Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Ahead of Budget 2023-24, the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee (âthe Committeeâ) sought views on the impact of budgetary decisions, including the , on the culture sector in Scotland.
This aligned with the Committeeâs agreed approach to focus primarily on the culture spending portfolio in our pre-budget scrutiny throughout Session 6, and followed up on our scrutiny for Budget 2022-23, Funding for Culture, and on the Resource Spending Review Framework.
The was open from 24 June until 19 August 2022 and received 37 submissions which have been published online. The Committee took evidence at its meetings on 22 September, 29 September, and 6 October 2022, and held an online focus group with grassroots cultural organisations.
In our previous budget scrutiny, the Committee recommended a number of potential innovative responses to the significant budgetary challenges faced by the culture sector. Since then, the challenges have become much more acute. As discussed below, the sector now faces a "perfect storm" as it struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by the cost of living crisis, and following on from longer term budget pressures.
Our view is that this means there is an increased urgency for the Scottish Government to accelerate consideration and implementation of an innovative approach to the funding of the culture sector. We discuss some of these approaches below.
The Committee heard sobering evidence that the culture and heritage sectors are experiencing significant financial pressures, contributed to by a âperfect stormâ ofâ
Long-term budget pressures
Reduced income generation
Increased operating costs
Workforce issues.
The extent of this challenge is well summarised by the National Galleries of Scotlandâ
After the immediate crisis experienced by our sector during COVID, which was eased with significant Government support, we now face what is if anything an even greater short and medium-term challenge. Visitor numbers and the related income generation are still below pre-COVID levels and this is likely to be the case until at least 2025. At the same time, costs are increasing rapidly (energy costs are a major factor for museums and galleries) and there is intense pressure to address the cost of living crisis being experienced by staff; there is also increased demand on private sources of funding; and additional pressures arising from the need to address the climate emergency. In addition, current salary levels in the public sector meant that it is often hard to recruit and retain staff in key technical roles.1
Creative Scotland suggest that the recovery of the culture sector is âfragile and gradualâ, with the benefits delivered by the COVID-19 emergency support being âmore than overtaken by a âperfect stormâ of factors.â2 We consider some of these factors below.
A key theme in the submissions the Committee received is the extent to which long-term budget pressuresâcombined with further fiscal pressure arising from the Scottish Governmentâs Resource Spending Review (RSR)âare impacting on the culture sector. The Committee notes that these budgetary pressures were previously identified by the Session 5 Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs (CTEEA) Committee.
The CTEEA Committee considered budget lines relevant to the funding of the arts in the Scottish Governmentâs budget between 2010-11 and 2019-20 in its inquiry on a sustainable arts funding system for Scotland. This included the level 3 budget line for Creative Scotland and the Other Arts. SPICe have updated the figures to include 2020-21 to 2022-23 and these are shown in Figure 1 below.
The CTEEA Committee noted the âreal-terms reduction in funding for the arts.â Its report highlighted that Creative Scotlandâs âcore revenue budget has reduced over the period by approximately ÂŁ9.2m at 2019-20 prices.â1 SPICe advise that in real terms, Creative Scotlandâs core revenue budget has reduced by approximately ÂŁ13.1m (2022-23 prices) between 2010-11 and 2022-23.i

The CTEEA Committee also noted the ârelatively low proportion of GDP spend on the arts compared to other EU countries.â1 Similar issues were raised in the evidence we received. Festivals Edinburgh contrasted the approach to funding culture in Scotland with that of Europe, identifying that âthere is a gap of about a third between the average levels of funding across the European Union and the levels of funding in Scotland and the United Kingdomâ which ârepresents hundreds of millions of pounds a yearâ.3Similarly, Culture Counts highlighted that âScotlandâs spend on culture as a percentage of GDP is one of the lowest in Europeâ.4
Historic Environment Scotlandsuggested there was a need to âchange the narrativeâ from the culture, heritage and historic environment sectors being seen as ânice-to-havesâ to being âfundamentalâ to many Government priorities. It noted that the sector contributes to âthe agendas of todayâ, including climate, net zero, wellbeing, inclusion, education, economic development, and community wealth building.5
Dance Base outlined that âif we believe in the value of culture, there must also be an understanding that we have to fund the sector properlyâ, but also suggested that âif we have an envelope that cannot be expanded, we must understand that we might need to have slightly fewer ambitions than we have currently to ensure that we have a sector that works properlyâ.6
The Committee was told that the emergency financial support provided by the Scottish Government during the COVID-19 pandemic had been essential in helping many cultural organisations to stay afloat. Museums Galleries Scotland noted that it was âremarkableâ that no museums or galleries were lost as a result of the pandemic, owed to the sector being âvery generously supported by the Scottish Governmentâ during this time.5
Creative Scotland cited a recently published report from an independent review of their COVID-19 emergency funding programmes from March 2020 to September 2021, the value which totalled ÂŁ85m. The review found that the emergency funds had âplayed a vital role in sustaining the creative sector throughout the worst of the pandemicâ, with 82% of organisations surveyed saying that the funds had prevented job losses and insolvency.8 The Committee also heard from grassroots cultural organisations that they benefited from this emergency funding being more flexible, less outcomes-focused, and placing trust in them to deliver.
