Independent Review of Creative Scotland

Theme 2: Governance and leadership within Creative Scotland

Strategic direction

Creative Scotland delivers services on behalf of the Scottish Government and operates at arm’s length from Ministers. Scottish Ministers are accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the activities of Creative Scotland and its use of resources. The Accountable Officer, reporting to a Board, is responsible for day-to-day operational matters.

Creative Scotland has the responsibility for ‘artistic or cultural judgement’ in respect of its statutory functions. This is provided for by section 40(2) of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010:

“Scottish Ministers may give Creative Scotland directions (of a general or specific nature) as to the exercise of its functions. But […] may not give directions so far as relating to artistic or cultural judgement in respect of the exercise of Creative Scotland's functions”

Scottish Ministers have given directions to Creative Scotland in relation to National Lottery funding (see Annex B). Creative Scotland also receives an annual Budget Allocation Letter detailing the Scottish Government funding allocation.^[34] Together with the Scottish Government’s Culture Strategy,^[35] these set out the Scottish Government’s aims, policies and priorities for Creative Scotland, as a national body, to help deliver.

Three frameworks guide the work and relationships of Creative Scotland. These are:

1. the broad framework within which the Scottish Government expects Creative Scotland to operate. It defines key roles and responsibilities which underpin the relationship between the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland and was last updated in 2022^[36]

2. the Creative Industries Framework Agreement, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of Creative Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish local government in supporting Scotland's creative industries. It was last updated in 2009^[37]

3. the Strategic Framework, which was last updated in 2021, sets out Creative Scotland’s aims.^[38] It also sets out priorities for supporting future recovery and renewal of the arts, screen and creative industries across Scotland

In addition, Creative Scotland has an annual plan that outlines its priorities, a work plan for the year ahead, funding developments and summary of its budget.^[39] The details of how Creative Scotland has met its key performance indicators are published in its annual review.^[40] See theme 3 on performance.

Creative Scotland has strategies covering the climate emergency,^[41] Gaelic and Scots languages,^[42] creative learning,^[43] corporate parenting,^[44] and intangible cultural heritage.^[45] The organisation also reports on how it respects and protects children’s rights through its work.^[46] Some respondents to the Review suggested that more focussed strategies were needed for individual art forms, in line with Ireland’s approach.^[47]

Despite the frameworks and strategies, many who participated in the engagement sessions were unclear on Creative Scotland’s vision, priorities and purpose. Some felt that Creative Scotland’s strategic aims were broad in language and vague in application. Several mentioned the need for a clearer long-term strategy. Rather than organisational strategies being generalised for the sector, modelling strategies around specific art form needs would better articulate Creative Scotland’s developmental role.

Recommendation 6: As a national body, Creative Scotland must clearly articulate its remit through a long-term strategy, as well as plans, policies and procedures. It should set out more clearly in an annual plan how it intends to deliver on its aims and support the Scottish Government’s priorities, regularly reporting on performance.

It is not clear how Creative Scotland’s four strategic priorities (fair work, environmental sustainability, international and equality, diversity and inclusion) support delivery of Creative Scotland’s four roles (funder, advocacy, influencer and development agency). Many asked whether Creative Scotland was adequately prioritising quality of artistic endeavour. Some asked what was being done to support home-grown talent and pipelines for future workforce needs.

Many were unclear on the alignment between Creative Scotland’s work and the Scottish Government’s Culture Strategy. Creative Scotland’s Strategic Framework does not make specific reference to the Culture Strategy, though it is intended to support and enable its ambitions.^[48] Greater cross-referencing with other relevant strategies, such as those for the historic environment and museums and galleries,^[49] would provide a more coherent and integrated approach. Frameworks and strategy documents should also be kept up to date, with clear linkages between them.

Much has changed since Creative Scotland was established in 2010. Given the changes in the wider operating environment, the sector itself, and the landscape of support available, the Creative Industries Framework Agreement requires to be reviewed as a matter of urgency (see recommendation 2). This should be done as part of a wider review of the need for, and linkages between, the various governance documents. Consideration should also be given to where to articulate more clearly the public benefit, cultural equity (geographic and socioeconomic), and long-term audience development.

