The review of Creative Scotland should be independent of the government and look into the wider funding landscape, Labour has said.

Neil Bibby, the party’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Culture and Sport, said there were “obviously issues” between ministers and the arts quango.

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John Swinney announced the review last week saying it was to “ensure its operations and structure are optimal to the needs of the culture sector.”

The troubled arts quango's “remit and functions as a funding body” will be examined for the first time in 14 years.

News of the review followed a number of high-profile controversies.

Earlier this year, there were questions over Creative Scotland's decision to fund Rein, a show which involved non-simulated sex.

After the public furore over the show, the arts funding body clawed back the money and claimed there had been a “significant change” to the project from the application.

However, documents released under Freedom of Information showed Creative Scotland was told that Rein would involve a "sex scene with genital contact” before they awarded the show more than £86,000 of taxpayers’ cash.

Last week, it also emerged that a Creative Scotland employee tasked with helping authors - Dr Alice Tarbuck - tried to prevent a bookshop from stocking a book by poet Jenny Lindsay, because of her gender critical views.

There has also been criticism over the decision to end funding to Glasgow’s Aye Write book festival and the Edinburgh Deaf Festival.

The Scottish Government and Creative Scotland have also clashed in recent months over the Open Fund for individuals.

The arts body said it was because the uncertainty in funding left them with no choice, but the government said they were completing due diligence before releasing the funding Full details of the review will be set out to parliament in the near future, and will “include seeking views from individuals and organisations from all parts of Scotland’s culture sector".

Mr Bibby told The Herald on Sunday: “There are obviously issues between the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland.

“I also think it shouldn't look necessarily just at Creative Scotland, but wider than that, how we protect what we've got in terms of our cultural assets, but also how we can support the creative industries more widely.”

Mr Bibby added: “I think there's also real anger about what appears to be a constant cycle of promises followed by cuts and u-turns. That uncertainty really has an impact on people's lives and also people's jobs as well.

“Clearly, the sector needs certainty and clarity on funding, and there needs to be that ability for people to plan for longer than just a year.”

Ms Lindsay told The Herald on Sunday that Creative Scotland was simply not fit for purpose.

The poet said there was now a perception that Creative Scotland had been “captured by a set of ideological beliefs that colour how some staff or panel members, or even Heads of Department, may be judging individual applicants.”

“There has to be a radical overhaul of hiring practices, with freedom of expression questions centred to ensure anyone sitting in judgment of writers and artists is actually capable of doing so, as they prioritise good art, good literature, freedom to explore, above their own personal politics.

“I'm afraid that, though there are most definitely some very good people at Creative Scotland, I've no confidence across the board that this is something some are capable of.”

Ms Lindsay said the review must listen to people like her “who have been facing an uphill battle with ideological bureaucrats who have, demonstrably, fostered an atmosphere of fear and alarm in the literary arts in particular.”

She added: “Any Review that does not take in the experiences of talented writers and artists who have been really harmed by this atmosphere is a wasted opportunity for all of us. Freedom of expression is a fundamental basis for all art.

“That so many have lost sight of that is truly alarming to me, but there's still time to put things right.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The review of how the culture sector is supported will include, but is not limited to Creative Scotland.

“We are committed to increasing funding for culture and the arts to at least £100m more per year by 2028/29. The review will help ensure this significant financial investment maximises the impact of public sector support.”