A number of our witnesses emphasised the impact of the longer-term real decline in the culture budget. Creative Scotland considered that there is a longer-term issue underpinning âthe financial fragilities in the sectorâ which âpre-date the pandemicâ and are âonce again being accentuated in the current climateâ.9 National Galleries of Scotland said that âthe rootsâ of the current financial challengesâ"the like of which never before witnessed or, indeed, imaginedâââlie in patterns of funding across a longer periodâ.5 Dance Base and Festivals Edinburgh also pointed to there being a âmismatch between how we value culture and how we fund itâ.6
The independent review of Creative Scotlandâs COVID-19 emergency funding programmes found that there was a view in the sector that âthe pandemic had exposed years of under-funding for cultural organisations and structural weaknessesâ, with questions about âthe future shape and scale of the sectorâ remaining.8
National Museums Scotland explained that âeven without Covid, over the last 10 years we have experienced a real-terms decrease in Grant-in-Aid of over 18%â, with âno allowance for inflationâ. It added that âany increases in Grant-in-Aid since 2017/18 have been directly attributable to Scottish Government Pay Policy which has increased payroll costs by ÂŁ3.1million, with Grant-in-Aid increased by ÂŁ2.9millionâ. Without increases in grant-in-aid, âthe shortfall in funding will have a direct impactâ on the services it offers.13
Historic Environment Scotland warned that investment in the historic environment despite current financial pressures was vital, to avoid âlong-term implicationsâ and meet the Scottish Governmentâs net zero ambitions. Museums Galleries Scotland said it had not assessed the cost of achieving net zero through the building infrastructure as âthere is no sight of where the funding would come fromâ. National Galleries of Scotland said these costs would be âsubstantialâ but that funding to meet net zero targets is as yet ânot identifiedâ.5
Creative Scotland recognised that many organisations it funds on a regular, multi-year basis âhave received unchanged levels of funding, for a number of yearsâ and that this is âincreasingly unviableâ as it represents âan increasing year-on-year cut for organisationsâ.9 Scotlandâs Workshops said that organisations in its network had âseen 7 years of standstill fundingâ from Creative Scotland,16 while Dance Base said that in 2023-24 it would be receiving standstill funding from Creative Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council at the same cash levels as 2011.17
At the local authority level, COSLA and CIPFA Directors of Finance Section said that culture and leisure services âhave already seen decreased investment as a result on pressure on Councilâs core budgetsâ.18 The Accounts Commission previously highlighted to the Committee that local government spending on cultural and other related services had reduced by 13.9% in real terms between 2013/14 and 2018/19.19
A number of submissions also raised concerns about the level of indicative funding for the culture sector in the RSR. The allocation for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio is set out in Table 1.
| Table 1: Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Portfolio Spending Plans | ||||||||
| Level 2* | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |||
| ÂŁłž | ÂŁłž | ÂŁłž | ÂŁłž | ÂŁłž | ||||
| External Affairs | 33 | 35 | 38 | 39 | 40 | |||
| Referendum | - | 20 | - | - | - | |||
| National Records of Scotland | 22 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 23 | |||
| Historic Environment Scotland | 61 | 63 | 58 | 55 | 48 | |||
| Culture and Major Events | 177 | 173 | 173 | 177 | 183 | |||
| Total | 294 | 314 | 294 | 294 | 294 | |||
SPICe advise that should these spending plans prove accurate, there would be an estimated real terms fall of 7.8% in the overall Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio budget between 2022-23 and 2026-27ii. The funding for Culture and Major Events would fall in real terms by an estimated 4.7%. The fall in spending on Historic Environment Scotland is also significant; however, this is substantially due to modelling of increased incomeas visitor numbers increase. For context, the resource grant-in-aid budget of Historic Environment Scotland in 2019/20 was ÂŁ33.8 million.
COSLA said that the RSR would represent a 7% real terms reduction in funding for local government to 2026-27, with therefore less to spend on frontline culture and leisure services.18
National Galleries of Scotland outlined that the âdraft decisions set out in the RSRâ, with its âgrant-in-aid remaining staticâ, would âinevitably lead to reduced levels of serviceâ and a reduced ability âto meet the expectations and needs of the public from a national cultural bodyâ.21
Director-General Sir John Leighton said that National Galleries of Scotland faces a âcrisisâ which will âlead to a severely reduced offerâ. He added: âit would be no exaggeration to say that, as I look to next year and beyond, I am thinking that this is about how we protect the collection, keep the lights on and doors openâand that is it.â However, the Committee heard that reducing services and closing premises would have an impact on organisationsâ abilities to generate incomeâa âvicious downward spiralâ.5
Creative Scotland stated that while it does not have certainty as regards its budget allocation from Scottish Government, âthe indications are that significant cuts are likelyâ following the RSR. As a considerable proportion of Creative Scotlandâs grant-in-aid supports its Regular Funding programme for cultural organisations, it anticipates the budget available for this would therefore reduce.9
The Committee consistently heard that the current model of funding for culture is unsustainable. In Creative Scotlandâs view, âsustained public funding is the lynchpinâ to supporting the culture and creative sector, warning that âwe are at a pivotal momentâ.9 Festivals Edinburgh identified that âincreasing financial resilience is a vital component of rebuilding a more sustainable culture sectorâ and called for a recognition of this fact to âbe at the core of budgetary policy into 2023-24 given the inflation shocks being sustainedâ.3
The Musiciansâ Union concluded that the culture sector ânow requires significant investment in order to recover and thriveâ.26 This was a view shared by National Galleries of Scotland, which said the priority for the Scottish Government should be to âsupport the sector with additional funding to allow organisations to recover until income streams returnâ.21
The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture ('the Cabinet Secretary') told us that the RSR âenvelope for culture and major events for the next financial year is ÂŁ172.8 million, which is a cash reduction of ÂŁ4.2 million, or 2.3 per cent.â He also pointed out that this âdoes not include the impact of inflation, which shows that there is already a challenge before inflation is factored in and, indeed, before the possible further public spending cuts that are being trailed by UK ministers.â28
In June 2022, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy told the Committee that the Scottish Government had âworked extremely hard to protect the culture linesâalbeit in cash terms rather than real termsâ and highlighted that âthere is no way round the fact that inflation is eating our spending power.â29 The Medium-Term Financial Strategy which accompanied the RSR estimated that âincreased cost of living and inflationary pressuresâ would have âsignificant impacts on the purchasing power of budgetsâ.30
However, several organisations identified that standstill, flat cash funding settlements equate to real terms reductions in funding when considering inflation, and that this long-term pattern in public funding for culture is a central component of the "perfect storm" that is posing cultural organisations significant financial challenges at present.
