The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
7,000 jobs in the culture sector are now at risk
Impending ‘catastrophe’ could blow £1.7bn hole in Scottish economy by the year’s end
The Scottish Government is facing growing pressure to safeguard the country’s culture sector after a new study revealed nearly 7,000 jobs are under threat.
Theatre, film and TV industries are said to be facing a “cultural catastrophe” that could blast a £1.7 billion hole in the economy by the end of the year.
According to research by the Creative Industries Federation, Scotland will see the UK’s largest percentage drop in creative industries’ GVA – measuring the contribution to the economy – at 39%
The report’s authors warn the slump could lead to the loss of 6% of the country’s creative workforce.
The study follows the announcement of job losses at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. The Highland Perthshire venue has been forced to put nearly half of its staff at risk of redundancy, in order for it to survive beyond this year.
Artistic director Elizabeth Newman said if no action was taken now, the theatre would run out of cash by November.
Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Claire Baker is now pushing the Scottish Government to set up a “creative arts recovery package”.
The Labour politician said: “Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh are proposing redundancies and many theatres are cancelling their Christmas programmes, which is often a financial lifeline.
“What this report highlights is the devastating impact the Covid-19 crisis has had on the cultural sector in Scotland, with it being the hardest hit area in the UK, and that Scottish respondents are among the most pessimistic in their view of potential recovery.”
“Without Scottish Government intervention, the industry will continue to decline and thousands of jobs lost.”
The study, carried out by Oxford Economics, found 6,900 jobs were at risk in Scotland. It said a total of about 400,000 jobs could be lost across the whole of the UK.
Caroline Norbury, chief executive of the Creative Industries Federation, said: “With the economic impact of Covid-19 hitting hard, the role of our creative industries has never been more critical.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We do not underestimate the devastating impact this pandemic has had on Scotland’s creative industries.
“We are working closely with the sector to develop guidance to help performances resume and venues reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, and we are looking at all possible options to protect the sector.”