The Scottish National Party (SNP) has called for the abolition of the Scottish Arts Council and the establishment of a Scottish Academy to have a ?refining function? on arts policy, overall control of which would be retained by the Scottish Executive.
The proposal is the centrepiece of the party?s submission to the Cultural Commission, and calls for an increase in overall funding to the arts and the creation of ?a structure of government that reflects the widest view of culture, our heritage, our lands and languages?. Running through the submission is a demand for greater support for traditional artforms and the Gaelic language. It also refers to opera as having ?consumed large amounts of the national cake,? and calls for direct funding of the national companies to come from the Scottish Executive.
Published: 28-03-2005