Recommendation 7: Creative Scotland should ensure it has a clearly articulated long-term vision that is aligned with, and informed by, partners from across the sector.

Creative Scotland governance and accountability structures

The Board

The Creative Scotland Board is accountable to, and appointed by, the Scottish Government. The Board consists of 9-15 remunerated members, who are responsible for steering the strategic direction of Creative Scotland, overseeing its effective governance, financial accountability and its delivery of value as a public body.^[50] Currently there are 10 members on the Board.^[51] The Board has the role in holding the Executive to account and scrutinising Creative Scotland’s plans.

Under the terms of their appointment, Board members are required to provide active direction, and a strong ‘challenge function’ to scrutinise assumptions before decisions are taken. They must make strategic decisions regarding the delivery of Creative Scotland’s statutory functions, including setting a vision and communicating that vision to stakeholders and the wider public. They are also required to monitor performance, ensure value for money and work collaboratively with the Scottish Government and other key partners to support the development of effective strategies for identifying, supporting and developing the arts, screen and creative industries, and to maximise the contribution they can make to a successful Scotland.^[52]

From a review of Board and committee papers and minutes, there are several improvements needed to the governance of Creative Scotland. Given the legislation defining its functions, the Board should articulate how this informs what the organisation will and will not undertake. Strategic direction needs to be more systematically set. Evaluation of options was limited in the documentation available during this Review and there needs to be stronger scrutiny and challenge of Executives and the performance of the organisation. On some occasions Creative Scotland did not sufficiently explain decisions it made or reversed decisions. These issues are also commented on in other sections of the report (see theme 3).

A governance framework provides an opportunity for an organisation to explain its decision-making processes and the rationale for them. In making this public, it promotes a wider understanding of what the organisation is doing and helps build trust. Creative Scotland’s governance framework is not on its website but was provided for the purposes of this Review. Agreed in July 2025, the framework replaces one from 2018 and states that it will be updated at least every two years and more frequently where changes are proposed to the structure. It does not include the terms of appointment of Board members or timescales for approval of committee minutes, or number of members required to provide a quorum for the meeting.

Creative Scotland’s governance is difficult to navigate and lacks transparency. Although minutes from Board meetings and some Committee meetings are available online others are not.^[53] Board papers are not proactively published.^[54] Minutes from the Board do not sufficiently capture verbal updates from some Committees (rather than written reports) or are delayed in being published (taking 25-30 working days to be published). Good practice in other sectors would suggest that agendas and papers should be published in advance of meetings, that papers taken in private should be clearly shown on the agenda with the reason stated, and that minutes should be published in advance of the next meeting.^[55]

The Review was initially advised that Creative Scotland did not hold a gifts and hospitality register. The Finance and General Purposes Committee agreed at their July 2025 meeting for this to be introduced. This should be in place for both Board members and staff and regularly reviewed, especially in light of recent experiences in other publicly funded organisations.^[56]

There were requests for greater transparency around the meetings and events that Board members attend. Some staff and stakeholders requested more visibility of the Board which was felt would provide opportunity for discussion of key issues and provide transparency around the decision-making process.

Board members are required to devote one day a month to Creative Scotland business. They meet six times a year in Edinburgh, with the option for Board members to join remotely. Meetings are held in private, with no observers. Given the extent of the changes that are recommended in this report, Board members should be allocated more time for the governance of Creative Scotland, at least in the short term.

The Scottish Government’s Guide for Members of Statutory Boards says that Boards should consider holding board meetings in public, unless there is a good reason not to, and should hold an annual open meeting.^[57] The Board should consider how it can improve its visibility and also address the perception that the organisation is focused primarily on the Central Belt.

Recommendation 8: Creative Scotland should improve its governance arrangements, focusing on transparency, strategic challenge and performance oversight. Given the scale of transformation required, the time commitment for Board members should be increased.

