Equity To Hold' Stop The Cuts – Save The Culture Budget' Rally Outside Holyrood

Equity has called for a rally outside of the Scottish Parliament at 12.30pm on Thursday 5 September, the day MSPs return from recess, to protest the new funding cuts announced by the Scottish government this week.

The move comes ahead of decisions on the future of the regularly funded culture budget due in October. Equity, the trade union for the performing arts, has pledged to campaign to stop any further cuts and hold the Scottish Government to their commitment to increase culture funding by £100m over the next 5 years.

Creative Scotland announced yesterday that they would be closing the Open Fund for Individuals because of a lack of funding from the Scottish Government.  

The Open Fund for Individuals is one of Creative Scotland's key funding programmes. The £6m fund is vital in supporting activity initiated by artists, writers, producers and other creative practitioners in Scotland.

In a statement to press Equity Scotland Official Marlene Curran said “I am deeply concerned about what these latest cuts means for the regularly funded budget due to be announced in October. This pattern of funding cut announcements, which directly contradicts the undertakings to increase culture funding made by the Culture Secretary just last year, suggest more culture funding is at risk. These cuts are a political choice. The STUC has shown that the Scottish Parliament has the powers to tax wealth. It is up to Ministers to act. We will fight these cuts every step of the way, and hold the government to its word that it would increase, not cut, funding.”

The cuts announced this week to Creative Scotland come after a £6.6m budget cut was reimposed on the public body in 2023. It also follows the recent Equity campaign that highlighted the sweeping reductions in local government funding for the arts because of austerity.

Details of the rally can be found here: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/events/stop-the-cuts-tax-wealth-instead