The Committee also heard that reduced income generation is an additional challenge as the culture sector struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, with this compounded by the cost of living crisis.
National Galleries of Scotland cited that visitor numbers and related income generation were below pre-pandemic levels, with this likely to be the case until 2025.1 The trade union Prospect said that it would take âyearsâ for the culture sector to recover from the pandemic.2
Historic Environment Scotland told the Committee that ârecovery has probably happened a bit faster than we had anticipatedâ, with visitor numbers âahead of where we expected them to beâ. However, Museums Galleries Scotland thought recovery had âstalledâ, with reduced visitor numbers and âthose visitors who are coming are spending about half what they did in the pastâ.3 Dance Base pointed to a decline in paid-for-activity of around 20%, while Community Leisure UK said that its members had reported that return rates had âstagnated at between 70 and 80 per cent of pre-Covid footfall [including in] free-to-access cultural facilitiesâ.4
Wider budget pressures in the heritage sector were also cited, with Institute for Conservation (ICON) pointing to the increasing âburden of maintenance and repairâ,5 while Historic Environment Scotland said its ability to generate income has been impacted by its inspection programme and associated access restrictions at many of its sites.6 Its Chief Executive, Alex Paterson, suggested that there are ways in which Historic Environment Scotland could generate income if it had the ability to âretain and investâ that income, noting that the organisation âcannot carry reserves across multiple yearsâ and operates within other restrictions.3
Concerns were also raised in submissions to the Committee that the cost of living crisis would further adversely affect income generation, anticipating that consumers would deprioritise leisure spending due to reductions in disposable incomes. Recent research by Historic Environment Scotland found that â65-70% of people in the UK are already cutting back on disposable income spendâ.3 Dance Base told the Committee that âin a situation in which peopleâs discretionary spending is really under pressure, it is pretty difficult to imagine that that market will perform well over the next few months.â4
While cultural organisations remain in a process of recovery from the pandemic, the Committee heard of significant concerns regarding the impact of increased operating costs resulting from the cost of living crisis. National Galleries of Scotland characterised the crisis as âan even greater short and medium-term challenge than Covidâ.1 Community Leisure UK said its members saw this as a âcrisis far beyondâ the levels of the pandemic.2
Organisations reported various increased costs, including for materials, rent for premises, staffing, and, in particular, energy bills. Examples included Dance Base Scotland, which said its energy costs were estimated to rise from ÂŁ35k to ÂŁ160k,3 Historic Environment Scotland, which could see a quadrupling in its energy bill from ÂŁ1 million to ÂŁ4 million,4 and Scotlandâs Workshops, whose member organisations face up to a 300% increase in energy bills.5 Scottish Artists Union also pointed to a 16% rise in some studio rents.6
Music Venue Trust warned that commercial energy prices are placing the grassroots music venue sector âat risk of closureâ, with the work of stabilising venues throughout the pandemic âat risk of being underminedâ.7 Similarly, Museums Galleries Scotland said that many grassroots civic museums face âa very real, immediate risk of closureâ.8
Dance Base described the reality facing building-based cultural organisations as âdireâ, with it facing the potential threat of âsignificant staff reductions, closure or sale of premises and a cessation of activityâ. It called for financial support to bridge into the new long-term funding arrangements from Creative Scotland planned for 2024, noting that the organisation âmay not survive until that pointâ.3
In September 2022, the UK Government announced an , which would provide discounts on wholesale gas and electricity prices for businesses, charities, and the public sector, and an equivalent for households. However Dance Base suggested that while âthe support will certainly make a big differenceâ, the âannouncement might not be quite as good as it seemedâ and would still lead to vastly increased costs.2
Festivals Edinburgh suggested there should be âan emergency reviewâ of the Regularly Funded Organisations that have âearly cliff edgesâ in their energy deals.2 Community Leisure UK called upon the Scottish Government to provide âemergency support for local authorities and culture charities who are facing financial crisis as a result of soaring energy and operating costsâ.12
The Committee heard that organisations were experiencing significant challenges of recruitment and retentionâreferred to by Community Leisure UK as a âstaffing crisisâ1âand concerns were raised of how a reduction in the skilled cultural workforce could impact the future of the sector. National Galleries of Scotland said that public sector salary levels presented challenges for them in recruiting and retaining staff.2
According to Prospect, many of its members are reporting that âit is becoming harder to be able to affordâ to work in the culture sector, and that there was a risk of skilled staff leaving the sector. However, that organisations âcannot afford inflationary pay rises because their budgets simply do not allow thatâ.1
This challenge was also reflected in the focus group discussion with smaller, grassroots cultural organisations, with it recognised that cultural organisations in the community and voluntary sectors are often low paying. One organisation said it had not been able to offer staff a pay rise in eight years, while another argued that offering staff the living wage needs to be factored into funding packages.
