FOI/202500477558 · FOI · not held
Scottish Government funded arts and culture programme information: FOI release
Information requested
You asked for from April 2020 to present:
PART (A): Regional breakdown of arts and culture funding awards, including:
All grants administered by Creative Scotland, the EXPO Fund, PLACE Fund, and any other Scottish Government-funded cultural programme Award value, recipient organisation name, and local authority area Specific criteria used to determine funding distribution across regions
PART (B): Staffing location data for Creative Scotland and any relevant arts bodies receiving direct government funding, including:
Number and location of staff assigned to grant management, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement Job titles and grade bandings by location.
PART (C): Justification or internal guidance used by Creative Scotland or Scottish Government cultural directorates to allocate multi-year funding disproportionately to Central Belt organisations (e.g. those based in Glasgow and Edinburgh)
PART (D): Internal evaluations, reviews, or strategy documents discussing regional equity or geographic inclusion in arts funding, including any risk assessments or mitigation efforts.
PART (E): Breakdown of festival funding recipients for the EXPO Fund and PLACE Fund from 2020– 2025, highlighting:
Location of festivals Decision criteria for support Rationale for excluding regional festivals outside Glasgow and Edinburgh
Response
PART (A): Regional breakdown of arts and culture funding awards:
CREATIVE SCOTLAND
1. Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.
Creative Scotland publish in their Annual Reviews a breakdown of the total geographical spread of their funding which is combined Scottish Government and National Lottery funding. This information and most up to date reports are available online at the following links:
Annual Review 2020/21 | Creative Scotland ( see page 28) Annual Review 2021/22 | Creative Scotland ( see page 25) Annual Review 2022/23 | Creative Scotland (see page 30) Annual Review 2023/24 | Creative Scotland (see page 33)
2. Creative Scotland publishes lists of all funding awards it makes. These lists contain details of all the individuals, organisations and projects that have been awarded money from any of their funding programmes. This information also includes the award value and local authority area information on their website, Home | Creative Scotland, which is regularly updated with the latest data available.
3. Specific criteria used to guide distribution of all Creative Scotland funding can be found in their Strategic Framework and funding criteria, available on this link: Strategic Framework and Funding Criteria | Creative Scotland
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
PLACE and EXPO FUND
1. PLACE was a five-year, match-funded partnership between the Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council, that ran between 2018–2023, focused solely on Edinburgh Festivals. This focus was due to the nature of the agreement with City of Edinburgh Council which by definition of being a partnership with City of Edinburgh Council would not have made sense to include festivals outside of Edinburgh. The evaluation for the programme, including the rationale for its specific criteria can be found here: Impact of unique Festivals programme revealed | Creative Scotland
A full breakdown report on PLACE funding (see page 70) can be found on the following link on Edinburgh Festivals website: Platforms for Creative Excellence (PlaCE): Programme Evaluation Years 1-5
2. EXPO funding is split between festivals taking place in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The funding breakdown for 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 by region is set out below:
Festival 2020-21 2021-22 CELTIC CONNECTIONS 125,834 110,000 GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL 100,000 100,000 EDINBURGH ART FESTIVAL 135,834 135,000 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL 100,000 120,000 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 75,000 50,000 EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 560,000 550,000 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS FESTIVAL 105,834 115,000 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 100,000 95,000 EDINBURGH JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL 115,834 120,000 EDINBURGH SCIENCE FESTIVAL 150,000 140,000 SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL 85,834 120,000 HOGMANAY 150,000 145,000 FESTIVALS EDINBURGH £200,000 200,000 TOTAL (£) £2,000,000 £2,000,000
Information is available online at the following links for 2022/2023 onwards:
2022/2023 Recipients: Support for Scotland’s international festivals - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 2023/2024 Recipients: £1.8 million for Scotland’s world-class arts festivals - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 2024/2025 Recipients: £1.7 million Awarded to Cultural Festivals Enabling International Opportunities for Artists and Creatives | Creative Scotland 2025/2026 Recipients: Increased funding for festivals - gov.scot
EXPO was established in 2008 to support major arts festivals with a high level of proven international reach, reputation and status. At the time of the design of the fund the festivals with the necessary levels of proven international reach, reputation and status were based in Edinburgh and, latterly Glasgow too. Glasgow International and Celtic Connections were added in 2018, and lastly Glasgow Film Festival and Sonica were included in 2023.
In 2025/26 the Scottish Government is providing £4m in additional funding for Scottish Festivals. This includes £3m to significantly increase our EXPO Festival Fund to expand its reach across Scotland in providing opportunities for the wider culture sector and funding to develop and deliver work under the Strategic Partnership for Scotland’s Festivals..
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
PART (B): Staffing location data for Creative Scotland and any relevant arts bodies receiving direct government funding, including: Number and location of staff assigned to grant management, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement Job titles and grade bandings by location.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance under section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Government does not hold this specific information.
However you may wish to contact Creative Scotland directly who may be able to help you. Their contact emails are as follows: enquiries@creativescotland.com
PART (C): Justification or internal guidance used by Creative Scotland or Scottish Government cultural directorates to allocate multi-year funding disproportionately to Central Belt organisations (e.g. those based in Glasgow and Edinburgh)
Creative Scotland has published information on Multi-Year Funding awards here: Multi-Year Funding | Creative Scotland. As above, criteria used to guide distribution of all Creative Scotland funding can be found in their Strategic Framework and funding criteria, available on this link: Strategic Framework and Funding Criteria | Creative Scotland
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
PART (D): Internal evaluations, reviews, or strategy documents discussing regional equity or geographic inclusion in arts funding, including any risk assessments or mitigation efforts:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance under section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Government does not hold this specific information.
However you may wish to contact Creative Scotland: enquiries@creativescotland.com
PART (E): Breakdown of festival funding recipients for the EXPO Fund and PLACE Fund from 2020–2025:
Please see information provided in the response to PART (A) under the heading PLACE and EXPO FUND.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
Specific criteria used to guide distribution of all Creative Scotland funding can be found in their Strategic Framework and funding criteria, available on this link: Strategic Framework and Funding Criteria | Creative Scotland Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance under section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Government does not hold this specific information. As above, criteria used to guide distribution of all Creative Scotland funding can be found in their Strategic Framework and funding criteria, available on this link: Strategic Framework and Funding Criteria | Creative Scotland Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. PART (D): Internal evaluations, reviews, or strategy documents discussing regional equity or geographic inclusion in arts funding, including any risk assessments or mitigation efforts: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance under section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Government does not hold this specific information.
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