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Sam Galbraith Announces £27 Million Funding Boost For Scotland's Cultural Life
02/11/2000
Scotland's cultural life will benefit from significant extra funding for the national institutions and the Scottish Arts Council, Minister for the Environment, Sport and Culture Sam Galbraith announced today.
Mr Galbraith made the announcement during a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the National Cultural Strategy. He said:
"At the launch of Scotland's first National Cultural Strategy in August, we announced an initial funding package of £7.25m to support the aspirations of the strategy, a strategy that dispels once and for all the mistaken assumption that culture is only for the elite few.
"I am delighted to announce today that following the spending review, we will be making an additional £11.7m available to the National Museums, Galleries and the National Library of Scotland over the next three years. This will include specific amounts to support the expansion of their important educational programmes and the additional activities they have taken on in recent years.
"We shall also be investing significant additional amounts in the arts through the Arts Council. We announced at the time of the launch a new £1.5m programme to support excellence in the traditional arts. In addition we shall be increasing overall support for the Arts Council by £15.2m over the next three years.
"These increases represent the most significant increase in funding that the arts in Scotland have ever had. These resources will include support for the proposed national theatre for Scotland should the present feasibility study come up with a practicable proposal.
"Depending on the outcome of that study up to £1.5m will be available for the first full year of the theatre in 2003/04 and up to £500,000 to support its start up in the year before that."
Mr Galbraith continued:
"The Scottish Executive has made the connection between culture and education and social justice. Culture can make these connections by giving people and communities ways to acquire and expand ther skills and give them new insights into themselves and their communities. Most of all however it can bring enjoyment into their lives - the enjoyment of participation as actor, musician, photographer or whatever and the enjoyment of participation as actor, musician, photographer or whatever and the enjoyment as the audience.
"The Executive will work with other agencies to realise that potential contribution. Since the publication of the strategy we have also been in careful discussion with key agencies work on implementing the key actions. The role of national bodies and of local authorities are both of vital importance and an important stress of the strategy is to find better ways of working in partnership so that the local and the national properly complement each other."
He concluded:
"Our initiatives and the additional funding illustrate the breadth of our approach and our commitment to promoting excellence and wider access. Overall the strategy is ambitious and forward looking. It is based on a carefully thought through appraisal of what people have said about Scotland's culture.
"It provides a framework within which Scotland's culture can flourish and be accessible to and enjoyed by all, in which it can develop and exploit its international potential. It is a strategy that demonstrates our commitment to Scotland's cultural past and future."
1. Detailed allocations will be finalised and communicated to relevant bodies shortly.
2. Figures reflect increases on financial allocations made for 2000/01.
News Release: SE2833/2000
2 Nov 2000