Culture services under the spotlight at council meeting

A shake up of culture services in Perthshire is on the horizon, just two years after the last.

Tomorrow Perth and Kinross Council is expected to agree a five-month review into the running of Perth theatre, city hall, museum, concert hall and libraries.

Councillors will consider creating a single culture trust to oversee all venues, as well as manage a £20 million budget for new attractions. This would involve merging Culture Perth and Kinross with Horsecross Arts, which is responsible for Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre.

This was the preferred option during the last shake up in 2016 but it was agreed this could not be set up quickly enough to make required savings of £542,000. A similar plan to have one umbrella organisation to include leisure facilities as well as culture will not be revisited, according to a report for tomorrow’s strategic policy and resources committee.

Benefits of a single culture service are outlined in an outline business case by Fiona Robertson, head of culture.

They include improved customer experience, efficiency, cost effectiveness and more opportunities for fundraising.

The report said: “The proposed aim is to identify and implement a future delivery model for culture which maximises social, economic and tourism benefits for Perth and Kinross and protects frontline council investment.

“The council’s current position is that a single culture trust emerged as the preferred option from phase one (2016). However, the status quo will be re-tested in light of any major new factors which emerge from the research stage.”