An Open Letter to
Linda Fabiani, Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture.
31st August 2007

Dear Minister-

On the 24th of August the Scottish Executive published a "factual report of the
responses
received" during the period of consultation on the draft Culture (Scotland)
Bill.
Considering the changes that have since taken place, the document was
surprisingly non-
committal in tone: "This document does not provide any view of the present
administration." To say that the artistic community, after the long summer
recess, is
eager to hear those views would be a vast understatement. For the moment we
have a
sanitised summary of responses, a positive gloss on what were very often
expressions of
great disappointment. The report is certainly no panegyric for the bill, the
Cultural
Commission before it and the (in)famous St.Andrew's Day Speech that spawned
them. Yet
one can't help but think that it, like the bill, should have been issued with
guidance notes.
To cite just one example; the report states that 63% of correspondents agreed
with the
suggestion "there should be a single national cultural development body."
Whilst the
various caveats and concerns of correspondents are summarised, the statistic is
presented
as a tacit endorsement of the nascent Creative Scotland. This overlooks the
fact that those
of us who represent Scottish artists knew Creative Scotland's advent was all but
inevitable;
even as the draft Bill was being published, too much time and money had already
been
spent in the preparations for Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council to
merge. To
naysay the merger was thus rendered futile; it was more constructive to focus on
the
minutiae of the Bill's proposals and try to make to best of them.
This report does little other than to illustrate once more that Labour's draft
Bill was a very
mixed bag. What Scotland's artist need- quickly- is a clear statement of intent
from the
new SNP-led administration. Firstly, if Creative Scotland is to succeed then we
need to
know its ultimate shape and precisely what its relationship with the Executive
is going to
be. Bluntly, to what extent will Scottish ministers control the decision-making
of the new
body's directors? Secondly, what now for the concept of "Cultural
Entitlements", and how
does it square with the continuing trend of local authorities farming out
cultural planning
to new charitable trusts? Thirdly- and most importantly- will the new Executive
place the
practitioner at the heart of their cultural planning, rather than vague notions
of "quality
and excellence" or, worse, economic impact and art's use as a poorly resourced
panacea
for societal ills?
Much has been made of the "First 100 days" of the new Scottish politics. Yet
curiously
absent from the headlines has been one of the SNP's most talked-about manifesto
promises: tax exemption on the first £15k of artists' income. Your party also
promised
new forms of arts funding, more support and investment and- perhaps- an entirely
new
Culture Bill. Clearly the SNP face unprecedented challenges as the realities of
minority
government take effect, and no one expects the hubris of a party manifesto to be
wholly
reflected in the actions of parliament. Yet many sectors have been given cause
for
optimism while uncertainty hangs over the nation's cultural development; an
overwhelming, months-long pregnant pause that requires closure. Minister, we
urge you
to join the conversation.

Sincerely,

Terry Anderson
PRESIDENT
SCOTTISH ARTISTS UNION