Culture Counts has written to Fiona Hyslop MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, to ask for the announcement of a three-year culture budget in January 2021.
While Culture Counts members are aware that the Scottish Government has to manage annual uncertainty from Westminster over budget allocation, they not believe that a three-year-agreement would be an unmanageable commitment for the Scottish Government to make. The letter also acknowledges that the level of Scottish Government investment in culture in Scotland is similar to other countries of its size.
The culture sector has experienced an awful year, with precarious-work quickly turning into nowork for many. The high levels of precarious work that exist in the sector, caused in part by uncertainty and the inability to plan-ahead, have a knock-on impact on its lack of diversity. The inability to plan ahead means organisations are less able to engage in sustainable partnerships across portfolio areas. Precarious work in the sector is a structural issue, linked to one-year funding arrangements from the Scottish Government.
Jennifer Hunter, Executive Leader, Culture Counts said:
“While working on the crowd-sourced manifesto the issue of sustainability came up again and again. The sector’s ability to align with Sustainable Development Goals, the National Performance Framework and the Culture Strategy requires an absolute minimum of a three-year funding deal. The positive difference that certainty would make to a sector that’s been reeling with the uncertainty of Brexit for years and who are currently at the sharp-end of Covid-19 should not be underestimated. This, in my view, is not beyond the ability of the Scottish Government.”
The letter in full is available on the Count Counts website here.