Information on the establishment of the
Cultural Commission, including details on how the
budget, membership and location were decided
PDF File 1:
Includes material from the period March 2004 - April
2004
PDF File 2:
Includes the Work Plan and material from the period May
2004 - June 2004
PDF File 3:
Includes material from the period June 2004 - July
2004
PDF File 4:
Includes material from the period July 2004 - November
2004
Additional Information provided in response to
a series of questions on the Cultural
Commission:
Q. How was the appointment of a press
agency for the Cultural Commission decided, was the
position advertised, and how much is it
paid?
The Executive contacted the
Cultural Commission who advised that the Commission did not
advertise for companies to tender for its press and public
relations work. Instead it approached the company that held
the Scottish Executive's call-off contract for media and
public relations work, for a costed work plan. That work
plan exceeded the Commission's budget (see below*) and it
was felt that the company was an inappropriate choice in
other respects also. The Commission took advice from the
Scottish Executive's Media and Communications department
and approached Osler Media. Osler Media was asked to
prepare a costed work plan and this was submitted to the
Commission's Board for approval.
*The Cultural Commission's
budget for press and public relations work is £25,000.
Osler Media received £2,000 per
month (excluding VAT).
Q.
Could I please have details of the membership of a
review group appointed following the first National
Cultural Strategy; the number of meetings that the
group held and the dates and notes from these
meetings?
The group referred to appears
to be the Joint Implementation Group (JIG) on the National
Cultural Strategy which held four meetings from August
2001. The Group was chaired by the Minister responsible for
Culture and its members were as follows:
The Chair and Director of the Scottish Arts Council;
The Director of the National Museums of Scotland;
The Director General of the National Galleries of
Scotland;
The Librarian, National Library of Scotland;
The Director of the Scottish Museums Council; the
Chief Executive of Scottish Scree;
The Director of the Scottish Library and Information
Council;
The Director and Chief Executive of Historic
Scotland;
Representatives of sportscotland and of VisitScotland
(latterly Lee Cousins and Richard Pinn, respectively);
4 nominees of CoSLA (latterly Cllr. John Flett Brown,
Orkney Islands Council; Rod Stone, Aberdeenshire Council;
Stephen Fitzpatrick, CoSLA Glasgow; and Cllr. Eric Gotts,
East Dunbartonshire Council).
Bob Irvine represented the Scottish Executive;
Education Department, with a Secretariat comprising
Angela Saunders and (latterly), Yvonne Georgeson.
The Group's meetings took place
on: 14 August 2001; 14 January 2002; 8 July 2002; and
14 January 2003.
Minutes of the Joint Implementation Group's
meetings:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/FOI/19260/jointgroup
In the final minute of the JIG meetings, item 7 .1
refers to the proposition for an agency, "Creative
Scotland". The relevant extract of Paper 02/20 to which the
minute refers, is as follows:
"
A single body?
The idea of a new body
'Creative Scotland' arose from a number of sources during
the review of Scottish Screen, and has been discussed again
during the process undertaken by the Creative Industries
Forum. There is recurring interest in exploring the idea of
combining the relevant development roles of the three key
agencies into one such body which could work across the
agency boundaries and across the public/private sector
divide.
"The proposition is that such a
body could work in partnership with Higher Education and
the private sector, supporting creative entrepreneurs and
creative companies to develop ideas and potential
commercial (including socially and culturally valuable)
spin-offs. Its structure would be designed to deliver fast
and flexible support, and to be closely attuned to the
dynamic and international context in which contemporary
Scottish creative entrepreneurs work. Its focus, expertise,
and increased critical mass would attract greater
recognition of the value of the sector within the Scottish
economy and of its importance to the quality of life of
Scottish people.
"Consideration of this and
other longer term action points arising from the Creative
Industries Forum task groups will demand fuller exploration
of implications and wider consultation to be undertaken .
The Creative Industries Forum views will be an important
part of that process."
There is a current Programme
for Government commitment to "Consider a single cultural
organisation for Scotland". The Programme document says:
"We will look at the creation of a single cultural
organisation for Scotland. This will include a review of
the structure and purpose of the Scottish Arts Council as
well as the other national and regional cultural bodies and
companies. It will look at the future role and funding of
the arts in Scotland."
In April 2004, the Executive
announced arrangements for taking forward the review of
culture by the Cultural Commission, in light of the policy
framework set out in the First Minister's 2003 St Andrew's
Day Address.