Culture secretary accused of 'raid on arts' over funding for performing companies
Last week’s Scottish Budget did not commit to an increase in funding for the national performing companies
Scottish Labour has accused culture secretary Angus Robertson of “shameless self-interest” over decisions to boost funding for government bureaucracy at the “expense” of Scotland’s national performing companies.
Scotland’s five national performing companies - the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra - did not receive any uplift in last week’s Scottish Budget, leaving them with an “effective cut”.
The Scottish Government said additional support was set to be considered “in future years”.
The companies have recently warned that without an increase in government support, they would be unable to continue to operate at the same level.
However, Scottish Labour pointed to proposed spending on “External Affairs Advice and Policy”, which is set to soar by 31 per cent.
The Scottish Government’s budget documents say this budget “supports operational delivery for Directorate for Culture and External Affairs teams”.
Scottish Labour pointed to recent criticism over Mr Robertson, who is also external affairs secretary, racking up 67,848 air miles at taxpayers’ expense since 2021.
Scottish Labour culture spokesperson Neil Bibby said: “Angus Robertson and the SNP appear to be prioritising their own bloated operation over Scotland’s world-class national performing companies.
“The SNP’s budget promises a raid on arts but boosts funding for government bureaucracy by a third – it is astounding. These decisions reek of shameless self-interest from a government that cannot be trusted with public money.
“For years the SNP have promised to get government waste under control, but their actions tell a different story. A Scottish Labour government will treat public money with respect and support our arts industry, which help to bolster the strength of brand Scotland across the globe.”
After the Budget was announced, Joseph Peach, co-director of arts network Culture Counts, welcomed the Budget, which underlined previous commitments to increase arts and culture spending to a planned annual £100 million by 2028‑29
However, he warned that “urgent gaps remain”, for the national performing companies.
The government earlier said its £20m boost takes the total funding available for arts and culture to £74 million in 2026-27.
In the full Budget document, the government said: “In the coming year we are protecting the budgets of our National Performing Companies, with a view to providing additional support in future years as part of the cultural funding uplift to the additional £100 million by 2028-29.”
It allocated £11.6 million to a project to create a national hub to store, conserve and share Scotland’s national art collection in Edinburgh’s Granton district. An additional £2.5m was handed to Edinburgh’s King's Theatre redevelopment project, closing a funding gap months ahead of its reopening.
Meanwhile, finance minister Shona Robison also confirmed a previously-announced commitment of £20 million for Creative Scotland to allocate multi-year funding to Scotland’s arts organisations.
Culture secretary Mr Robertson said: “We have protected the budgets of our National Performing Companies at almost £25 million collectively, with a view to providing additional support in future years as part of the cultural funding uplift to the additional £100 million by 2028-29.
“The External Affairs Advice and Policy budget reflects the inward transfer of budgets from areas outwith the portfolio for teams working on population and migration and international climate change.”
The national performing companies declined to comment.
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