Exclusive:Campaigners warn access to Scottish culture 'gravely at risk' due to funding crisis

The Scottish Government has been urged to deliver on a promise to “more than double” arts spending amid claims that access to the arts is being put “gravely at risk” due to a lack of investment.

The Campaign for the Arts group claimed “jeopardy has become all too commonplace in the Scottish culture sector” due to increasing funding pressures on festivals, events, venues and organisations.

Creative Scotland has warned it is only able to support around 30 per cent of applications to its “open fund” due to the level of demand and has a projected funding gap of around £47 million for long-term funding support ahead a long-awaited round of decisions in the autumn,

Arts spending in Scotland has increased by just £2m over the past two years, despite the impact of inflation and rising costs on organisations.

The Campaign for the Arts, which claims there has been a 6 per cent real-terms cut in arts funding over the past two years, has spoken out days after organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe called for a crisis summit and claimed its level of funding support had become a “national embarrassment”.

Fringe Society chief executive Shona McCarthy is demanding the Scottish Government, its funding agencies and the city council rethink their approach to the event amid warnings it is becoming “almost impossible” to deliver. It has had two funding rejections from Creative Scotland and a funding cut from Edinburgh City Council in the past few weeks, despite the event being championed in two new culture visions published by the Scottish Government since the start of the year.

Campaign for the Arts director Jack Gamble said: “The Scottish Government’s new international strategy describes Scotland’s festivals as ‘world-leading’ and a key cultural asset. Yet the chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has this week warned that funding pressures are making the festival ‘almost impossible’ to deliver.

"It is a disaster not only for the Scottish Government’s international culture strategy, but for the people of Scotland that something as internationally significant as the Fringe is facing this level of jeopardy due to inadequate funding.

“For all its welcome aspiration, the cultural strategy suggests a dispiriting disconnection from the reality in Scotland right now. Access to the arts is gravely at risk due to years of under-investment in Scottish cultural organisations.

“Despite the Scottish Government’s pledge last year to ‘more than double’ investment in culture, our analysis shows this year’s culture budget is actually 6 per cent smaller in real terms than it was in 2022/23. Organisations can’t run on warm words – they need cold cash, or they will cease to exist.”

Mr Gamble pointed out how the Campaign for the Arts and Scottish arts industry body Culture Counts warned in December the Scottish Government needed to go “further and faster” to prevent parts of the cultural sector from collapse.

He said: "In the last three weeks alone, Glasgow’s book festival, Aye Write has been cancelled, and Short Circuit and MAP Magazine have announced permanent closure. How many more organisations will be forced to shut down, how many more opportunities shut off, before the Scottish Government grasps this emergency?”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Despite the challenging financial situation faced by the UK, Scottish ministers have increased culture sector funding by £15.8m to almost £200m this financial year, as the first step to achieving the First Minister's commitment to invest at least £100m more annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.

"We will continue to work with the culture sector to identify barriers to immediate and long-term recovery, and do everything within our limited devolved powers and resources to help those most affected by current economic challenges."