Artistic and creative skills and experience are essential for this Board. So too is professional experience in governance, scrutiny, strategy setting and performance monitoring. Creative Scotland reviews its skills matrix for Board members when there is a Board recruitment exercise. The last review was in 2022 (see section on the Nominations Committee below). Discussions during the Review engagement process highlighted the benefits of reviewing the skills matrix on an annual basis.

Recommendation 9: Creative Scotland should regularly review the skillsets of the Board to ensure it is diverse, reflective of the ongoing changes in the sector and contains adequate governance experience.

There were some calls, including by members of the Board, for Creative Scotland to be given a stronger mandate in terms of its remit. This was particularly in relation to the creative industries. Board members also spoke of their frustration at increasingly having ‘their hands tied’ by the Scottish Government. Openness in discussions with government would help address this tension between Creative Scotland looking for direction and at the same time wanting greater flexibilities.

The Chair, Board and Accountable Officer have steered the organisation through the turbulence of COVID-19 and ongoing financial pressures on the sector. They should now increase the focus on transformation within the organisation to better enable it to address the needs of a broad sector. Creative Scotland previously has had to navigate challenges from the sector when changes were proposed. Going forward the organisation needs further dynamic leadership that seeks cross-sectoral partnerships to foster innovation and embrace opportunities. The wider issues of public service reform and strategies such as those covering the economy and health also require to be explicitly addressed by the Board and Executive.

Recommendation 10: Given the need for change and transformation, the leadership of the organisation must demonstrate greater ambition, aspiration and appetite for risk.

Committees

The Board operates four committees, to which it delegates authority over specific matters. These committees are made up of Board members and each committee has a designated Chair. Any Board member can attend any committee meeting if they wish to do so. The committees are supported by named directors who act as secretariat for the committees. All but the Nominations Committee provide an update at each Board meeting. The four committees are:

1. The Audit and Risk Committee. The purpose of this committee is to assure and advise the Board, and the Chief Executive in their capacity as Accountable Officer, in terms of the effectiveness of the internal control and risk management systems. This committee meets at least four times per year, with an annual risk deep-dive, and may hold additional meetings as required.

Several mentioned Creative Scotland’s lack of appetite to undertake risk. For example, whereas Arts Council Wales provided conditional offers in advance of their budget being confirmed by the Welsh Government, Creative Scotland did not do so last year (Multi-Year Funded organisations have now received indicative figures up to March 2028, subject to the Scottish Government releasing funding to Creative Scotland). Instead, Creative Scotland chose to delay issuing Multi-Year Funding contracts and temporarily closed the Open Fund (see theme 4). The significant impact of these decisions on the sector, both practical and in terms of individuals’ wellbeing, was frequently mentioned, as was the resulting strain between Creative Scotland and the sector. Given the discretion Creative Scotland has within their remit (see theme 1) there was potential for alternative decisions to be considered.

In the last two financial years there have been in-year adjustments to the grant-in-aid the Scottish Government had earmarked for Creative Scotland. This likely contributed to a reduced appetite for risk taking. The risk register, which goes to every Board meeting, was shared with the Review team. Some of the identified risks had insufficient mitigations identified or underway. Others demonstrated a lack of ownership and limited responsibility. In line with standard practice elsewhere risks should be recorded in a risk register and discussed as part of quarterly performance updates in the Audit and Risk Committee.

2. The Finance and General Purposes (F&GP) Committee. The purpose of the F&GP Committee is to scrutinise activity relating to corporate planning, human resources and office services, finance, estates, internal performance management, and digital. This committee meets at least four times per year and may hold additional meetings as required.

There was insufficient evidence of timely performance monitoring (see theme 3) or forward planning. Financial planning tends to focus on the year ahead, limiting strategic opportunities, value for money and financial sustainability of the sector. For example, proposals for the future of the Multi-Year Fund have yet to be considered.

Monitoring funded organisations and the impact of funding decisions needs to be more regularly scrutinised by the Board or F&GP committee.