COSLA also outlined that âthe flat cash settlement for local government gives no scope to recognise appropriately within the context of the now increasing cost-of-living crisis, the essential work of staff and the value placed on such rolesâ, which âexacerbates the staff recruitment and retention issues that have been increasing for a number of yearsâ.4
In response to recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture (NPC), the Scottish Government outlined the commitment to âintroduce a requirement on public sector grants recipients to pay at least the real Living Wage to all employeesâ by Summer 2022, adding that it will âtake forward work with Creative Scotland on implementing Fair Work First amongst the organisations that they fund.â However, in âthe context of Covid recovery and renewal, and the cost of living crisis, the Scottish Government acknowledges that it will take time to implement this agenda in a sustainable way.â5
Historic Environment Scotland, which identified âskills gaps and shortages in key trades such as stone masonryâ also called for more investment in education and skills âto make sure Scotland has the workforce needed to carry out the workâ of maintaining, restoring and adapting historic buildings.6
Edinburgh Printmakers warned of the costs of losing the skills in Scotlandâs cultural base and called upon this to be preserved: âWe have spent the past 65- or 70-years training and educating people and building expertise in arts organisations. If we let that go, what would it cost to get it back in the future?â.1
In Museums Galleries Scotlandâs view, âsustainable funding could ensure long-term security for the sector through a more permanent workforce as well as maximise the benefits of skills training to ensure the value of that training can be realised and retained within the culture sector.â8
The Committee also heard that many freelancers, which represent a significant proportion of the culture workforce, had already left the sector, having struggled to access financial support during the pandemic. Creative & Cultural Skills said that the pandemic accentuated âthe instability of the freelance network on whom the sector dependsâ, with this precarity continuing âto create challenges which inhibit recoveryâ as skilled workers leave the sector for more secure employment.9 Federation of Scottish Theatreâs view was that ârecovery for the freelance workforce overall is painful and protractedâ and âremains a real crisisâ.10
Bòrd na GĂ idhlig said there is a âneed to understand how any reduction in freelance numbers has affected the organisations that use themâ.11 With a âcritical shortage of technical staffâ, Community Leisure UK warned that there is an âurgent need for investment in the workforce to ensure that any skills gaps are met and addressedâ.12
The Committee recognises the impact on the culture sector of the long-term budget pressures previously identified by the Session 5 CTEEA Committee and the further fiscal pressure arising from the RSR.The Committee also recognises that the culture sectorâs fragile recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is vulnerable due to the significant additional challenges arising from the cost of living crisis and increased operating costs, especially higher energy costs. At the same time, the Committee recognises that other areas of the Scottish Governmentâs budget are also under considerable pressure and there are therefore no easy budgetary solutions in tackling the considerable difficulties facing the culture sector.
The Committee is therefore strongly of the view that the current crisis provides an opportunity to accelerate innovative solutions to the budgetary pressures within the sector. We consider these in more detail below.
The Committee examined some of the potential responses to this "perfect storm" while recognising that the challenges which are being faced by the culture sector are also being faced more widely across all areas funded by the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary told us that the âcombination of the on-going cost of living crisis, high inflation and the forecast recession has increased demand for Government funding.â He also explained that the Scottish Governmentâs Budget âis worth about ÂŁ1.7 billion less than when it was announced in December, with inflation having risen from 4 per cent to 9.9 per cent in the meantime.â1
Within the context of the impact of the tight fiscal environment, the Committee considered the following areas, some of which have arisen in our previous budget scrutiny, as possible ways of responding to budgetary pressures within the culture sectorâ
Additional public and private investment
Mainstreaming culture
Multi-year funding.
The Scottish Governmentâs independent Advisory Group on Economic Recovery in the wake of COVID-19 recommended that Ministers should, in relation to the creative sector, seek âways to increase public and private investment across the sector to allow it to recover and competeâ.1 Some of these are discussed below.
Culture Counts were among several organisations to argue that additional revenue could be raised through a âPercentage for the Artsâ scheme, which would create a requirement for a percentage of the overall cost of a construction project for new public buildings, places or spaces to be spent on public art.1 The Session 5 CTEEA Committee recommended that the Scottish Government investigate how such as policy âcould be established in Scotland to create additional investment in arts and culture and to embed it in planning for Scotlandâs creative future.â2
The then Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Pay and Culture responded that âthe principle of a percentage for the arts scheme is worth further considerationâ but âwe need first to take into account the current economic context and the challenges, in particular, faced by the construction sector.â3 The Programme for Government 2021-22 stated that the Scottish Government would âbegin work on establishing a âPercentage for the Artsâ scheme to require that a small percentage of spending on all new public buildings and spaces is channelled into support for culture and community art commissions.â4
Festivals Edinburgh said the resulting proceeds of a Percentage for the Arts scheme could âreportedly be much more than Creative Scotlandâs annual budgetâ and that âthis is a potentially transformative opportunity that must be a priority to developâ.5
The Committee notes that the Scottish Government stated in reply to a written question on progress in establishing a Percentage for the Arts scheme on 29 April 2022 that âwe are currently in the initial stages of scoping this commitment, which requires us to take into account analytical, regulatory and legislative considerations. We expect to be able to share more information on this work in the coming months.â6
The Committeeâs view is that, given the "perfect storm" facing the culture sector, there is an increased urgency to progressing additional revenue streams such as the Percentage for the Arts scheme.The Committee urges the Cabinet Secretary to provide an update as soon as practical on progress in establishing the Percentage for the Arts scheme.
Other organisations, including Community Leisure UK, suggested that Transient Visitor Levy (TVL) schemes could provide ringfenced funding for culture.1 The Programme for Government 2022-23 indicated the Scottish Governmentâs intention to introduce a Local Visitor Levy Bill, which would âcreate a discretionary power for local authorities to apply a levy on overnight visitor stays in accommodation, applying in all or part of their area, to help fund relevant local activities and services.â2
Festivals Edinburgh said the revenue could be reinvested âto enhance the annual cultural offer for residents and visitorsâ.3 They told us that the work on the TVL, âwith a percentage going to the arts, needs to be accelerated.â4
Community Leisure UK said such a levy would recognise âcultureâs role in attracting touristsâ and âof the importance, therefore, of supporting culture to be able to continue to provide some of the world-class attractions that we have in Scotlandâ. It said there was a âdesire for a steer from central Government to mandate that, if there is a visitor levy within a certain area, at least a proportion of that would go towards cultureâ. Festivals Edinburgh agreed that the revenue raised should not be diverted into âa general pot for general needsâ but as âstimulus for more sustainable and good growth in tourismâ.4
The Scottish Governmentâs consultation on the proposal noted that the intention was that receipts from a visitor levy within a local authority area should be spent on tourism-related activities, including responding to tourism pressures, in that local authority area.6 The Scottish Governmentâs analysis of the consultation responses states that there was support for some ârevenue being used to carry out the objectives of other strategies, such as in relation to placemaking, heritage, or arts and culture. A specific suggestion was that a proportion of revenues should be ring-fenced for use in supporting the arts and culture sector.â7
SPICe highlight that the extent to which any TVL âwould increase spending on culture, and the potential impact of geographical variation of any resulting additional funding is not yet set out.â8
The Committee invites the Cabinet Secretary to provide greater clarity in relation to how the proposed Transient Visitor Levy scheme might support the culture sector at a local level.
