Scottish arts sector tells ministers cuts will have grave impact on 'cultural wellbeing'

Many of Scotland's best-known arts organisations, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and National Jazz Orchestra, are in uproar over plans for deep cuts in culture funding.

- Severin Carrell

They said the proposed cuts, which came to light in the middle of the Edinburgh festival, would leave Scottish artists in crisis and cause deep damage to the country's reputation and economy.

An open letter, signed by 111 organisations and artists, has been sent to John Swinney, the first minister, Angus Robertson, the culture secretary, and Kate Forbes, the economy secretary, warning that the cuts would have grave consequences for Scotland's cultural wellbeing.

The signatories said the government was betraying promises from the previous first minister, Humza Yousaf, that funding for Scotland's arts sector would grow by £100m, and it was rowing back on recent pledges to spend another £25m this year.

The row follows orders to the civil service from the Scottish finance secretary, Shona Robison, to freeze or cut all non-essential spending, after the Treasury warned of deep reductions in public spending this year.

Scottish ministers have already begun cutting spending, including scrapping a pilot scheme that removed peak fares from all domestic rail services, in preparation for an emergency budget this autumn.