Scottish Budget: Shona Robison - "I will increase culture budget by £34M" - video Dailymotion

Scottish Budget: Shona Robison - "I will increase culture budget by £34M"

Transcript

00:00We have listened to people in communities across our land, we have heard them and we

00:07have acted. We have heard, in particular, the concerns of the culture sector. They rightly

00:13are flagging the threat that the Tory cost-of-living crisis, inflation and Labour's national insurance

00:19hike pose to their future, but this SNP Government will help. Earlier this week, Labour called

00:26on me to deliver a £25 million increase in the culture budget and to exempt music

00:32venues from non-domestic rates. I can announce today that, yes, we will provide NDR support

00:38to music venues, but I will not increase the culture budget by £25 million. No, instead,

00:45I will increase the culture budget by £34 million next year—another record increase.

00:54We are committed to increasing arts and culture funding by £100 million. After just two years,

01:00we are halfway there. Next year, subject to the normal budget processes, I aim to deliver

01:05a further £20 million increase.

01:09Taken with this year's rise, multiyear funding can be provided to cultural organisations

01:14across Scotland, which, as Angus Robertson has told me, will be transformational for

01:19the sector. That includes our world-class Scottish festivals, whose budget we are doubling,

01:24and thousands of grassroots artists who will also benefit from that support.