The Committee recommends that if such a scheme is introduced then, given the benefits which the culture sector provide in attracting visitors, consideration should be given to how the sector could benefit from the levy.
The Culture and Business Fund Scotland (CBFS) is funded by the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland. Arts & Business Scotland,which administers the CBFS, stated that the fund is âa proven, unique catalyst for establishing mutually beneficial partnerships between businesses and culture organisations.â It highlighted investment of over ÂŁ2.5 million since the fundâs launch in 2017 with ÂŁ1.4 million of that investment coming from business, and cited that it has attracted ÂŁ1.21 of business investment for every ÂŁ1 of public funds distributed.1
The Committee asked the Cabinet Secretary for Culture to explain the rationale for the 33% cut in CBFS funding for 2022-23 when it took evidence on the RSR in June 2022. He committed to providing a written response which stated: âI appreciate that the reduction in funding for Arts & Business Scotland will have an impact on the projects that they fund.â He pointed out that applicants to the fund âmay be eligible for the Creative Scotlandâs Open Fund which is available for individuals and organisations who have projects involving the arts, screen and creative industries.â2
Several respondents were critical of the Scottish Governmentâs decision to decrease its investment in the CBFS by 33% for 2022-23. Culture Counts stated that this âgoes entirely against the advice of the Economic Recovery Groupâ,3 while Federation of Scottish Theatre said it was a âsurprising and concerningâ decision.4
Arts & Business Scotland state that the reduction of funding for 2022-23 meant that âfifteen eligible project applications, totalling ÂŁ111,590 received no CBFS funding which will endanger the match investment secured from business, potentially doubling the impact to project budgetsâ.1
It added: âwe must also consider applications that were eligible for year two or year three funding, and others in development or planning to apply for CBFS funding for projects from October 2022 to March 2023. Our analysis estimates this total to be around ÂŁ558,000 of projects that will not secure investment from business in these cultural activities without the incentive of CBFS match funding to double the value and return on that investment.â1
Arts & Business Scotland recommend that given the fund âsignificantly contributes to social and economic and well as cultural targets and aspirationsâ there is a case to explore cross Scottish Government portfolio budget investment in the CBFS going forward.1
Given the weight of evidence in this pre-budget report, the Committee asks the Cabinet Secretary to explain the rationale for the 33% cut in CBFS funding for 2022-23.
The Committee noted in our pre-budget 2022-23 report that the Scottish Governmentâs A Culture Strategy for Scotland detailed its vision, ambitions, and guiding principles for the culture sector. This included identifying culture as a central consideration across all policy areas including: health and wellbeing, economy, education, reducing inequality and realising a greener and more innovative future. A focus was placed on collaboration to realise the transformational power of culture in achieving a broad range of policy outcomes including the development of cross-government policy compacts embedding culture at the centre of policy-making.1
The Committee noted the view of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy that the then forthcoming Resource Spending Review (RSR) provided a âsignificant opportunity to align budget choices with the National Performance Framework in a significant way because that will be multi-year and most outcomes will not be delivered in the space of a yearâ.1
We recommended that the RSR âshould include detailed consideration of how budgetary decisions can support the mainstreaming of culture across the Scottish Government including the impact on health and wellbeing.â1
In responding to the Committeeâs report, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture noted that he was âstarting a series of conversations with fellow Cabinet Secretaries in the key complementary areas of education and skills; health and wellbeing; economic development; and net zeroâ. The Cabinet Secretary said this would enable them to âidentify areas of joint collaboration and action to inform our portfoliosâ part in the multi-year Resource Spending Reviewâ and âinform both the outcome of that spending review and a longer-term cultural recovery planâ.4 SPICe suggest that âit is not clear how these discussions were reflected in the RSRâ.5
National Museums Scotland welcomed the ambition of cross-portfolio working but indicated that there was no sign that âthis thinking has translated into cross-departmental opportunities for diversifying and strengthening sustainable funding streams for cultural organisations.â6
COSLA agreed that âwe are not yet seeing the transformational change that is needed in terms of a cross-cutting approach and increased budgetary support for culture across spending areasâ.7 Community Leisure UK identified that "many services both at local and national government levelâ are continuing to work âin a siloed approach, with limited cross-policy workingâ.8
The Committee heard that âthe primary impetus for considering any such cross-cutting outcomes seems to come from the culture sector and cultural policy makersâ, with this posing a âfundamental challenge in embedding culture across the wider Government and public sectorâ according to Festivals Edinburgh. It suggested that âseeing the demand coming from non-cultural players in other government and public sector portfoliosâ would be a âsign of culture becoming embedded across public policy prioritiesâ.9
The Committee heard that the facilitation of relationships between the culture sector and public and third sector partners was important. Arts & Business Scotland suggested âlocal forums of culture, third, public and private sector stakeholdersâ should be established âto share knowledge and best practice of the impacts that culture can bringâ, which would be beneficial in assisting âpublic sector bodies in sourcing creative solutions to increasing demand around social prescribingâ.10 Culture Counts proposed that the Scottish Government host a Cultural Value Summit to improve understanding of cultural value at a local level.11
Aberdeen City Council suggested that âthe Scottish Government should consider updating, resourcing, and reinstating the role of Culture Co-ordinators or Creative Community Link posts to ensure culture representatives are sitting at the same table as social care, health and justice when creating regional or national strategies.â12
Several organisations including Industrial Museums Scotland noted that they had experienced challenges in forming and maintaining âproductive partnershipsâ with government departments outwith culture.13 National Museums Scotland agreed that âthere is no easy way of accessing other government departmentsâ and said it needed âtraffic the other wayâ, with Ministers across portfolios recognising the value of investing in culture.6
A key strand of the Committeeâs work on the culture spending portfolio has focused on the wider outcomes that are supported by cultural activity, in particular the impact of culture on health and wellbeing.
