Hands Up for Musicians

Scottish musicians expanding their creative horizons into other other areas of musical practice.

Creative Scotland Coronavirus Advice

This information is changing all the time so keep up with the latest info here.

A message from our Chief Executive

I can fully appreciate the increasing anxiety and uncertainty the spread of Covid-19 creates for all of us, as individuals, for our families and friends, as well as in relation to the work we do.

These are extremely challenging times and I recognise the serious personal and professional impacts for artists, practitioners and organisations arising from Covid-19 as it spreads.

The situation has escalated with such speed and severity that it is impacting profoundly on the creative sector and the work you do with communities across Scotland. Here at Creative Scotland, our primary focus is to keep funding flowing to sustain individuals and organisations, not only through the immediate short-term impacts, but with an eye to the medium to long term recovery required.

Currently, we are ensuring that our resources are directed in the most effective ways possible. This is to support people and organisations over the coming weeks and months, and we are committed to keeping information flowing to you as often as possible.

We are in extraordinary circumstances, and it’s important that we work together to manage our way through the challenges. In this newsletter, you will find more information about some of the specific measures we are introducing.

We will work tirelessly to do everything we can, and with others, to safeguard the sector’s future. I look forward to the time when we all emerge from this crisis into what will undoubtedly be a different world but one in which culture and creativity are once again at the heart of the life of the nation.

Please look after yourselves, each other, and your loved ones.

Best wishes,

Iain Munro
Chief Executive

Page contents

Creative Scotland support
Contacting us
Specific guidance on funding support 
We continue to make the case to the Scottish Government
Support from the Scottish Government
Additional links that maybe useful
Current advice from the Scottish Government
Keeping you updated
Creative Scotland preparedness

Creative Scotland support

We understand that these are extremely challenging and uncertain times and recognise the serious personal and professional impacts for artists, practitioners and organisations arising from Covid-19 as it spreads.

We appreciate that the latest advice published by the Scottish Government on Covid-19 and limiting social contact has profound significance for the sector. Our priority is to ensure we use our resources as best as possible to support people and organisations over the coming weeks and months.

Contacting us

The latest Government advice on Coronavirus is to limit social contact. Our Glasgow office is now closed, and we are no longer able to accept visitors to our Edinburgh office. However we are still very much available to speak by email and phone.

For enquiries specifically regarding Coronavirus, please email coronavirus-queries@creativescotland.com

More generally, depending on your enquiry there are number of ways you can get in touch with us.

Specific guidance on funding support

1. Existing funding awards (including Regularly Funded Organisations, Open Project Funding, Expo Fund, Youth Music Initiative)

Recipients may wish to explore whether activity can be deferred until later in the year. However, if this is not possible, all funding awards already committed will be honoured – regardless of whether the funded activity is cancelled, reduced or rescheduled.

We ask all recipients to honour contracts agreed with freelancers and artists and to think about what help they can offer their communities.

We will issue a separate communication to RFOs regarding contract processes for 2020/21.

As the Touring Fund supports projects with long term delivery horizons, we will follow the current published timeframe.

Create:Inclusion decisions will follow the published process and timeframe.

2. Open Project Funding Update

We have been listening to your feedback on the impacts of the necessary measures being taken to combat Covid-19.

Our priority at the present time is to ensure our funding best supports our sector through this exceptionally challenging period.

Therefore, there is a need to make changes to our Open Project Funding (OPF) with immediate effect.

  • We are working on revisions to OPF which respond to your feedback, the current context, the need for flexibility, minimises administrative requirements, reduces timescales and ultimately best supports people and organisations during this period. We will communicate  further on the revised approach no later than Friday 27th March.
  • In order to accommodate these revisions, we are now suspending acceptance of new applications for OPF.
  • All current OPF applications will still be assessed using the published guidance for the Open Project Fund. However we are currently communicating individually with applicants to make them aware that we will need to take current Scottish Government advice and guidelines around Covid-19 into account as part of the assessment of the financial and operational risks.
  • Whilst we hope to meet current timescales, we anticipate that there may be a delay of up to two weeks in notifying applicants of the outcome of their application.

