The Scottish Artists Union will be sending delegates to the forth-coming
conference, "The future for arts and cultural policy: A creative Scotland?",
organised by Holyrood Events. As you can see from the link below, fees vary
from £224.10 to £89.10 plus VAT. With the majority of artists unable to make a
living from their practice even before the current economic crisis, these fees
effectively exclude them from the debate.
http://conferences.holyrood.com/content/view/977/142/

We understand it is the only such event currently in the diary of the Minister
for Culture, External Affairs & Constitution, Mike Russell. Considering Mr.
Russell's call in February for an inclusive process and for artists' voices to
be heard in the establishment of Creative Scotland, it is regrettable that the
organisers should so conclusively close their doors to arts practitioners and
confirm their worst fears about the aegis of the new agency and its leaders. It
would not be constructive for the Scottish Artists Union to forgo representation
of our members at the event, but we are dismayed to see that once again the
workers whose opinions matter most in this discussion are being denied a
platform.