SCOTLAND’s arts and film industry has lost out on millions in funding due to Brexit, new analysis has suggested.
Work by the UK Trade and Business Commission found that the UK as a whole has lost out on nearly €200 million in investments in its culture sector.
Following Brexit negotiations the UK was removed from the European Union’s flagship cultural development programme, Creative Europe.
Since leaving, the bloc has increased the budget of the programme by 66% to €2.44 billion.
Had Brexit never happened, UKTBC say the UK’s creative industries would have received an additional €184 million, based on the total funds they received last cycle.
Creative Europe's last round of funding awarded over €18m to 37 Scottish organisations alone from 2014-20, or about 16% of total UK funding, which stood at £111m.
The analysis suggests Scotland may have lost out on at least €27m in EU funding.
The UK already lags behind other European countries in arts investment, with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) funding for the sector amounting to £43.35 per person last year.
In France the national government spends £53.24 per capita annually on arts and culture and in Denmark the total is £213.31 per head.
Campaigners say the shortfall is compounding Brexit-related visa and supply chain issues which is already putting intense strain on the creative sector in the UK.
Last year the UKTBC claimed that increased red-tape and disruption is removing opportunities for musicians, increasing the cost of festival tickets and hampering the UK’s fashion and textile industries.
After Brexit, the UK Government announced the Shared Prosperity Fund to replace structural EU funds, with £2.6bn set to make its way across the UK.
But the UKTBC say the only replacement funding geared towards the culture sector, the Global Screen Fund, awarded just £7m in its first year.
The group also pointed to the recent collapse of the Centre for the Moving Image, which had received more than €400k from Creative Europe.
This resulted in the closure of two of Edinburgh and Aberdeen's only art-house cinemas (above) putting dozens of jobs at risk.
Dr Philippa Whitford, SNP MP for Central Ayrshire and a member of the UKTBC, told The National: “From Robert Burns to Lewis Capaldi, Scotland has produced some of the greatest poets, musicians, authors, playwrights, actors and filmmakers of all time, and the tens of millions that Creative Europe injected into our creative economy, has helped birth a new generation of Scottish artists.
“By cutting us off from EU networks of cultural exchange and failing to replace EU funding as promised, the UK Government could be depriving us and the world of the next great Scottish talent.”
Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Independent Society of Musicians, said: “British filmmakers, musicians, artists, authors and designers are the greatest in the world.
"They are a cornerstone in the UK’s global influence and soft power.
"At a time when we desperately need growth in the UK economy the government urgently needs to replace this lost EU funding and root out the mountains of red tape which Brexit has imposed on the creative industries. From cabotage and carnets to work permits to musical instrument certificates, the burden of all these new requirements are causing great harm to one of our flagship industries.”
The revelations come as the UKTBC met on Thursday to discuss the impact of Brexit and new trade deals on the UK’s culture and arts industries. The session can be viewed here.
A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) said: “Our creative industries are a vital part of the UK economy and we are committed to supporting their success.
"Through initiatives like the Global Screen Fund we are supporting scores of independent productions as well as driving exports of UK film, TV and video games to new territories.”
