Early recruitment for Scottish team

Creative Scotland (CS) will soon be seeking a Chief Executive and a supporting five-strong executive team, according to CS Chair Ewan Brown, speaking at a second update meeting in Perth earlier this month. Previously, the assumption was that a new Chief Executive could not be appointed until Royal Assent is granted in 2010 (AP196). Brown revealed that the new structure for CS would be simpler, but details will not emerge until after current negotiations with staff and unions are complete. The previous update meeting in June had revealed that CS would not be eligible for charitable status. Brown said that “the [Culture] Minister [Michael Russell] and I have had a very useful meeting with the Chairman and Chief Executive of OSCR [Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator], and I think we’ll get a good outcome from that”. Russell, who also spoke at the event, said that all the criticism of the previous CS Bill “had now been addressed in full”, and added that “changes have been profound and necessary, and do underpin a much better series of arrangements”. The Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee of the Scottish Parliament has been taking evidence on CS, and the Stage 1 debate on the Bill is scheduled for 16 December.