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EMCC Respond to the Creative Scotland Independent Review

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson set in motion an Independent Review of Creative Scotland earlier in 2025.  The Review team have an agreed remit to explore, and have so far worked to invite views from the arts and culture sectors on an opt-in, self-selecting basis. EMCC participated in an online roundtable and have made a written submission, covering the below points.

Concerns regarding diversity of responses to the Review

Alongside many other organisations, EMCC feels that the self-selecting, opt-in approach adopted by the Review team further marginalises groups that are already under-represented in our creative sectors, including Black women and women of colour, disabled and neurodivergent women, women who are carers, migrant women and women from other marginalised groups. In our written response to the Review team we outline our concerns around the women who face barriers to inclusion and may not have had their voices heard during the review process. 

Intersectional gender strategy

EMCC asks the independent review to consider how Creative Scotland can be a better leader for gender equality in the creative sector. We ask that the review publishes a strategy for how Creative Scotland can work to eradicate gender disparity and discrimination in the creative industries, including a commitment to a gender analysis of budgets, funding designs, fair work and EDI policies. 

Gendered budget analysis of Creative Scotland’s funding designs

EMCC asks that a gendered budget analysis of Creative Scotland’s funding designs is utilised as part of the independent review. We ask that a gender analysis of Creative Scotland’s existing policies and procedures is completed, to ensure that women are not
being inadvertently discriminated against. This analysis would assess the areas where women are most likely to experience a gap in pay and allow for the restructuring of Creative Scotland’s funding streams to promote gender equality.

Accessible funding application processes

We ask that independent review assesses how Creative Scotland can make its funding application process more accessible. Currently the application process for funding is not proportional to the potential funding award or the size of the organisation that is applying for funding. This means that an organisation of one person asking for £20,000 is required to go through the same funding process as an organisation of 30 people asking for £100,000.

Creative Scotland’s role in the gathering and analysis of intersectional data

We ask that the independent review assesses the systems that are currently in place at Creative Scotland for data analysis, internally and externally. Publicly available data analysis would provide better evidence to advocate for policy change within the cultural sector and reduce the burden on minoritised groups and small organisations to provide this expensive data analysis. We recommend the review looks at other arts councils where there is a Chief Data Officer/Data Team to analyse and use Creative Scotland’s data, to better illustrate the positive impact of the culture sector on Scottish society.

Read our written submission in full.