Funding for Culture

Overview

Ahead of next year’s Scottish Government Budget (Budget 2022-23), the Committee wants to hear your views on the continuing impact of COVID-19 on the culture sector, and how it should recover from the pandemic.

The Committee wants to hear your immediate budgetary priorities for the sector as temporary COVID funding comes to an end. It also wants to know what lessons can be learned from the crisis, and if there are opportunities to move to a longer-term and more strategic approach to funding.

Why your views matter

The Committee would especially welcome your views on the following –

•    What should be the Scottish Government’s immediate priorities in supporting the culture sector’s recovery through Budget 2022-23?

•    Do you agree with UNESCO that “a degree of restructuring is inevitable” [1] as the sector recovers from COVID? If so, what approach should the Scottish Government adopt?

•    A crisis can also trigger new ways of thinking – should the Scottish Government rethink how it supports the culture sector?

•    Specifically, are there opportunities to develop a more strategic approach through, for example, the medium-term financial strategy, a multi-year spending review and the National Performance Framework?
 

[1] In December 2020, UNESCO published Culture in Crisis: A Policy Guide for a Resilient Creative Sector which is intended to be both a practical guide to help governments address the challenges artists and cultural professionals are facing during the pandemic, as well as offering advice on how to strengthen the resilience of the creative industries in the future. 

It is not necessary to answer all questions.

The Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee will consider the responses it receives to this call for views, and will then hear from witnesses before reporting to the Scottish Government as part of the pre-budget scrutiny process.

How to submit your views

Please submit your views using the online submission form, linked to below.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. 

The deadline for making a submission is 5pm on Wednesday 8 September 2021.