Warning of £56m hole in Scottish arts funding

The organisation that distributes money to arts organisations in Scotland on behalf of the government has indicated that it is facing a £56m funding gap.

Creative Scotland, which finances organisations, venues, festivals and events across the country, revealed the shortfall after the deadline for bids to its three-year funding programme passed on 25 October.

The agency said it received applications from 361 cultural organisations with a total ask of £96m per year, compared with its current budget of £40m yearly. 

Initially, 507 organisations registered their intention to apply for the long-term funding, with a predicted ask of £114m annually.

Earlier this year, the Scottish government introduced a reduction to Creative Scotland’s £63m budget of more than 10% for 2023/2024. Before the cut was imposed, Creative Scotland warned that it would not be able to continue to support as many organisations on a multi-year basis as it did previously and that the application process would be “highly competitive.”

The £6.6m budget cut went ahead despite widespread objections, which led the government to abandon the plan in February before reinstating it. Creative Scotland will use some of its financial reserves to cover the shortfall in funding for this year. 

In recent weeks, the SNP has committed to restoring Creative Scotland’s budget next year, though Creative Scotland has said it has "no indication" of its funding pot for 2024/25 and beyond.

Last week, MSPs rejected a bid by Scottish Labour to reverse the funding cuts this year.