Arts body warns £6.6m emergency payment was a "one-off"
Bodies which rely on Creative Scotland could see 40% budget cuts
Almost 900 jobs could be at risk if there is not a “significant change” to Creative Scotland’s budget, bosses are warning.
The arts body used reserve cash to plug a £6.6m cut imposed by the Scottish Government.
However, chief executive Iain Munro has stressed this is a “one-off” payment, and that as many as 12,000 artists could be impacted in the next sixth months without a reversal of the cuts.
Mr Munro said: "We anticipate, unless there is a significant change in overall budget levels, that we are not going to be able to sustain the levels of support we have been in the past for as many organisations, certainly to the level that we have."
He added it was like “trying to change the engines on an airplane while you are flying it” before warning that without assistance, the bodies which rely on Creative Scotland could see their money cut by 40%.
"Trying to change the engines on an airplane"
Ministers in February promised the budget cuts would be reversed, however this would be subject to confirmation in autumn budget revisions, however Mr Munro says the body has been told the “reduction is being reinstated”.
The cut amounts to around 10% of Creative Scotland’s overall budget and could see funding to 119 organisations- including dance, literature, music, screen, theatre, and visual arts companies- reduced.
Mr Munro said there has been "confusion" about the "very clear and bold statements of value and support for the cultural sector" from ministers "compared to the reality of resource".
told the committee Creative Scotland's budget had now tipped below 0.1% of overall Scottish Government spending, going on to warn that financial pressures on the sector will "be amplified if the reductions continue into next year".
900 jobs at risk
Speaking about the impact on the sector of the funding situation, he told the committee: "I think there is despair, there is despondency, there is disillusionment.
"There is a fear, people are exhausted in trying to keep the show on the road, literally, and that is vital for planning confidence.
Director of Culture Counts, Lori Anderson, told the committee the reinstatement of the £6.6 million budget cut by the Government "goes beyond disappointing".
She said: "It will be a massive knock in confidence to the sector and there's going to be a significant job for the Government to restore trust between the Scottish Government and the sector, in all honesty.
"It shows a disconnect between what's being said by us and what is being heard, and it ultimately shows that the value of the sector is really not understood."