Why Creative Scotland's £128m for the arts may not be as good as it seems on paper

Last week, it was announced that the largest-ever portfolio of cultural bodies would be supported with public money on a multi-year basis, with 141 organisations due to receive funding for the first time. Among the newcomers, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (£1.9m), Capital Theatres (£1.6m), and Edinburgh’s Filmhouse cinema (£1.2m), secured the highest awards for 2025 to 2028.

While this expansion looks promising on paper, the distribution and scale of funding must be appropriate to sustain the sector effectively. Beneath these promising results lie significant challenges.

Why? The historical hiatus in regular multi-year funding, due to Covid and internal reviews within Creative Scotland, has created a backlog of 'new' organisations vying for support. Of those who applied for grants, 28 applicants were unsuccessful, while 13 may still receive funding from 2026/27.

Vulnerable to shifting priorities

These unsuccessful applicants will likely turn to philanthropic trusts to compensate for the lack of funding from the Scottish Government, increasing competition for alternative funds. Smaller organisations, particularly those outside major urban centres, are likely to have been disproportionately affected, raising concerns about regional inequalities in cultural investment.

Moreover, future funding remains uncertain and organisations seeking to rely on government grants should exercise caution. Unlike other nations, Scotland's fiscal autonomy is constrained by its reliance on budget allocations from the UK Government. Any funding promises beyond this year remain vulnerable to shifting priorities, as seen in recent U-turns and previous delays in funding decisions.

Transparency concerns also persist. Funding decisions should be based on objective criteria, however this principle has been challenged by the success of campaigns led by well-connected supporters to secure funding, such as those backing the Scottish Youth Theatre and baroque ensemble Dunedin Consort. This raises questions about fairness to organisations that do not have the same kind of influence and are unable to make a similar fuss if they are turned down.

A daunting task

For organisations which have a regular funding relationship with Creative Scotland, an average uplift of 24 per cent in 2025/26 and 54 per cent in 2026/27 is expected. However, despite the increases, these groups, alongside existing artistic bodies that have been surviving on standstill funding, still face the daunting task of catching up with inflation and rising operational costs, making it challenging to maintain previous levels of activity.

It’s clear that Creative Scotland has well-meaning intentions to expand the number of organisations that receive long-term funding. However, the reality is that barriers to entry will continue to increase, precipitated by the growing year-on-year demand for funding.

Grant application criteria are already highly competitive and are likely to become even more complex, inadvertently favouring organisations with the resources to navigate the system. This risks sidelining under-represented community groups and diminishing project diversity.

The upcoming independent review of Creative Scotland, with recommendations due to be published this summer, must tackle these issues head-on, ensuring accessible, equitable, and transparent outcomes for all those who require support.

Alexandra Colalillo is an economist