National performing companies fear further Holyrood cuts

Scotland’s national performing companies have warned the Government that continuing to cut their funding would threaten their ability to fulfil their national duties.

Ahead of their 2017-20 grants being announced, the companies spoke out about an air of uncertainty created by the independence and EU referendums that is making fundraising and forward planning more difficult.

Giving evidence to the Education and Culture Committee on Tuesday, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Roy McEwan described the past ten years as “a success story,” but warned of “dangerous time ahead” if funding continues to be cut.

The committee heard that the companies’ funding has steadily decreased since the Scottish Government took over direct responsibility for funding them from the arts council in 2007.

An exemplary model

Despite the cuts, all five companies – Scottish Ballet, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Opera, the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) – were enthusiastic about the direct funding model. General Director of Scottish Opera Alex Reedijk described it as “exemplary” and Dr Krishna Thiagarajan said he was persuaded to take the job as Chief Executive of RSNO “because of the funding model”.

The leaders were unanimous that their strong relationship with the Scottish Government gives them stability, both financially and in terms of creative planning, and boosts participation and public ‘buy-in’. They were positive about the dedicated International Touring Fund, which helps them to build their profile and generate revenue through touring and the ‘offshore rental’ of productions.

Scaling back

But as they await the details of their 2017-20 settlements, due to be announced this autumn, the leaders were keen to highlight the fragility of the arts economy.

Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland Laurie Sansom described how funding pressures are forcing the companies to think about reviewing their programming and activities. “At what point do we fail to fulfil the remit of national companies if, for example, our ability to take work to the whole of the country is at risk,” he asked.

“We are in danger of being hit by the triple whammy of cuts to local authorities and cuts to Creative Scotland,” he added.

The committee heard how the companies are working to find new sources of income and increase revenues. The percentage of income from sponsorship and fundraising across the companies rose from 9.3% in 2007/08 to 11.7% in 2013/14. Roy McEwan spoke of success in increasing individual giving, but there was a consensus that other available sources –trusts and foundations, individual givers and business partners – are also experiencing financial squeezes.

Facing uncertainty

On top of funding concerns, the companies have been battling insecurity created by the independence debate and fear further problems will be created by the upcoming elections and EU referendum.

McEwan told the committee that securing money from trusts and foundations became more difficult in the run up to the independence referendum. “Quite a large number of the major trusts based in London took the opportunity not to invest in Scotland,” he said. “They needed to be sure about whether they were investing in the UK in the long term.”

The next election cycles and the campaign for British independence from the EU are “a bigger concern” for Krishna Thiagaraja. He said: “Regardless of the outcome, none of those things is helpful in the long term if we are to continue thinking as an international organisation, because the uncertainty causes difficulty.”

The committee meeting was a one-off session focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing Scotland’s national performing companies in the lead-up to their 10th anniversary of being directly funded by the Scottish Government.