As part of our consideration of the RSR, the Committee heard that while the benefits of culture on health and wellbeing are well-established, this âhad not led to transformational change in terms of both a cross-cutting approach within Government and increased budgetary support for culture across a number of spending areasâ. The Committee recommended that in seeking to increase investment across the sector, this should include âconsideration of investment from budget lines beyond the culture portfolio and in particular from the health budget.â1
The Committee further said that we would âwelcome an indication of Scottish Governmentâs intended timescales for delivering the required upscaling of culture projects supporting health and wellbeing and the redirection of funding towards demonstrable preventative approaches.â1 The Scottish Government response did not address this recommendation specifically.
The evidence we received suggests that a strategic approach to embedding culture and health and wellbeing is still lacking. Community Leisure UK drew comparisons with sport and leisure, highlighting that sportscotland has âcreated a strategic partnership with Public Health Scotland that allows much closer working across health, sport and leisureâ but that there is nothing similar on the cultural side âwhich is a missed opportunity.â3
ICON identified that despite âsome successful small 'one-off' projects there is little visible evidence of tangible investment in permanent, broad-impact changeâ.4 In Scottish Contemporary Art Networkâs view, âthe Scottish Government Cultural Strategy has not yet created many consistent formal mechanisms for a cross-cutting approach to cultureâ.5
Likewise, National Galleries of Scotland highlighted that while there are âmany individual cultural projects and initiatives relating to health and wellbeing across Scotland, these are fragmentary and not joined up by any national strategy or frameworkâ.6 Sir John Leighton's view was that the ambition to embed culture and health and wellbeing is âstill rotating in mid-air in rhetoricâ while no changes were being seen on the ground.7
The Committee heard from COSLA and the Directors of Finance Section that âthe need to invest in a whole systems approach is not recognised in the RSRâ, with it failing to ârecognise the need to focus on upstream investment, instead proposing real terms cuts to the areas that can prevent more costly downstream interventionâ. In other words, their view is that the RSR âprioritises funding for health and social care and social security â directing spending at addressing the problems and not preventing them from occurringâ.8
COSLA told us that âwe need a whole-system approach to investing in the determinants of health, which will involve not just the national health service and is not just about putting a sticking plaster on the problems that have been caused by poverty.â9
The Committee asked whether health and wellbeing will be further embedded in cross-portfolio workstreams or whether the current pressures are too high to allow any measurable or identifiable progress in that area. Creative Scotland responded that we âmust proceed in a determined way and continue to pursue conversations and opportunitiesâ but even in a better fiscal environment âit takes time for those conversations to come to fruition and open up opportunities.â9
Creative Scotland highlighted the Well-being Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, pointing out that culture âis written into that legislation, which says that listed public bodies need to work together with people and communities to ensure that culture is a consideration in the delivery of their services and that there should be a greater contribution through culture to the wellbeing economy.â Its view is that âin the longer term, that would unlock the true potential of cultureâs contribution to the wider cross-policy agenda on the wellbeing economy.â9
The Committee heard of the need to âmatchâ the relevant funders with cultural organisations able to deliver health and wellbeing services, and vice versa. Bòrd na GĂ idhlig pointed out that âmost cultural organisations have little or no awareness of funding that is based on health and wellbeing objectivesâ.12 Festivals Edinburgh outlined that the sector is ânot in a good position to identify who could most benefit from the things that we can offerâ, suggesting there was a need for âintermediariesâ to fill that role.3
The Committee also heard that the partnership working between the culture and health sectors could be improved. It was noted by Culture Counts that there was a lack of understanding within the health sector that cultural organisations need to be commissioned, and âdonât have people on a permanent contract ready to deliverâ. It posed the question: âAre Health waiting for Culture to make them an offer, and Culture are waiting for Health to make them an offer?â14 Dance Base suggested that âboth sides of the equation are looking to the other for fundingâ and that âwe have yet to see a wayâ for the sectors to work together.7
Scottish Contemporary Art Network called upon the Scottish Government to take a leading role in sharing messaging on the importance of investment in cultural activity across portfolio spending areas, and to other public sector bodies, local authorities, and third sector interfaces (TSIs).5
Festivals Edinburgh told the Committee that while âwe have heard a lot about how we need to have whole-system thinkingâ, âcollaboration has an overheadâ and âinnovation needs investmentâ. It said there was a âdeeper issueâ of needing to provide cultural organisations with âheadroom and spaceâ to enable transformative changeâso that they are ânot in survival mode but are able to replumb and rewire the systemâ.3
Museums Galleries Scotland agreed that âit is hard for organisations at all levels to commit to long-term changes of direction while, as at present, they are operating under significant pressures and uncertaintiesâ, although âthese ongoing pressures make the case for new funding approachesâ.18
