The Scottish government has pledged to make a series of funding increases to the country’s arts and culture sector as part of its draft budget announcement for 2025- 26.
Addressing Holyrood today (04 December), Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the SNP had “heard in particular the concerns of the culture sector”, citing the challenges that “the Tory cost-of-living crisis, inflation and Labour’s national insurance hike posed to their future”.
Robison announced that the budget for culture will rise by £34m next year, calling it a “record increase” and “transformational” for the sector.
Recommitting to the party’s previous pledge to increase arts and culture funding by £100m by 2028-29, Robison said she was planning a further rise of £20m next year.
The additional financing in the budget paper includes £20m for Creative Scotland’s 2025-26 multi-year funding programme, taking it from £34m this year to £54m.
In total, Creative Scotland’s 2025-26 budget is projected to be £80m, compared with £51.4m after the 2024-25…
