Budget Scrutiny 2023-24: Funding for Culture

Overview

The Committee has agreed to focus primarily on the culture spending portfolio in its pre-budget scrutiny throughout Session 6. This Inquiry is a follow-up on the Committee's previous pre-budget scrutiny work on Funding for Culture. The Committee wants to hear from individuals, groups and businesses operating in this area. These views help the Committee to make recommendations to the Scottish Government ahead of its budget.

Why your views matter

The Committee would especially welcome your views on the following –

1    How are budgetary decisions supporting the recovery of the sector from COVID and what should be the Scottish Government’s priorities in supporting recovery through Budget 2023-24?

2    Despite an increasing recognition of the established health and wellbeing benefits of culture, the Committee has previously heard that this had 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 areas - what needs to change to embed culture and health and wellbeing across government and the public sector?

3    The Scottish Government’s independent Advisory Group on Economic Recovery in the wake of COVID-19 recommended that Ministers should in relation to the creative sector seek “ways to increase public and private investment across the sector to allow it to recover and compete” – can you provide examples of where this is happening or ways in which it should happen?

4    The Committee has previously agreed with COSLA that a ‘whole system’ approach is essential to the spending review and that this is consistent with an outcomes-focused and collaborative approach; our view is that it is only through such an approach that the necessary funding can be freed up to ensure that sufficient cultural services are available to meet the increased demand arising from cultural prescribing– what progress has been made in moving towards a whole system approach, what are the main barriers and how do we overcome them?

5    The Committee’s view is that it is essential that, wherever practical, multi-year funding for the cultural organisations the Scottish Government supports is passed on to the groups and individuals being funded who should, where appropriate, also receive a multi-year settlement– what progress has been made in moving towards multi-year funding, what are the main barriers and how do we overcome them?

6    The Committee has previously stated that the collaborative learning from managing the response to COVID should be harnessed and built upon; for example, in exploring how innovative ways of working such as the shift to digital platforms can enhance the accessibility of cultural activities while at the same time improving health and wellbeing – what progress has been made in embedding the collaborative learning from managing the response to COVID, what are the main barriers and how do we overcome them?