Proposals to cut core funding for Scotland’s heritage sector by £5 million could have a “dramatic negative impact” on future investment to safeguard Scotland’s precious cultural heritage, independent charity Arts & Business Scotland has warned.
Last month, Arts & Business Scotland coordinated a joint letter, co-signed by representatives of more than 120 organisations spanning the arts, heritage and business communities, which urged the Scottish Government to protect funding for the cultural sector in next year’s Scottish budget.
Immediately following the presentation of the draft budget to the Scottish Parliament on the 14th December by Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, Arts & Business Scotland welcomed a commitment to increase Creative Scotland’s regular funding programme budget by £6.6 million.
However, it has subsequently emerged that draft budget proposals for 2018-19 also include a separate proposal to cut funding to Historic Environment Scotland by £5 million or 11% over the next financial year.
Arts & Business Scotland Chief Executive David Watt has now submitted a new letter to Scottish Government ministers and leading MSPs, expressing alarm about the potential impact of the proposed cut in HES funding on Scotland’s heritage sector.
The letter highlights an acknowledgement in the budget document itself that “A significant proportion of the grant-in-aid funding which HES receives is passed on to Scottish communities by way of grant schemes which fund the regeneration of Scotland’s town centres and the repair of historic buildings”.
With VisitScotland’s most recent visitor survey showing a third of tourists are inspired to visit Scotland by the country’s culture and heritage, the letter warns that a substantial cut in grant-in-aid funding for the repair and restoration of Scotland’s historic environment could do particular damage to Scotland’s £11 billion-a-year tourism industry.
Arts & Business Scotland Chief Executive David Watt commented:
“In the joint letter we submitted to ministers and MSPs last month, signatories expressed their collective concern as to the severe impact of potential cuts to revenue funding for the cultural sector in next year’s Scottish budget. In that context, we were pleased to note the commitment of an additional £6.6 million to support Creative Scotland’s regular funding programme as part of the draft budget announcement. In financially challenging times, this commitment offers an important lifeline for many arts organisations across the country.
“However, it has subsequently emerged that the draft Budget includes much less positive news for Scotland’s heritage sector with Historic Environment Scotland facing a budget cut of £5 million or 11% over the next financial year. A cut of that scale could seriously undermine ongoing work to repair and restore Scotland’s precious historic environment and in turn do particular damage to our multi-billion pound tourism industry.
David Watt concluded:
“Faced with such a substantial cut in core funding for heritage via Historic Environment Scotland, our members maintain their concern that any moves to reduce public funding for the arts and heritage sectors in 2018-19 would critically undermine the achievement of the Scottish Government’s overarching purpose and strategic objectives. As we have argued before, be it in the form of support for the arts or investment in preserving our priceless heritage, public funding for culture in its broadest sense offers outstanding value for money and therefore deserves to be protected.”
