Exclusive:'I sincerely hope so': John Swinney's Scottish Budget message to crisis-hit arts industry

John Swinney has pledged to restore confidence to the nation's crisis-hit arts industry in tomorrow’s Scottish Budget.

The First Minister said he wanted to ensure the culture sector could look forward to an "optimistic and hopeful future" when long-awaited investment plans are set on Wednesday.

First Minister John Swinney with new Makar Peter Mackay at the Central Library in Edinburgh. | PA

Mr Swinney said the Government was aiming to give arts organisations as much financial security as possible for future years when the Budget plans for the coming financial year are set out.

However, he would not say whether the Budget would come close to delivering on a previous pledge to increase annual arts spending by £100 million. He also suggested the Government would not have clarity on its own budgets for the next few years until the spring.

The Government has faced a growing cultural rebellion from artists, performers and companies in recent months over the treatment of its own arts agency, Creative Scotland.

Mr Swinney revealed he met last week with Edinburgh International Festival director Nicola Benedetti, who announced last month that it had been forced to make "heart-breaking" cuts for next year's programme after a vital decision on its Scottish Government funding was delayed.

Other leading cultural figures who have demanded more support for Scottish culture in recent weeks include Garbage singer Shirley Manson, actors David Hayman, Bill Paterson and Alan Cumming, playwright Rona Munro and artist Nathan Coley.

Although the industry is said to be worth more than £5.8 billion to the economy and support more than 60,000 jobs, government funding is said to have remained at "standstill" levels for more than 15 years.

In an interview with The Scotsman, Mr Swinney was asked whether artists and organisations would be more optimistic about the future after this week's Budget proposals were announced.

He said: "I sincerely hope so. I want to live in a country with a vibrant arts and culture sector. I experience it, I participate in it. I love it. It is part of me and part of what my family enjoys.

"I want us to have a vibrant arts and culture sector in Scotland. I appreciate how vulnerable people feel just now. But it's a vulnerability that is not unique to the arts and culture sector.

"Across all walks of life, people have been wrestling with all sorts of difficulties for the last few years, including Covid, Brexit, austerity, the cost-of-living crisis and the energy price spike after the Ukraine invasion. No-one has been insulated from these pressures.

"I totally understand why they have created anxiety in the artistic and cultural community. I want to make sure that the sector feels it has an optimistic and hopeful future within Scotland.

"We will set out the decisions we have arrived at on Wednesday and I look forward to working with the sector to create that hopeful way forward. I am very committed to ensuring there is a vibrant future for arts and cultural activity in Scotland.

"We will work with the sector to provide as much certainty as we possibly can, and we will work with organisations to try to give as much security as we can."

Speaking ahead of the Scottish Budget announcement, Ms Benedetti said: "Art is one of the most powerful tools we have to impact mind, body and heart all at once. A significant investment in our sector is needed to support our national cultural ecosystem and economy.

"It is a responsibility of our government to sustain the civic pillar of culture that connects Scotland to people and cultures from around the world."