Creative Scotland welcomes 'substantial uplift for culture' in draft Budget

Creative Scotland’s chair, Robert Wilson, said: “Today’s draft Budget announcement by the Scottish government is enormously welcome. The major boost to Multi-Year Funding and other activities opens up wider opportunities, and we are grateful to the Scottish government for this significant vote of confidence in Creative Scotland and the creative and culture sector.

“This is especially positive in the light of the long-term financial challenges the sector has been dealing with and will enable people and organisations to once again look forward with more confidence.”

Simon Armstrong from the Bookseller’s Association said: "The Bookseller’s Association is pleased to see the Scottish Government take seriously the financial and societal contribution of the culture sector through its funding support of Creative Scotland in the recent budget but are disappointed that bookshops, who are such a crucial part of that delicate ecosystem, will not directly benefit. With the budget confirming that Scottish bookshops will find themselves disadvantaged compared to their English counterparts in the absence of any retailer rates relief offered by Holyrood, we’ll continue to see the cultural cornerstones of Scottish high streets that are bookshops underappreciated and under threat."