Sports and Culture in Scotland

Sports and culture benefit individuals, communities, and the economy. These include physical and mental wellbeing, individual development, building stronger communities and contributing massively to the Scottish economy. This paper examines the state of sports and culture in Scotland, why it matters, and what needs to be done to strengthen it.

Local government investment in culture, sport and leisure services across Scotland has reduced by at least 20% in real terms – as much as 33% in some areas. Most councils and ALEOs have reduced opening hours, closed facilities, increased charges and cut staff. When councils face difficult budget decisions, they prioritise statutory services, resulting in larger reductions in the non-statutory provision of sport and culture.

Scottish spending on culture is amongst the lowest in Europe. The proportion of adults meeting the recommended levels of physical activity is 63 per cent, falling to 50 per cent in Scotland’s most deprived areas. Progress in National Outcomes has been minimal and, if anything, deteriorating, particularly for the most disadvantaged communities.

The failure to improve levels of physical activity and cultural capacity and strengthen our social infrastructure will further pressure our health services and damage the Scottish economy. We need to move beyond the many worthy plans into action. The paper highlights many proposals and recommends six high-level actions:

1. Create one coordinated plan for sport and culture that combines the many uncoordinated initiatives with measurable outcomes. A plan that clearly explains the role sport and culture can play in improving our physical and mental health, the economy, and building stronger communities.
2. Put the provision of sport and culture on a statutory basis, with recognised standards of provision, and develop statutory reporting standards for national and local government.
3. Develop a long-term programme for the capital investment needed to sustain and improve facilities and ensure better access to underused facilities.
4. Identify the revenue resources required to meet the planned outcomes. Then, the local tax base should be broadened to give communities the power and resources to strengthen social infrastructure, such as sports and culture.
5. Reducing inequalities should be at the heart of every plan to improve sports and culture, targeting investment and ensuring access to facilities for everyone in our communities.
6. Develop a workforce plan for the sector that ensures we are training the workforce of the future, creating career pathways and embedding Fair Work conditionality at every level.

You can watch a short presentation of this paper on our YouTube Channel.