Finance Secretary Shona Robison MSP has unveiled the Scottish Government’s draft Budget for 2026-7. It contains another significant increase in culture investment, improving prospects for artists and organisations at a critical moment.
The overall culture budget1 currently stands at £353 million. Plans for 2026-27 will see it grow by £28 million (8%).
There will be an extra:
- £11m for Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding programme for creative and cultural organisations;
- £11m of capital funding for the National Galleries of Scotland, to support plans for a new ‘Art Works’ complex on Edinburgh’s waterfront;
- £1.25 million of funding for the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh;
- £1.2m for the Expo Fund to support Scotland’s festivals;2
- £600k for a new Scottish Museum of Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration (location TBC);2
- £500k for cinemas in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh;2
- £100k for the Scottish Library and Information Council.2
However, spending on the National Performing Companies will be held flat (a real-terms cut), while Historic Environment Scotland and Architecture and Design Scotland will see their Scottish Government funding cut by 5% and 13% respectively.
Once inflation is taken into account, the planned increase in the overall culture budget is £20 million (6%).
In October 2023, after extensive advocacy by the Campaign for the Arts and the Scottish cultural sector, the First Minister Humza Yousaf committed that:
“Over the next five years we will more than double our investment in Scotland’s arts and culture. This means that by the end of the five years, our investment will be £100m higher than it is today.”
At the time, the Campaign for the Arts highlighted that this pledge was unclear, as £100m did not in fact represent a doubling of the culture budget.
Nonetheless, at this year’s Budget and last year’s, the Scottish Government has been announcing substantial increases, even once inflation is taken into account. In 2026-27 the overall culture budget is forecast to be £53m (16%) larger than it was in 2023-24 in real terms.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament, Shona Robison MSP said:
“It is through our songs and our stories that we best express ourselves, and best understand ourselves, and our place in the world. In these times of uncertainty, in these times when there are so many pressures on family budgets, we can find some solace, maybe even some much-needed escape, in art, in dance, in laughter, in music, in the shared experience that is a concert or a festival. Scotland is richer because of our world-famous culture, and this government stands full square behind our fantastic creative sector.”
In response to the Budget statement, Campaign for the Arts Director Jack Gamble said:
“We warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to continue growing public investment in the arts and culture, making vital progress on their pledge to boost funding by at least £100 million by 2028-29. While the sector still faces significant challenges, today’s Budget maintains the positive momentum from last year and signals a much-needed shift towards greater recognition of the immense value and potential of Scotland’s artists and cultural organisations.”
- Based on published Scottish Budget lines excluding External Affairs, plus the Scottish Government’s own definition of ‘annual culture funding‘.[↩]
- Based on an ‘Explanation of significant changes from previous year’ in ‘Other Arts and Activity’ accessed at 16:00 on 13 January 2026: “Uplift to support new Museum of Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration (£600k); Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh film houses (£500k); SLIC (£100k); Expo Fund (£1.2m)”. This explanation has since been removed from the publicly-available Budget document.[↩][↩][↩][↩]
