Scotland’s finance secretary, John Swinney, has announced significant cuts to the country’s cultural budget.
Overall, Scotland's culture budget has been cut 10.9 per cent, from £170.2m (US$253.1m, €232.2m) in 2015-16 to £151.6m (US$225.5m, €206.8m in 2016-17.
The cultural collections budget – which primarily funds Scotland’s museums and galleries – will be cut by 8.5 per cent from £85.9m (US$127.8m, €117.2m) for 2015-2016 to £78.6m (US$116.9m, €107.2m) for 2016-2017.
Swinney did confirm in the draft budget that funding for non-national museums, galleries and libraries would continue, with support totalling about £4m (US$6m, €5.5m) annually.
The cuts will put most pressure on local museums, with revenue spending for local councils also cut by 3.5 per cent. The move will also affect the five direct-funded national companies – Scottish Ballet, Scottish Opera, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and National Theatre of Scotland.
The total induced economic impact of museums and galleries in 2014 was an estimated £891m (US$1.2bn, €1.09bn). Scotland’s 460 museums and galleries attracted 27.65 million visits in 2014 and sustain over 3,500 tourism-related jobs.
