Update Thursday 12 September: We are happy to report that Creative Scotland has announced that it will work to reopen the fund after the Scottish Government confirmed it will receive funding previously allocated for the 2024/25 budget.

There is a funding crisis within the arts in Scotland, and this is not the first U-turn from the Scottish Government on this issue. This mounting uncertainty is unsustainable and has a serious impact on our members and the wider sector. We urge the Scottish Government to earn the trust of the sector, and we will continue to engage with the Government to improve the conditions for authors and artists across the country. 

On Monday, Creative Scotland announced the closure of its Open Fund for Individuals due to ‘uncertainty’ from the Scottish Government around the available budget for the 2024/25 financial year. This decision comes as a huge blow to authors and to the creative sector in a time of crisis; work must be done to protect this source of funding.

The Open Fund is one of Creative Scotland’s key funding programmes, and one of the few remaining resources for artists, including authors, to seek direct funding to complete projects. Its budget was reinstated in October 2023, having been cut earlier that year, when the first minister at the time, Humza Yousaf, pledged an additional £100m for the arts sector by 2028 – a promise widely celebrated in the industry but which is yet to be materialised.

In their statement, Creative Scotland wrote that their decision to close the fund is ‘unavoidable’ as the Scottish government was ‘unable to confirm release of £6.6m in Grant-in-Aid budget’ for the 2024–25 financial year. Their announcement has caused alarm and perplexity as literary and cultural organisations were not consulted about the decision.

The Society of Authors is very concerned about the impact this decision will have on authors for whom earning a living has never been harder. In 2022, ALCS reported that the median earning for writers was £7,000 – just over a third of the living wage. Grants for work in progress are a vital lifeline for authors in these difficult times, with the cost of living soaring and with generative Artificial Intelligence already harming livelihoods.

After over a decade of cuts, our creative industries and our cultural capital are at stake and we must ensure that funds for creators remain in place to protect these.

We urge Creative Scotland and the Scottish government to reconsider this decision. The SoA is working closely with partners at the Scottish Trades Union Congress to get clarity from Scottish Government and Creative Scotland representatives over this closure, and over their future funding plans for the sector.

Mary Paulson-Ellis and Helen Sedgwick, on behalf of Society of Authors in Scotland committee, said:

‘We are deeply concerned by the announcement earlier this week of the sudden closure of the Open Fund for Individuals, and are shocked that this has happened without consultation with authors and their representatives, and without any forewarning. Creative Scotland and the Scottish government must demonstrate their commitment to supporting the arts and ensuring they are accessible to everyone by reinstating the fund, so that authors are not deprived of this vital lifeline.‘

The fund will continue receiving applications until 14:00 on 30 August.