No reading or museums for a third in poor areas

ONE in three people in Scotland’s poorest areas failed to read a book or visit a museum during the past year, say researchers.

Only 66 per cent of those living in the country’s most deprived spots took part in any ‘cultural activity’ in 2016, the Scottish Household Survey shows .

This is down from 68 per cent in 2015 and 69 per cent in 2014.

In the richest areas, 12 per cent said they had not read a book, visited a museum or gallery or attended a live performance in the previous year.

Scottish Labour culture spokesman Claire Baker said: ‘Austerity and inequality isn’t just about the money in your pocket, it’s about the quality of life people can have.

‘Cultural activity enriches our lives, be it through reading, visit-

‘Radical action is needed’

ing a museum or seeing a live performance. The figures reveal the huge gap that exists in almost every aspect of life between the richest and poorest in society. A further effective cut of £700million to local authorities will just make this worse.

‘Radical action is needed to address the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘[The] draft budget included a 10 per cent increase in culture spend to £166.8million next year. This will support key initiatives and help Scotland’s cultural sector to thrive.

‘Background should never be a barrier to participating in culture... we are committed to protecting free entry to national museums and galleries.’

He added: ‘We are developing a culture strategy for Scotland. This will set out a vision for the future development of culture, including maximising participation regardless of background.’