Scottish Parliament – Jan. 14, 2025 – 1

S6M-16092.3: As an amendment to motion S6M-16092 in the name of Angus Robertson (Valuing Culture: Scotland’s Support to the Culture Sector), leave out from second “welcomes” to end and insert “recognises the important contribution that volunteers make to the vitality of Scotland’s culture sector;

acknowledges that the culture sector has been subjected to repeated budgetary mismanagement by the Scottish Government and that the draft Budget 2025-26 still leaves the sector in a precarious position;

notes that large music venues are not supported by the provisions on business rates relief in the draft Budget;

recognises that key cultural areas, such as libraries and music tuition, still face cuts due to the constraints facing local authority budgets;

notes that Creative Scotland remains under review by the Scottish Government, and trusts that public funds will not in future be used to support pornographic material, and urges the Scottish Government to foster innovation and participation in Scotland’s culture sector to ensure that it remains vibrant for generations to come.”

Original motion(S6M-16092): That the Parliament celebrates arts and culture in Scotland in all their diverse forms, past, present and emerging;

recognises the transformational impact that they can have on people’s lives across Scotland;

welcomes the economic contribution that the cultural and creative industries workforces make to society and the economy;

acknowledges the importance of the community culture sector, and commends the innovative local organisations, in both rural and urban areas, for the work that they do to support participation in cultural pursuits;

considers that a strong and successful culture sector is central to the prosperity of the nation;

welcomes that, against a backdrop of cultural funding being cut by the UK Government, the draft Scottish Government Budget for 2025-26 increases frontline culture funding by £34 million, and believes that Scotland’s cultural communities can be supported to continue to develop and innovate in exhibition, performance and participation in Scotland’s artistic life.