The Federation of Scottish Theatre welcomes the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to increase culture funding, however we note the impact of ongoing standstill funding for the National Performing Companies alongside the limited uplifts Scotland’s producing houses received earlier this year from Creative Scotland.
While smaller companies have benefitted from inclusion in Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Fund cohort, we are concerned that the lack of investment into larger companies is eroding the sector and has a knock-on effect in a lack of research and development, new work commissioned, and career development opportunities in the sector.
We will continue to call on the Scottish Government to increase culture funding to 1% of the total Scottish Budget, bringing us closer to the European average of 1.5%. By investing deeply in the performing arts, the Scottish Government could offer new opportunities for sustainable growth across the sector.
The Scottish Budget can be found here: Scottish Government Scottish Budget 2026-27
Coverage of our response can be found in Arts Professional and The Herald.
If you would like to get in touch with us, please contact press (at) scottishtheatre.org.