We appreciate that this change may cause some concerns but our aim is to allocate supportive funding more quickly in order to respond to the immediacy of the current situation.

We continue to make the case to the Scottish Government

We will continue to work closely with colleagues at the Scottish Government to advocate support for the sector, share the impacts arising, and make the case for significant additional resources to help mitigate against the short, medium and long term effects of this situation.

Culture Counts are also hosting a survey which will remain open until May 2020. This survey is for organisations and individuals in Scotland’s arts, screen, heritage and creative industries and aims to understand the unique impacts on the cultural sector and will support communication of the needs of the sector due to the impact of Covid-19 (Coronavirus), to decision-makers in government and in parliament,.

Support from the Scottish Government

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop addressed the Scottish Parliament on the 18 March on the economic impact of COVID-19 in Scotland and outlined the actions being taken by the Scottish Government to support businesses including a package of measures worth £2.2 billion from 1 April which include:

  • a full year’s 100% non-domestic rates relief for retail, hospitality and tourism
  • £10,000 grants for small businesses in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme or Rural Relief
  • £25,000 grants for hospitality, leisure and retail properties with a rateable value between £18,000 and £51,000
  • 1.6% relief for all properties, effectively freezing the poundage rate next year
  • First Minister to convene an emergency meeting of the Financial Services Advisory Board
  • urging local authorities to relax planning rules to allow pubs and restaurants to operate temporarily as takeaways
  • extending the go live date for the deposit return scheme to July 2022
  • halting the introduction of the Visitor Levy Bill

This is subsequent to an announcement on 14 March in which measures to limit the impact of COVID-19 on the business community in Scotland were announced by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, including:

  • a 75% rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a rateable value of less than £69,000 from 1 April 2020
  • an £80 million fund to provide grants of at least £3,000 to small businesses in sectors facing the worst economic impact of COVID-19
  • 1.6% rates relief for all properties across Scotland, effectively reversing the planned below inflation uplift in the poundage from 1 April 2020
  • a fixed rates relief of up to £5,000 for all pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000 from 1 April 2020.

We are working with colleagues in the Scottish Government to understand how this funding support relates to our sector.

Benefits for Freelancers impacted by Coronavirus cancellations was announced  as part of the recent UK Government Budget announcement:

Helpline

A helpline providing businesses across Scotland with advice and guidance on COVID-19 has been announced by the Scottish Government. The helpline, which is now live, will answer questions from businesses related to COVID-19. The helpline will also help the Scottish Government identify the current challenges facing businesses.

The business helpline number is 0300 303 0660. The helpline is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm. (Callers should select option one to speak to the COVID-19 team).

Current advice from the Scottish Government

The situation is constantly evolving and up to date information on the situation in Scotland is available on the Scottish Government website.

For advice on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus visit NHS inform.

For advice on traveling abroad visit Fit for Travel.

Keeping you updated

We will continue to update this web page and keep our social media channels updated as and when guidance and information changes, including links to resources and information specifically for people who are self-employed, and for creative organisations and businesses.

If you have any other specific questions or concerns regarding the impact of Coronavirus on funding or our work that the above advice does not address, please email: coronavirus-queries@creativescotland.com.

We are already receiving a large number of enquiries and will look to respond as soon as possible. However, as this is a very challenging, ever changing context, please bear with us while we work our way through the queries.

Creative Scotland preparedness

For awareness, Creative Scotland has also been reviewing its own preparedness to ensure we can continue to deliver the most effective service whilst dealing with the emerging situation and the guidance on social distancing from the Scottish Government.

Please also be mindful that our staff may be directly impacted as the virus spreads, but we will look to minimise impact on our business operations wherever possible.