Overall, the budget settlement from Scottish Government was very positive, however Creative Scotland still had to make difficult decisions due to the budget constraints in Year 1. This shaped our approach and what steps were taken in ensuring as many organisations as possible could receive funding.
In total for Year 1, applicants requested £81.6 million and the budget from Scottish Government to support MYF in 2025/26 was capped at £54 million, rising to £74 million in 2026/27. This staged budget is fixed, does not allow us to move money between the years, and must be allocated within the year, with no carry over allowed.
We considered two options:
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Support a reduced number of organisations within the Year 1 budget which would result in a substantial reduction of organisations supported who were considered eligible and fundable.
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Offer staged payment to all organisations who were considered eligible and fundable, reflecting our own staged funding from the Scottish Government and supplement the Year 1 budget with £6 million National Lottery reserves. This was the option we adopted and meant we were able to support all 251 organisations that successfully met our criteria.
All previously funded organisations that were successful received a meaningful increase on their average annual support level from Creative Scotland over the last 5 years – whether this was RFO funding or project funding.