SUBMISSION FROM CREATIVE SCOTLAND Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill 1. Thank you for inviting us to respond to the above consultation on the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill. 2. In December 2008 the Scottish Government set up a publicly owned Limited Company, Creative Scotland 2009 Limited, under the chairmanship of Ewan Brown, to prepare for a new Non-Departmental Public Body, Creative Scotland, to be constituted when the Scottish Parliament approves the necessary legislation. 3. Creative Scotland 2009 Ltd is operationally independent but takes its direction from the Culture Minister and is accountable to the Minister. We have been given responsibility for all the practical transition arrangements, including staffing, systems and processes. 4. Our board comprises Ewan Brown, chair; two experienced business people (Chris Masters and Peter Cabrelli); two prominent practitioners (Sheena McDonald and Phil Cunningham) and Richard Holloway, who is chair of the joint board of Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. 5. We have one employee, Richard Smith, who is our Implementation Director; and he is working with the management and staff of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen to set up the new organisation and its new processes, structure and support functions. 6. At the end of March 2009, we agreed an implementation plan and timetable with the Minister. The timetable covers the four quarters to 31 March 2010 – and we are reporting progress to him on a quarterly basis. Our first report confirmed that we had engaged the enthusiasm of the staffs of Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen for the new body and given the necessary momentum to the organisational restructuring that will take place in the months ahead. We are pleased to report that the Minister was very satisfied with the progress made so far and we are grateful for his ongoing confidence and support. 7. As detailed in a statement by the Minister to Parliament 2nd April 2009, the role of Government is to set the overall context within which arts and culture can thrive in Scotland. The Minister said that, for him, a successful context meant four things: • Encouraging and sustaining artists and creators of all kinds. • Ensuring their work is accessible to all. • Ensuring that as many people as possible can participate in creative activities. • Extending and increasing the wider benefits of arts and culture, including their contribution to the promotion and development of our unique national culture and its place in the wider international sphere. 8. In the achievement of the above context, Creative Scotland has the general functions of: • Identifying, supporting and developing quality and excellence in the arts and culture from those engaged in artistic and other creative endeavours; • Promoting understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the arts and culture; • Encouraging as many people as possible to access and participate in the arts and culture; • Realising, as far as reasonably practicable to do so, the value and benefits (in particular, the national and international value and benefits) of the arts and culture; • Encouraging and supporting artistic and other creative endeavours which contribute to an understanding of Scotland’s national culture and; • Promoting and supporting industries and other commercial activity the primary focus of which is the application of creative skills.. 9. Ministers have taken the opportunity to recognise the importance to Scotland and Scotland’s society of the whole creative sector by embracing its interests in a single body and putting practitioners at the centre. This means that: • Because of its resources and remit, Creative Scotland will have greater capacity and greater capability than the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen have currently. • Creative Scotland will engage with a wider range of artistic and creative activity and people than the sectors supported by the two organisations combined. This is a direct response to the changes to the world in which Creative Scotland will operate. • As a new single body, Creative Scotland will champion and be an advocate for all the arts and creative industries and for creativity in and for Scotland. • Creative Scotland’s operating model, activities and style will build on some aspects of both Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, but largely will be a new one, designed specifically to meet its new role and remit. • Creative Scotland will not be afraid to be bold, to be radical or to be experimental. There is a widespread recognition that it must inspire, challenge and lead by example. • Creative Scotland will place a premium on artistic quality. There must always be a place for the excellent and the exciting – even where it is not matched to the commercial; and • By developing new forms of partnership with other agencies and new financing opportunities, and through its streamlined business model, Creative Scotland will achieve much more co-ordinated support for Scotland’s creative talent. 10. The Board of Creative Scotland 2009 Ltd, working through our Implementation Director and with the Joint-Board and staff of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, are determined to design and build a new organisation capable of delivering the ambition of the Government and the artistic community in Scotland. The new organisation has to build on the successes and strengths of its predecessors and to fully utilise the expertise of the staff transferring from the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. However, the new organisation must also develop new structures and processes that are appropriate to the new remit. It also has to build a new working culture that inspires, supports and develops all its staff. That challenge is considerable but we are confident that it can and will be met. 11. We are convinced that what we are putting in place will also lead to a simpler, more direct and more effective routes for practitioners to advice, support and funding. These routes will be delivered by a range of organisations working together in effective partnerships with practitioner involvement at the centre. Creative Scotland will lead the co-ordination of this activity and will make sure that practitioners are fully engaged. It will be through this new empowerment and enhanced ability to co-ordinate development across agencies and Government directorates, that the added value of Creative Scotland will be demonstrated. 12. In his statement on the 2nd April, the Culture Minister also confirmed that that the cost of setting up Creative Scotland will not come from frontline grants to artists – either existing grants administered by the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, or new initiatives. The Minister published a breakdown of the total cost of the transition to Creative Scotland. We are pleased to advise the Committee that we remain firmly on course to deliver the new body within the total cost of £3,315,060 announced by the Minister. 13. In line with the agreed implementation timetable, we will be briefing the Minister on the new organisational structure at the beginning of October. This is a crucial milestone and will be accompanied by full consultation with the staff of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen and the Trade Unions. We also continue to work closely with the Joint Board to ensure proper governance is maintained and that their existing service commitments are not prejudiced during the transition. 14. Can we bring to the Committee’s attention to two important announcements made in June relating to Creative Scotland: 15. Firstly, on the 18th June 2009, it was announced that Scottish public bodies had signed an agreement on how they will support the creative industries sector of the Scottish economy. The Scotland's Creative Industries Partnership brought together the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), Creative Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Scottish Enterprise in an agreement forged by the short-life working group established by the Culture Minister. This agreement is highly significant and formalises a most exciting step forward in working with practitioners to the benefit of all involved in Scotland's creative industries, from film to fashion to software development. 16. Under this partnership agreement, Creative Scotland will break new ground in delivering comprehensive practitioner engagement. Practitioners and their representatives will provide the information and intelligence that informs the development of the sector. This includes market and competitor intelligence, identification of commercial opportunities, identification of the barriers to growth and development of Scottish talent. 17. We would expect the new structure to enjoy high credibility, because of its engagement with practitioners, with high empowerment, because of the alliance with the local authorities and the enterprise agencies, and with high influence, because of its direct links into Government. 18. It is designed to address the barriers to success. It will listen to practitioners and understand the barriers. It will call together all the expert agencies to address the issues. It will make informed recommendations to Government as to how barriers can be removed. The structure will enable issues such as skills, intellectual property and business support provisions to be comprehensively addressed. 19. It is also designed to improve the advice and support to start-up companies. Creative Scotland will work closely with COSLA to support