Creative Scotland under fire from MSPS over funding strategy

Scotland’s arts quango must urgently address its strategic failings, MSPS have said following a catalogue of criticism from the country’s creative sector.

Members of Holyrood’s Culture committee have taken the unusual step of sending a 12-page letter outlining the complaints to Janet Archer, chief executive officer of Creative Scotland.

The cross-party committee of MSPS say Creative Scotland’s decision-making process on funding for touring theatre and dance companies fell “well below the standard expected” of a non-departmental public body.

The committee held an inquiry after widespread criticism of Creative Scotland’s decision to axe funding to some companies.

A decision to hold an emergency meeting in February to reconsider some applications, without telling the wider sector, “appears to have undermined the sector’s confidence in Creative Scotland’s decision-making and underlying strategic approach to funding,” the letter said.

MSPS said it was a “serious matter” that while Creative Scotland said its board was unaware of any factual inaccuracies in assessment reports, this had been contradicted by written evidence from the companies involved.

The committee said it was “very concerned” by the handling of regular funding applications from touring theatre and dance companies which “fell well below the standard that is expected from a nondepartmental public body”.

The approach the organisation had taken had “hampered the sector’s trust in Creative Scotland and added to ongoing uncertainty for the sector at a time when the funding pressures on the sector are already high”, the letter said.

A failure to address strategic issues within Creative Scotland at an earlier stage had left the sector “in a very challenging position”, it warned.

Concerns were also raised that too much regular funding was being directed away from artists towards network organisations.

The committee called on Creative Scotland to urgently address its strategic failings.

Convener Joan Mcalpine MSP said: ““With more than 50 responses from artists and arts organisations, it is clear to us that the confidence of a significant element of the cultural sector in Creative Scotland’s regular funding process has been badly damaged.

In a letter to the committee, Creative Scotland chair Robert Wilson said he recognised there “needs to be full trust and confidence in the organisation”.

He said there was a formal review being conducted into the last round of funding plus a review into the organisation’s working practices and operations.

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