SNP IN ROYAL FUNDING ROW

Fury as minister admits Holyrood’s payments for staff at Queen’s official Scottish residence are ‘under review’

PUBLIC funding for the Queen’s staff at her official Scottish residence is ‘under review’, an SNP minister admitted last night.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said that the current financial arrangement where Holyrood pays almost £900,000 for staff at the palace of Holyroodhouse was under consideration.

But the admission immediately sparked a row, with critics warning that Scots ‘hold the Royal Family dear’ and want them to play their part in society.

Funding for some royal household staff at the palace is provided by the Scottish government through quango Historic environment Scotland (HeS).

Yesterday, however, there were calls for the arrangement to be scrapped.

green MSp andy Wightman said it was unfair money generated from visitor fees at Holyroodhouse was not used to pay staff or given to Scottish ministers – and urged the government to pull funding.

He asked Miss Hyslop to explain why the Scottish government pays for workers while receiving no money in return,

THE SNP has been accused of trying to influence the work of artists after a minister claimed there must be ‘a common understanding’ of what they are expected to produce.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop’s controversial comments came ahead of a public consultation on a new Scottish Government strategy for the arts.

The plan is set to feature funding for ‘cultural producers [who are] contributing to a fair, democratic, diverse, innovative, international and open society’.

Last night, the remarks sparked a fierce debate on how much say government should have over the output of artists, with some drawing a comparison with the prescriptive state art programmes of Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany.

Broadcaster Muriel Gray led criticism of Miss Hyslop, writing online: ‘Artists should never have the slightest obligation to have a “common understanding of what a country wants”. Art does not bend the knee.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We do not and will not make any funding or curatorial decisions about individual artists. Everyone has the opportunity to take part in or contribute to cultural life in Scotland.’