Radical plan needed to ensure sustainable future for culture sector
We need to radically rethink the way that our culture sector is funded if we are to secure a sustainable future for the sector and its workers, says the Scottish Greens culture spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP.
Speaking in a parliamentary debate on Supporting Scotland’s Culture Sector, Mr Ruskell will call for a plan to be co-produced with artists and workers from across the sector alongside a strategy to ensure that major events are also supporting grassroots culture.
Speaking in the debate, Mr Ruskell will say:
“We need to take that opportunity to radically rethink the way the sector is funded to secure a sustainable future for the sector and its workers.
“We need to see a long-term strategy for culture that pivots away from stop-start funding towards multi-year budgets.
“A strategy which values the wider benefits that culture brings, including through preventative spending as well as creative use of the Transient Visitor Levy at a local level.
“A strategy co-produced with the cultural sector, reflecting calls from artists unions for Fair Work conditionality on arts funding, to value, protect and grow the workforce in Scotland while attracting even more talent.
“And a strategy that encourages the ‘big culture’ sector to support its grassroots, whether that’s through a levy on stadium tickets or through screen companies giving back to communities who host big budget productions.”