Creative Scotland ‘doesn’t take on learning’, review chairwoman tells MSPs

Creative Scotland is viewed as an organisation that “doesn’t take on learning from incidents”, the chairwoman of an independent review into the organisation has said.

The comments come after a 70-page report, commissioned by the Scottish Government, found Scotland’s national arts body lacks ambition.

Speaking at Holyrood’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee on Thursday, Angela Leitch said: “We’ve pointed to a whole lot of areas where there is improvement, and these are based on the feedback from the sector. We did hear that it was overly bureaucratic, that the returns that were required of funded organisations were burdensome, that the application process was really extensive.

“That the requirements between, if I just go back to multi-year, stage one and stage two, were very time consuming. There isn’t any transparency.”

The committee met to discuss the findings of the Creative Scotland review, which Ms Leitch led.

The report called for Creative Scotland to modernise, saying it had not adapted to a changing industry. It said it had to digitise its funding process to make it proportionate and streamlined, which would reduce bureaucracy.

Ms Leitch continued: “The perception was that it was very much viewed as an organisation that doesn’t take on learning from incidents. There were a lot of views, and I have to stress that these are the views of people that we spoke to and the evidence that we gathered.

“I think in the spirit of being an open and learning organisation, there is a lot in the report that Creative Scotland can go away to address.”

While reform is needed, Ms Leitch said it is still a relevant organisation and praised it as a stabilising force during austerity and Covid-19.

After the release of the report in November, the chairwoman said there was general agreement that it had provided “significant” support to the sector over the last 15 years, and there was “widespread agreement” it held “considerable expertise and insight, and its support is valued by the sector”.

A Creative Scotland spokesperson said: “There is much to welcome in the independent review’s report and we are now in the process of considering its recommendations carefully.

“This presents an opportunity to evolve Creative Scotland’s role, not just in support of culture and creativity, but as a public body continuing to contribute tangible benefits to people and communities, creatively, economically, and in terms of health and wellbeing.”