectors, involving arts organisations in the delivery of health and wellbeing in all Health and Social Care Partnership areas, and support initiatives such as A Sense of Belonging in Edinburgh, which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing through participation in the arts.

* Require those in receipt of public funding to demonstrate alignment with national carbon reduction targets

* Create a cultural leadership scheme to ensure that people from diverse backgrounds are heard at an early stage across Scottish Government cultural policy making.

* Support the introduction of a mandatory quota for recruitment of artists from minority ethnic backgrounds for organisations in receipt of public funding.

* Support calls to remove barriers for people with disabilities to play, learn, compose and perform music, and to create drama training pathways for people with learning disabilities.

* Create an Innovative and Accessible Culture Fund to support artists’ upskilling in the use of technologies to produce more accessible work.

* Mandate studios supported or owned by the Government, such as Kelvin Hall, to insist on an appropriate percentage of their workforce coming from the local area, and to make their studio facilities available for training and skills development for people across Scotland.

* Strengthen Screen Scotland’s funding criteria to ensure that larger productions in particular support the sustainability of the Scottish film and television workforce through training programmes and apprenticeships.

* Create a standalone Scottish Screen Agency with a Board made up of at least 50% industry professionals, rotating on a 3-year basis similar to equivalent agencies across Europe.

* Tackle the ‘lift and shift’ problem by tightening the definition of what makes a Scottish production, including what counts as a ‘substantive base’.

* Push for a free cultural work permit that gives artists visa-free travel throughout the EU, minimising the harm from Brexit on their livelihoods and artistic development.

* Create an Office for Cultural Exchange to facilitate European and international touring, festivals and residencies.

* Develop a comprehensive strategy for tackling disinformation and raising media literacy, including public information campaigns and integration across the Curriculum for Excellence, particularly in Personal and Social Education.

* Establish an independent office to coordinate efforts to tackle disinformation, either through extending the remit of the Scottish Information Commissioner or creating a separate commissioner’s office.

* Establish an interest-free loan fund to assist the buyout of local titles by their workforce or community on a cooperative or Community Interest Company model.

* Develop a match-funding scheme to help small businesses and charities advertise in their local media.

* Push for a fairer deal on streaming so that musicians and writers receive a greater share of the royalties from their music than record labels, streaming platforms and big tech companies.

* Give every primary pupil the opportunity to learn and develop through expressive arts such as music, drama, visual art and dance as both a participant and an audience member.

* Ensure that the experiences offered to children and young people are diverse in terms of content as well as artists represented, including diversity of ethnicity, class and disability

* Support cultural ventures in all the languages of Scotland.

* Encourage the use of Gaelic, Scots and Doric as well as the languages of those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

* Improve the provision of Gaelic language at home and in secondary, higher and further education.

* The pandemic has also had a devastating impact on already fragile creative industries, and our recovery plan will help restart the sector and support those who work in it. The arts and culture sector needs a long-term recovery plan that is able to respond and support the sector. It was one of the first to shut and will be among the last to fully open. People’s livelihoods have been decimated and too many have fallen through the cracks. Financial support for freelancers needs to continue and we need more investment if skills and talent are to stay in the sector and be supported into the sector.

* We need to better recognise the role our cultural and creative industries have in contributing to our economy and society. Just 0.2% of the Scottish budget is spent on culture and we get so much back for so little investment. We will establish a baseline for cultural spending that reflects its value and delivers a greater share of Scottish Government budget. We willembed Good Work principles into the sector, and achieve trade union rates for the job.

* There are too many economic and social barriers preventing those from more deprived communities, those with long-term health conditions, and the older generation from benefiting from all that culture has to offer, from being in the audience to performing and creating. Local authorities must be properly funded in order to support culture provision and activities, and to establish a fund for engaging marginalised groups. We also support the introduction of arts officers in local authorities. We will establish a Cultural Rucksack Programme to ensure that every child has access to artistic and cultural experiences, based on the successful Norwegian scheme.

* Scotland has a vibrant music scene which needs support to thrive. We believe grassroots music venues should be supported by continuing business rates relief after the pandemic.

* The film and TV sector is growing and the demand for content is high. Scotland must be able to compete in this market and Scottish Labour will work to increase Scottish-based production and broadcasting, and for more opportunities to develop those skills including through clear routes into the industry. We support the introduction of new qualifications in filmmaking for SCQF levels 4, 5 and Higher, which is similar to the Northern Irish qualification, opening up more opportunities for young people to have a pathway into the industry.

* Very little progress has been made in addressing the decline of the Gaelic language in its heartlands. Scottish Labour will work with Bord na Gàidhlig and local authorities to revitalise the Gaelic development strategy, emphasising its importance to the socio-economic regeneration of native Gaelic speaking communities. Scottish Labour will also maintain our history of support for Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the National Centre for the Gaelic Language and Culture. As a critical comparator, the Welsh language enjoys greater protection and significantly more government investment in terms of Welsh language, culture and the arts and Welsh TV channel, S4C. The goal is to make Gaelic not only the language of the classroom but the language of the playground, at home and through social media.