The National Partnership for Culture made a number of recommendations which âbuild on the vision and ambition outlined in the Culture Strategy, whereby culture is âmainstreamedââ. This included a number of recommendations in relation to health and wellbeingâ
The Scottish Government should be charged with ensuring that culture is employed as a key part of delivering Health and Social Care priorities and contributing to an overall wellbeing economy;
Scottish Government should make connections at Ministerial and policy level to highlight the impact that social prescribing can play and identify the role of culture in nurturing and scaling work in this area;
A dedicated funding stream for culture initiatives should be developed within the health portfolio.19
The Scottish Governmentâs response to the first recommendation stated that there âis significant work underway in this area across the Scottish Government, through programmes such as the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing fund for adults which has been allocated ÂŁ21 million in 2021-22 and ÂŁ15 million 2022-23.â20
However, in response to the recommendation for a funding stream dedicated entirely to culture initiatives within the health portfolio the Scottish Government stated that it is not in a position at this point to deliver this due to the challenging fiscal context as set out in the RSR. At the same time, the response highlights âexisting ongoing initiatives, and provision made for dedicated funds for social prescribing and community mental health.â20
The Cabinet Secretary told us that he has âset up a short-life working group with health colleagues to agree a clear set of actions for collaborationâ including âcolleagues with particular expertise in policy interests regarding social prescribing. However, the group will have a broader remit than that, as it will cover a range of policies that cross various bits of government.â9
However, he cautioned that âit does not take long before people ask questions about additional funding. We are back to our new initiatives; this would be a new initiative. How do we make a new initiative happen? At some point, money comes into the equation.â There is also an additional challenge which is if there âis a growing cultural dimension to health and wellbeing, as there should be, should the health portfolio fund it, or should the culture portfolio fund it? Those are bridges that we will have to cross.â9
In our report on the Resource Spending Review Framework, we recommended that within the spending review there needed to be âa reappraisal of what is considered as health spendingâ.1 As noted above, the Scottish Governmentâs independent Advisory Group on Economic Recovery in the wake of COVID-19 recommended that Ministers should in relation to the creative sector seek âways to increase public and private investment across the sector to allow it to recover and compete.â The Committee recommended that this should include consideration of investment from budget lines beyond the culture portfolio and, in particular, from the health budget. Specifically, there needs to be consideration of the contribution which preventative spend in areas like the arts and other cultural activities makes towards health and wellbeing.
The Committee, recognising the "perfect storm" facing the culture sector, reiterates these recommendations and invites the Scottish Government to address them in Budget 2023-24.
The Committee notes the Well-being Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and asks the Scottish Government for an update on progress in embedding culture in its plans for a wellbeing economy including through a legislative approach. The Committee would also welcome regular updates on the progress of the short-life working group set up by the Cabinet Secretary.
A key theme in the Committeeâs budget scrutiny in Session 6 to date has been the need for long-term funding. In our pre-budget 2022-23 report, we welcomed the Scottish Governmentâs commitment in the Programme for Government to âinvest in muchâneeded stability for the cultural organisations that we provide regular funding for, by agreeing 3-year funding settlements, to allow them to plan for a sustainable recovery.â1 We stated that it is essential that, wherever practical, that this level of certainty is passed on to the groups and individuals being funded who should also receive 3-year funding settlements.2
The Cabinet Secretary responded that the Scottish Government intended âto develop and publish multi-year portfolio spending plans by the end of May 2022â which âwill provide the culture sector and others with greater certainty for future planning.â3 The response also noted the intention of Creative Scotland to âdevelop a multi-year funding approach from April 2023, recognising from its Funding Review that a greater number of organisations require funding on a multi-year basisâ and that âour forthcoming Resource Spending Review will support that aim.â The Cabinet Secretary also stated that the âfunding for Creative Scotland in the 2022-23 budget will enable it to implement the planned transition from its current funding model to the new approach.â3
SPICe note that the RSR, which provides indicative funding to 'level 2' budget level, is less detailed than the normal budget document which presents budgets to 'level 3' with 'level 4' numbers published alongside. It is also less detailed than the previous Spending Review which also provided budget information to level 3.
SPICe state that âgiven what the Cabinet Secretary [for Finance and the Economy] said when launching the RSR consultation in December, about providing greater certainty to public bodies, this may disappoint public bodies who have not received details of their broad spending envelope.â However, the Cabinet Secretary explained that it is âextremely difficult to be any more granular than level 2â due partly to inflation being at 3.1 per cent when the UK Spending Review was published and 9 per cent at the time of the RSR.5
There was a consistent view presented by organisations that there had been little progress made towards multi-year funding over the last year. Many were of the view that the RSR had not helped provide greater certainty for future planning.