3. The Nominations Committee. This committee supports the Chair in the public appointments processes for new Board members by providing advice on the skills, expertise and attributes required for the effective operation of the Board. This Committee convenes when required, at the request for the Chair of the Board. Board members are appointed for four years and can be reappointed once. Skills required by the Board are reviewed infrequently. The last meeting of this committee was in January 2023. The Board has an option, which it has used in the past, to appoint co-opted members to committees to address any gaps. This would allow, for example, the F&GP Committee to appoint someone with a background in transformation in light of the recommendations of this Review.

4. The Screen Committee. The purpose of this committee is to oversee the delivery of Screen Scotland’s aims and objectives. Membership includes senior representatives from Scotland’s screen industry, Board members, the Chief Executive, Screen Scotland Executive Director and Director of Screen. This committee meets at least four times per year and may hold additional meetings as required.

Given the nature of the work undertaken by Screen Scotland, the committee requires greater delegation. This is covered in more detail below in the section on screen.

Staff

Feedback on Creative Scotland staff was positive. They were widely seen as being knowledgeable, professional, helpful and committed, and were said to maintain good relationships with those in their sectors.

The value of art form knowledge and experience in the organisation was frequently mentioned. Organisations said that they feel more secure when those with specialist experience are feeding into decision making and are there to support them in their development and when facing challenges.

There was a keenness for better diversity of protected characteristics as well as a broader set of skills. For example, some stakeholders commented that representation from commercial, international, racially marginalised and youth audiences is currently lacking within Creative Scotland.

Many, both within and outwith Creative Scotland, fed back that Creative Scotland is under-resourced in key areas that are crucial for the further development of the sector, including AI, digital and data-processing. It is important that the organisation has a clear workforce plan that aligns with its priorities and stated outcomes.

Staff across the organisation were redirected to assess Multi-Year Funding applications. The sector recognised that staff were extremely busy and therefore unable to address the other needs of the sector. Discussion during engagement sessions suggested that staff were also frustrated not to be progressing planned work, and that the volume of work impacted some individuals’ wellbeing. It is not clear how the resourcing of this significant programme was planned in advance of the funding being awarded or how the Board was advised of the impact it would have on other aspects of the annual plan 2024-25. Given the annual review of this plan will not be available until the first quarter of 2026 this Review cannot comment on the views expressed.

Some expressed concern that a lack of investment in Creative Scotland itself has weakened the whole sector and undermined its ability to do anything other than administer funding. The sector would like to see the organisation offering development, advocacy, research, and other areas of support, which would inherently require a change of resourcing. Despite the significant changes resulting from the move to Multi-Year Funding, Creative Scotland has a one-year interim workforce plan for 2025-26. Given that capacity will always be limited, which affects both the timeliness of communication and the depth of engagement with applicants, clear prioritisation and workforce planning is required.

Given the evolution of the sector and its needs, consideration should be given to the skills needed to support the sector. For example, there was a perception from some that Creative Scotland staff lack knowledge of running cultural businesses. A workforce plan should be developed as part of the organisation’s long-term strategy. This should ensure that the structures, skills, competencies and experiences of both the leadership and supporting staff fit the needs of the organisation and sector.

Recommendation 11: Creative Scotland should develop its workforce plan for the next three to five years ensuring diversity of representation amongst staff.

Despite changes in the sector over the past 15 years there has been relatively little change in the structure within Creative Scotland since it was established. It was reported that low staff turnover has limited the opportunity for the leadership to step back and consider the overall structures and skillsets.

The current workforce profile shows almost 30% of the 139 staff at team leader grade or above while the senior leadership team comprises 11 individuals (8% of total full-time equivalent), whose combined salaries account for approximately 17-18% of total salary expenditure. Creative Scotland should assure itself that this ratio of senior management to operational staff best enables it to meet its objectives and that the roles demonstrably add value to the achievement of plans.

It is important that the staff resources needed to undertake the planned work of the organisation is kept under review and appropriate changes made.