* Scottish Labour supports the creation of a national framework, if necessary backed by a statutory duty, that protects and expands the essential cultural, social infrastructure in our communities. This includes local museums, historical sites, battlefields, libraries and archivist services. We will also deliver a programme of support for working-class history. All areas of Scotland should have a vibrant arts offer which is accessible, supported and employs people from a diverse range of backgrounds. We support the introduction of an Arts Bill which places a statutory responsibility onto local authorities to deliver an arts plan supported by a fair funding deal for local authorities. Many Scottish theatres, cultural institutions, museums, art galleries and cinemas, particularly those run independently, are at the greatest risk of closure because of the impact of Covid-19; Scottish Labour is committed to supporting them to maintain their long-term presence in the sector.

* Creative festivals in Scotland have grown significantly over the last decade. Their survival will be, in part, dependent upon a strong return to tourism, and additional interim support will be necessary. As part of any recovery deal, we must ensure that festivals, big and small, are affordable and accessible to everyone.

* Many services have transferred to leisure trusts. In consultation with local authorities, we will develop a framework and funding plan to reintegrate these services back into local government. Scottish Labour will properly fund local authorities to support the arts and sport within their area.

* Scottish Labour will support the designation of new National Parks (including coastal, marine and city parks), recognising that National Scenic Area designation is insufficient. We support creating an Outdoor Recreation Champion within government to strengthen the understanding of the role outdoor recreation can play in delivering policies. This also requires long-term investment so that everyone everywhere can enjoy all the benefits of being active outdoors in a way that respects the environment and nature while continuing to support our economy. This includes expanding ranger services and investing in activities suitable for older people or those with a disability to reduce social isolation.

* Protect performance, rehearsal and exhibition spaces that are at risk because of the lower footfall legacy of the pandemic.

* Step up support for in-person performance with the aim to get more arts into more communities than ever before, to inspire and entertain.

* Set up a government-backed cancellation insurance guarantee so that producers have confidence to begin preparations for new shows.

* Support seat purchase initiatives to help shows go ahead with social distancing.

* Develop a new initiative to have more high-quality Scottish arts performances available digitally.

* Work towards a Creative Schools initiative to support the arts equivalent to Active Schools for sports.

* To aid future planning and recovery, we will agree 3 year funding settlements for Scottish Government core funded cultural organisations.

* We will also continue our culture recovery funding to get support to those who continue to be significantly affected by restrictions.

* We will protect free access to our National Galleries and Museums and continue to fund non-national museums and galleries through support for Museums & Galleries Scotland.

* We will expand our Culture Collective programme, giving artists and communities the length and breadth of Scotland even more opportunities to collaborate on creative activity, supporting a sustainable creative recovery from the pandemic.

* We will establish our first regularly funded Youth National Performing Company, to showcase the creative gifts of Scotland’s young people, and help grow the talent of tomorrow.

* We will create a new £2 million fund for public artwork which broadens the range of representation in public spaces of Scotland’s history and culture, in particular the contribution of women and minority ethnic communities.

* Recognising their vibrancy as well as their potential for domestic and international growth, we will work with Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland to improve the business support available to creative industries toensure a better breadth of expertise is available for the many different parts of the sector.

* We will support tax relief for culture and creative industries including the games sector, high-end and children’s TV production, animation, film, theatre and orchestras.

* We will also support the digital capabilities of artists and creative businesses with a £1 million programme of workshops, mentoring and courses.

* We will call on the UK Government to work with the EU to deliver free movement for performers, artists, musicians and freelancers, and ensure there are no-barriers to those looking to tour and perform in Scotland and the UK.

* And we will utilise our international network to better support Scottish-based artists to work internationally, and help to facilitate new cultural connections between Scotland and the rest of the world.

* Dundee is the first UNESCO City of Design in the UK, recognising the huge contribution the city has made to design worldwide. To build on this prestigious award, we will support V&A Dundee to become a National Centre for Design, working in close partnership with organisations from across Scotland.

* Our screen sector has gone from strength to strength in recent years, supported by the creation of Screen Scotland and new studio infrastructure.

* We want to build on this success to make Scotland the go-to destination for production.We will support studio space in Scotland and double skills provision, boosting training, apprenticeships and skills opportunities.

* We will call on the BBC to increase production from Scotland, and appoint more commissioners in Scotland.

* We will continue the highly successful EXPO fund for Edinburgh’s major festivals, Celtic Connections and Glasgow International, reviewing how it can continue to meet its aims of ensuring the Festivals maintain their global competitive edge, increasing the funding available to Scottish artists and practitioners, and encouraging creative collaborations.

* Taking Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town, as a model, we will extend the reach of the arts by launching an open competition for further National Towns of Culture for example, Scotland’s National Live Music Town, Folk and Trad Town, or Scotland’s Visual Art Town.

* Gaelic is an integral part of Scotland’s culture and we remain committed to ensuring it has a sustainable long-term future. In particular we will have a focus on arresting the intensifying language shift in the remaining vernacular communities.

* We will also explore the creation of a recognised Gàidhealtachd to raise levels of language competence and the provision of more services through the medium of Gaelic and extend opportunities to use Gaelic in every-day situations and formal settings. In particular, we need to ensure specific support that makes it possible for the Gaelic language to be used more often in the home and community.