Creative Scotland axes fund amid budget uncertainty

Creative Scotland is closing its Open Fund for Individuals to new applicants due to concerns that the Scottish government cannot confirm over £6m of previously-pledged support.

The £5m annual fund aims to support creative activity, including projects, productions or periods of research and development for up to 24 months, with grants ranging from £500 to £100k. It will close to new applications from the end of this month.

Earlier this year, the funding body announced it was conducting an internal review into decision-making for the fund to identify areas for improvement in its awarding process following political and public fallout over the decision to award £85k to a controversial film.

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Iain Munro, CEO of Creative Scotland, said that closing the fund was “unavoidable” because of the level of uncertainty surrounding the provision of grant-in-aid budgets from the Scottish government.

Creative Scotland had planned to use £3m of a promised £6.6m budget to support the Open Fund for Individuals in 2024-25, alongside £3m of ringfenced National Lottery income.

Without confirmation that the money will be released, Creative Scotland said it does not have sufficient funds to support all its current programmes set out in its annual plan for 2024-25.

Scottish Labour has called on government to provide clarity on the situation "without further delay". In a letter to Scottish Culture Secretary Angus Robertson, Scottish Labour’s Culture spokesman Neil Bibby said: “If the Scottish government does not follow through on its commitments, it risks irreparably damaging its credibility with Creative Scotland and the broader cultural community.

“I urge [Robertson] to provide immediate clarification on when Creative Scotland can expect to receive this funding. The sector’s continued wellbeing and stability depend on it.”

Chaotic cultural funding landscape

Creative Scotland's decision follows a prolonged period of chaotic cultural funding announcements, cuts, and U-turns by Holyrood.

In 2022, the Scottish government announced controversial cost-saving plans to cut funding for Creative Scotland by 10% for 2023/24 – from £63m to £56m – before abandoning the proposals and then re-instating them.

Just weeks after the double U-turn last October, former First Minister Humza Yousaf pledged an additional £100m a year for the sector by 2028.

Despite re-affirming "a gold-plated commitment" to restore Creative Scotland’s budget next year, ministers have provided scant details on how the money will be distributed, despite calls not to leave decisions over allocating the funding until late in the year.

To cover the shortfall in its funding this year, Creative Scotland has used around 40% of its financial reserves, which the government has not announced plans to reimburse.

Commenting, Equity Scotland Official Marlene Curran said, “If we are to believe the Scottish government’s promise to seriously increasing arts funding for Scotland over the next decade, we need to see more funding on the table right now. Sadly, the government’s track record suggests otherwise."

She added, "The latest cuts to culture funding in Scotland do not bode well for the renewal of Creative Scotland’s core budget in October."

Critical problems

In a statement on the closure of the Open Fund for Individuals, Munro said: “The level of uncertainty regarding the provision of grant-in-aid budgets from the Scottish government is creating critical problems for the ongoing support we can provide to Scotland’s culture sector.”

“This decision … is not one we would have wanted to take but is unavoidable without the funding from the Scottish government available.

“Like everyone working in Scotland’s culture and creative sector, we understand the extreme pressures on public finances but want to see longer-term budget certainty from the Scottish government, including the additional £100m announced in October 2023, details of which have yet to emerge.”

In response, a Scottish government spokesperson said: “We have increased arts and culture funding this year as the first step to achieving our commitment to invest at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.

“The Scottish Budget continues to face significant challenges. We are considering the implications of the actions announced by the [UK] Chancellor on 29 July for our public finances and the next steps required by the Scottish government.”