Regional approach

Stakeholders repeatedly highlighted the benefits of bringing regional intelligence into decision-making processes (see theme 5). Almost all stakeholders from other parts of Scotland felt that Creative Scotland was overly focussed on the Central Belt. They mentioned lack of visibility, lack of understanding of regional priorities, and disproportionate funding. Some called for more decentralisation of Creative Scotland employees, who could be empowered to build relationships, develop local intelligence and support co-design. Flexible working practices could improve equity and deepen understanding of regional needs. There was also strong appetite at some of the roundtables for a decentralised decision-making structure. Greater use of secondments and training would strengthen skills, knowledge and collaboration.

Regional working will only be effective if it is built into the overall governance structure of the national body. There is a strong appetite for regional decision-making with several suggesting models such as a reimagined Place Partnership model, a regional multi-agency partnership such as a Creative City Regional Deal, or nationally supported Creative Compacts. This is covered further in theme 5.

Recommendation 12: Creative Scotland should build a regional approach into its governance structure to enhance its regional relationships, develop local intelligence, support co-design and deepen understanding of regional needs.

Screen Scotland

Many praised the successes of Screen Scotland as the dedicated partnership for the screen sectors. The brand ‘Screen Scotland’ has no separate legal status. Whilst there is no suggestion that this needs to be changed, other changes are required for Screen Scotland to operate more efficiently.

Screen Scotland is responsible for driving development of all aspects of Scotland’s film and TV industry, through funding and strategic support.^[58] Screen Scotland has a separate strategy to Creative Scotland,^[59] which aligns with the economic growth ambitions of the Scottish Government.^[60] It sets out Screen Scotland’s aims, plans and priorities for the continued economic and creative growth of Scotland’s film and TV sectors to 2030-31. It has been developed in line with Creative Scotland’s Strategic Framework and funding criteria^[61] and shares an emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, fair work and internationalisation. These are in line with the Scottish Government’s Culture Strategy for Scotland^[62] and to the wider National Performance Framework for Scotland.^[63]

A Memorandum of Understanding, developed in 2018 formalises the partnership in which Creative Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Skills Development Scotland, and the Scottish Funding Council work together as Screen Scotland.^[64] Through this, the partner agencies agreed to work together to achieve closer and stronger collaborative working and more effective delivery of public sector investment and resources to drive growth in Scotland’s television and film sectors. It has not been updated to account for the establishment of South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), who have their own screen strategy.^[65] Both HIE and SOSE noted that they have limited engagement with Screen Scotland due to Screen Scotland’s perceived focus on larger productions.

Although many who participated in the engagement sessions were unclear on Creative Scotland’s vision, priorities and purpose, there were positive comments about Screen Scotland’s strategy. Given the significant change since Screen Scotland was established, the Screen Scotland Memorandum of Understanding requires to be reviewed as a matter of urgency. This should be done as part of a wider review of the dependencies between the Creative Scotland annual plan and Screen Scotland Strategy.

The evidence suggests that Screen Scotland is not fully integrated into Creative Scotland in a way that would enable it to make the most of its capacity and skills. The sector reported challenges that arose from Screen Scotland operating within Creative Scotland, with limited control over human resources or business functions. As part of the stakeholder engagement, there were calls for greater flexibility and autonomy for Screen Scotland to pursue its goals more assertively and effectively. This included requests for basic issues such as Screen Scotland having its own email addresses, to being able to make funding decisions within agreed parameters, and to be able to issue legal contracts quickly to reflect the pace of the sector.

There were concerns whether there was sufficient scrutiny of screen decisions by those with industry and commercial knowledge. Whereas some suggested that more screen decisions should be taken to the Board, others thought there should be greater delegation to the Screen Committee.

Whilst working within an umbrella organisation with shared services, there was an appetite for Screen Scotland to be able to act and market itself more independently. There should be more delegation and accountability for the Screen Committee, in particular for financial decisions, with this clearly set out in the governance framework.

Recommendation 13: Given the high profile of Screen Scotland nationally and internationally, it should be supported to have a clearer sense of identity and the ability to act and market itself more independently within the umbrella of the national body. There should be clear delegation to the Screen Committee for delivery of its strategy, with this set out in its terms of reference to enable Screen Scotland to operate at the pace required.