National Galleries of Scotland âcould not take anything from the published figuresâ,6 and said âthere is no evidence as yet of multi-year funding allocations at organisation level to allow for future planningâ.7 National Museums Scotland indicated that the RSR had not given them sufficient information about future funding to plan and prepare, saying the plans were at âtoo high a levelâ to be practically helpful.8 University Museums in Scotlandâs view was that some grant giving bodies are âhaving to re-assessâ their commitments to multi-year funding, âgiven the uncertainty around their funding settlements from the Scottish Governmentâ.9
Museums Galleries Scotland, which receives and distributes funding from the Scottish Government, noted that there has âbeen no specific progress on moving towards multi-year fundingâ from within its own grants budget. It would âstrongly welcome a multi-year funding settlementâ, as this would âgive us the much-needed ability to forward plan for the sectorâs continued recovery, following a period of financial instability and unpredictability.â10
Historic Environment Scotland, which issues around ÂŁ14m a year in grants, said the RSR had helped to inform its multi-year planning scenariosi, âboth for our own operations and those we fund through our grantsâ programmesâ, but recognised that this âis not without risk as funding is indicativeâ.11 It cautioned that âthe world has changed in the intervening monthsâ and therefore the indicative spending plans may be subject to change as âthe Scottish Governmentâs budget will be under even more pressureâ6. National Galleries of Scotland suggested the RSR had been âderailedâ by current events.6
Two thirds of the Regularly Funded Organisations supported by Creative Scotland have also been receiving local government funding.14 Community Leisure UK said there had been âno progressâ in multi-year funding for its members, âwho are facing year on year cuts to fundingâ and whose budgets are âset on an annual basis, based on local authority financial supportâ.15
COSLA notes that the âfinancial and service planning of Local Government and culture organisations is severely compromised without multi-year funding commitmentsâ. As the RSR provided âvery little detailâ, it says that this approach to annual budget setting will continue.14
Community Leisure UK outlined that as cultural services at a local level are not statutory, it becomes an âeasy-to-cutâ serviceânot âin terms of taking that decision lightlyâ, but âthere is often no choice other than to cut the non-statutory elementsâ. It revealed that some culture and leisure trusts have now been âgiven a timeline for moving towards zero local authority fundingâ which will âradically change the delivery of those servicesâ.17
Several organisations receiving Regular Funding from Creative Scotland noted the delays in developing its new Multi-Year Funding Programme, which was set to be introduced from Autumn 2022. The tranche of Regular Funding provided three-year funding to 121 organisations, supported by ÂŁ101.6m grant-in-aid and a three-year budget commitment from the Scottish Government
In August 2022, Creative Scotland provided an update that the implementation of the Multi-Year Funding Programme would be pushed back to early 2023, with the funding contracts not beginning until April 2024. It said this delay was due to budget uncertainties, with the initial schedule âbased on having a degree of budget certainty following the outcome of the Scottish Government Resource Spending Reviewâ.18
Creative Scotland stated in its written submission that a âmajor consideration in the successful implementation of this revised funding approach will be the level of budget made available to us by the Scottish Government.â However, it added: âwe will not know what the budget available to us is from Scottish Government until December 2022, nevertheless, we continue to prepare and work to this timeline, but it may require to be revisited should we not secure sufficient budget certainty from the Scottish Government at the end of 2022.â19
Creative Scotland told us that having âa forward-planning horizonâand the confidence and stability that it enablesâis fundamental to the sectorâs delivering the best-quality outcomes.â20 The Committee was told that longer-term funding was of central importance to adopting a âwhole systemâ approach. Volunteer Scotlandâs view was that âthe lack of commitment to multi-year funding in the Spending Review is at odds with the commitment to a âwhole systemâ collaborative approach.â21
Aberdeen City Council identified the challenge of the funding available to support this way of working being ânearly always short termâ, with funding available âto support pilots and new ways of working but little in the way of support for longer-term transition.â It highlighted that âfar too often successful pilots are not continued because there is a lack of follow-up funding available to support the embedding process to make changes mainstream.â22
Several organisations pointed to the prevalence of short-term âinitiative-drivenâ or project-based funding within the cultural funding model, and the need to move away from this approach to deliver more sustainable funding.
The Committee heard that the arts funding system âfavours new initiatives, developments, expansion and additionalityâ. Community Leisure UK identified that there are âlittle pots of money out thereâ for new initiatives. However, that considering the time and resource required, its members are of the view that âit is almost not worth their whileâ putting in funding applications. This is especially the case as these funding pots are often time limited, meaning that âat the end of that programme, no matter how successful it is, they will quite possibly not be able to sustain it.â17
The Cabinet Secretary for Culture told the Committee that the Scottish Government âappreciate the need for the maximum certainty about medium and longer-term budgetary projections, regardless of whether people get the happiest newsâ and âstill aim to give projects and organisations the maximum possible longer-term understanding of their financial outlook.â20
The Cabinet Secretary also told us that he is âkeen to conclude some work on multiyear funding, even if economic uncertainty means that the figures for later years can be at most only indicative, because I know that multiyear figures would help the sector to plan ahead.â20
The Committee recognises that multi-year funding has been a consistent ask from the culture sector across our budget scrutiny this session and in evidence to our predecessor Committee in Session 5, but that the current fiscal environment, including significant inflationary pressure, makes it challenging to provide certainty in relation to multi-year funding. However, the Committee recommends that indicative level 3 figures should be provided for the period of the Spending Review alongside Budget 2023-24.
In our report on the Resource Spending Review Framework, we welcomed the aim within the document to redirect funding towards demonstrable preventative approaches. The Committee recommended that this should include consideration of a more systemic approach to multi-year funding of scalable culture projects supporting health and wellbeing.
The Committeeâs view is that the shift towards increased multi-year funding should allow much greater progress in delivering the mainstreaming of culture across all policy areas and health and wellbeing in particular.
2. Pre-Budget 2023-24 Scrutiny: The Committee took evidence in a roundtable format fromâ
Jim Hollington , Chief Executive, Dance Base Scotland;
David Avery, Negotiations Officer, Prospect;
Kirsty Cumming, Chief Executive, Community Leisure UK;
Julia Amour, Director, Festivals Edinburgh;
Janet Archer, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Printmakers (on behalf of Scotland's Workshops).
2. Pre-Budget 2023-24 Scrutiny: The Committee took evidence fromâ
Sir John Leighton, Director-General, National Galleries of Scotland;
Lucy Casot, Chief Executive Officer, Museums Galleries Scotland;
Alex Paterson, Chief Executive, Historic Environment Scotland.
2. Pre-Budget 2023-24 Scrutiny: The Committee took evidence fromâ
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotland;
Cllr Steven Heddle, Vice President, COSLA;
Martin Booth, Executive Director of Finance, Glasgow City Council (on behalf of Directors of Finance Section);
And then fromâ
Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture;
Lisa Baird, Deputy Director, Culture and Historic Environments, Scottish Government.
Oral evidence
Informal engagement
26 September 2022 - online focus group with grassroots cultural organisations
Written evidence