Funding for V&A museum in Dundee and Kings Theatre in Edinburgh: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much money has the Scottish Government and any Scot Gov quango handed out overall to the V&A museum in Dundee? Breakdown by year, how much was given and what for?
2. Over that same time period how much money has the government or any Scot Gov quango handed out to the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh? Breakdown by year, how much was given and what for?
3. All correspondence including emails, texts, WhatsApp’s and phone calls between Capital Theatres and the Scottish Government ministers, offices of ministers, special advisers and civil servants regarding the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh between December 2022 and now.
4. Briefing notes produced for ministers in regards to the Kings Theatre funding crisis.

On 1 February 2023, we asked you to specify a timeframe for questions 1, 2 and 4.

You clarified: “2018 for questions one and two. And from December 2022 for question four.”

Response

Regarding question 1, please see the table below which shows a breakdown of funding that the V&A Dundee has received from the Scottish Government –

Year	Amount (£m)	Reason
2018/19	1.611	Core revenue support (£1.0m) and to support opening (£0.611m)
2019/20	1.0	Core revenue support
2020/21	4.0	Core revenue support (£3.0m) and impact of covid support (£1.0m)
2021/22	3.25	Core revenue support (£3.0m) Impact of Omicron (£0.25m)
2022/23	3.0	Core revenue support

Regarding question 2, I would like to draw your attention to the published information regarding emergency funding that the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland has provided to Capital Theatres over the pandemic –

• https://www.gov.scot/news/supporting-flagship-cultural-venues/
• https://www.gov.scot/news/supporting-performing-arts/
• https://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2020/09/funds-continuing-toreach- performing-arts-venues
• https://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2021/01/supportingperforming- arts

It is important to be aware that Capital Theatres is not a regularly funded organisation by Creative Scotland, and that the Scottish Government does not hold information on the breakdown of spending by Capital Theatres. However, information on other grants that Capital Theatres has received from Creative Scotland is published on the Creative Scotland website at https://www.creativescotland.com/searchresults? type=site&collection=cs-meta&query=capital+theatres

Regarding question 3, we have interpreted your request to exclude correspondence regarding the Kings Theatre between Scottish Government ministers, offices of ministers, special advisers and civil servants. We can confirm that from 1 December 2022 to 31 January 2023, the date your request was submitted, there are four emails from Capital Theatres to Scottish Government officials. A copy of the emails have been included in Annex A.

Regarding question 4, we can confirm that from 1 December 2022 to 31 January 2023, the date your request was submitted, there is one submission to Neil Gray MSP in relation to the Kings Theatre funding crisis. A copy of this submission has been included in Annex B.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 30(b) (free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views); section 33(1)(b) (substantial prejudice to commercial interests); and section 38(1)(b) (third party data), of FOISA apply to that information.

Exemptions

An exemption under section 30(b)(i) (free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is designed to avoid the release of any information held on Capital Theatres that would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice if it were released. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

An exemption under section 33(1)(b) (substantial prejudice to commercial interests) of FOISA applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of the parties involved. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government. However, we have found that on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal data of a third party) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested, as disclosure would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation. The Scottish Government has a policy of not disclosing the personal data of officials who are not senior civil servants. This exemption means that the names and contact details of officials in have been redacted in Annex A and B. Additionally, we have redacted information in Annex A that would lead to individuals outside of the Scottish Government being identified. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI - 202300340809 - Annex A-B

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