A LEADING playwright has penned a petition signed by more than 600 people, urging the Scottish Government to not cut the budget of Creative Scotland, the national arts funder.
Rona Munro, who wrote the acclaimed James Plays for the National Theatre of Scotland among other works, has written the petition which warns that cuts would "slaughter a vibrant young industry with a huge growth potential which supports more than 70,000 Scottish jobs."
Ms Munro said she was inspired to write the petition by the prospect of cuts "pulling the rug from underneath" a strong Scottish arts scene.
The petition, delivered to Derek Mackay, finance secretary, comes in advance of the Scottish budget on December 14, which many in the arts world fear could lead to sizeable cuts in arts spending.
The petition, signed by nearly 700 people, says: "I'm asking you not to plan or support any further cuts to Creative Scotland's already reduced budget.
"Not only would this be devastating to the culture of Scotland, it does not even make good business sense.
"As Ruth Wishart pointed out in The Sunday Herald, the arts contribute 3% of the gross value of the national budget but receive only 0.5%.
"This is not a hard headed choice between funding the NHS, or education or the arts.
"This would be a decision to slaughter a vibrant young industry with huge growth potential which supports over 70, 000 Scottish jobs. Please don't damage the culture of Scotland in the name of austerity."
If the Scottish Government cuts its grant to Creative Scotland, it is expected that several arts companies will lose regular funding deals from the body.
Creative Scotland has already warned that the amount of companies receiving regular funding deals will decline.
The potential loss of government funding could be coupled with declining National Lottery cash to squeeze the funding of culture in Scotland.
Earlier this week, the chairman of Creative Scotland, Ben Thomson, warned that the Scottish arts world is facing a "significant loss of jobs" as further cuts in crucial funding from the National Lottery loom.
In a letter to Karen Bradley, the UK secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, Mr Thomson wrote about his concerns about declining revenue from the National Lottery.
He said that since the lottery market has opened to more competition, the overall lottery income for "good causes", which include arts and heritage, has reduced by 13 per cent between 2015/16 and 2016/17 and has reduced by a further 4 per cent in the first half of 2017 /18.
The impact on Creative Scotland, he said, has been a fall of £6m in funds, and he said he expects "significant continuing reductions in the remainder of 2017/18 and 2018/19."
His stark words come after Ruth Wishart, the journalist and Creative Scotland board member, revealed in the Sunday Herald that a presentation of several funding scenarios at the funding body had been a "jaw-dropping moment".
Ms Wishart said: "Worst case scenario could best be described as cultural carnage.
"A whole swathe of our artistic community would be unable to be funded, many of whom would inevitably go to the wall as a result."
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