2026 is both an election year and the National Year of Reading — a year when literacy, libraries and the future of our young people should be firmly at the top of the political agenda.
Across the UK and around the world, governments are taking decisive action to tackle declining literacy and reinvest in school libraries. Yet Scotland, once regarded as a leader in library provision, now risks falling behind.
When Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools launched in 2018, Scotland was setting the pace. We were seen as progressive — a nation that recognised libraries as essential to education, wellbeing and community life. Today, however, the landscape is shifting, and not in our favour.
Recent months have brought renewed focus on education, reading for pleasure and school libraries, but largely south of the border. England has committed to delivering a library in every primary school by 2029, backed by more than £10 million in dormant assets, alongside £5 million to provide every secondary school with new library books.
Wales has pledged dedicated funding for its National Year of Reading. Meanwhile in Scotland, funding gaps, inconsistent provision and ageing facilities are undermining the vital role libraries play in literacy, learning and community wellbeing.
Across our 32 local authorities, school library provision is fragmented. Only five authorities — just 16% — offer full professional librarian coverage in secondary schools, while at least five have none at all. More than a third rely on assistants, teaching staff or volunteers, despite clear evidence that professionally trained librarians are essential for literacy, information skills and wellbeing.
Recent developments only show the situation worsening. Qualified librarians are being replaced, dedicated library spaces reduced, and purpose-built libraries moved into smaller rooms with sharply curtailed stock and access. Some areas are exploring new models to stretch limited resources but these often involve cutting trained roles and introducing inconsistent provision with little central oversight. These are not minor operational changes, they signal a systemic unravelling of Scotland’s school library infrastructure.
The evidence is clear. Research by the University of Edinburgh and Scottish Book Trust shows school librarians foster reading enjoyment, create inclusive spaces, support minority pupils and strengthen personal development. A CILIPS-funded study found librarians are uniquely placed to tackle misinformation, yet lack of time, training and recognition prevents them from doing so. In an age of disinformation, this should be a wake-up call.
At the same time, National Literacy Trust data shows reading enjoyment among children and young people has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Only one in three enjoy reading, fewer than one in five read daily and one in ten children in Scotland does not own a single book. Boys, pupils from lower-income families and those in disadvantaged communities are disproportionately affected.
Scotland’s latest Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels report shows record-high literacy attainment and narrowing gaps, yet school libraries are absent from the narrative. This omission is striking. The challenges highlighted — uneven engagement, slower progress for some groups and persistent inequality — are precisely where school libraries make the greatest difference.
Reading for pleasure remains the strongest predictor of a child’s future success, more powerful than parental income. Being read to at age five is a protective factor against poverty at age 30. Libraries are not cultural luxuries, they are engines of social mobility.
Other nations understand this. Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands are investing heavily in school libraries and staffing. Scotland, meanwhile, is cutting posts, shrinking spaces and relying on goodwill to sustain essential services.
SLIC’s vision statement, Securing the Future of Scotland’s Libraries, sets out what is needed: sustainable funding, modern facilities, protected professional roles and universal standards. Without decisive action to make libraries financed, fairer and future-proofed, Scotland risks entrenching a postcode lottery of literacy and opportunity.
As we approach the 2026 Holyrood election, MSPs face a clear choice. With strong evidence, a practical vision and broad public support, you can secure libraries as essential infrastructure at the heart of Scotland’s learning, wellbeing and future prosperity. Or you can allow further erosion that deepens inequalities and limits life chances for the next generation.
Scotland once led the way. We can do so again — but only if we act now, with ambition that matches the opportunity our communities deserve.
Yours sincerely,
ALISON NOLAN
Chief Executive of the Scottish Library & Information Council (SLIC)
37 organisations have joined us in our call for Scotland’s political parties to show their commitment to keeping the promise to children, young people, families, and care experienced adults.
With clear focus, brave decision-making, and sustained cross-party support in Parliament over the next five years, Scotland can keep the promise.
Thank you to all the partners and collaborators that have joined us so far.
If your organisation would like to sign the open letter, it is not too late and every voice counts.
Local Labour politicians have come out against the proposal to list the Brunton Theatre building.
Their opposition was stated in an open letter to Historic Environment Scotland where they claimed listing the current building would jeopardise plans to build a new theatre in Musselburgh.
The letter was signed by Labour MSPs Sarah Boyack and Martin Whitfield, East Lothian MP Douglas Alexander, Edinburgh East MP Chris Murray and Musselburgh Councillors Andy Forrest and Ruaridh Bennett.
The signatories raised concerns that “preserving the current building also preserves many of the issues it faces, including a lack of accessibility, concerns over safety and vital maintenance”.
The letter also reiterated the elected representatives’ commitment towards a new theatre space in Musselburgh that can continue the cultural legacy of the current building while providing better facilities to improve accessibility.
The current theatre was mothballed last October after it closed its doors in 2023 for the last time due to the presence of RAAC.
Commenting on the letter, Ms Boyack said:“I hope this letter illustrates to Historic Environment Scotland why we oppose the listing of the current building.Our driving priority must be the continuation of a theatre in Musselburgh – listing will jeopardise this.
“I am looking forward to working with the Brunton Theatre Trust and with HES to find a solution that ensures that Musselburgh residents get an accessible and functioning theatre space.”
An OPEN LETTER from ALISON NOLAN, chief executive officer of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)
Did you know that over the past decade, 53 public libraries across Scotland have closed their doors for good – without replacement ?
The same public libraries which provide essential access to trusted information and education for all, which ignite a lifelong love of reading from early years, and which serve as warm, welcoming spaces where everyone is welcome without any expectation to spend. The same public libraries which, time and again, deliver enormous value to communities across the country, only to find themselves at risk when budgets are debated.
I’ve written to councillors across Edinburgh, before crucial budget decisions are made for the next financial year, to remind them what investment in public libraries truly means.
At the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), the advocacy body for Scotland’s network of over 500 public and mobile libraries, we understand the delicate financial situation that councils must navigate but we would urge those considering cuts to their library services to think again.
It’s no secret that the cultural sector is under unprecedented pressure but the narrative that austerity measures justify these cuts is shortsighted. This isn’t just a story of diminishing buildings and bookshelves; it’s a story of lives disrupted.
These closures are deeply felt because libraries represent so much more than the sum of their parts. Public libraries remain the most popular service local government delivers. Closing these doors means cutting off opportunities — a cost far greater than any savings achieved.
Libraries are proven to deliver significant economic and social returns, with research from Suffolk Libraires revealing a £6.95 return of economic benefit for every £1 invested through improved literacy, better mental health and stronger communities. And of course, when this investment figure is flipped, we see that the closure of public libraries will result in the community losing out on £6.95 of economic and social benefit for every £1 that is invested elsewhere.
The troubling trend of closures and cuts to library services across the country all too often disproportionately affects rural communities, exacerbating existing inequalities by stripping away vital access to education, digital resources and safe spaces for social interaction.
For these communities, libraries are not a luxury but a necessity. They provide essential services to support job applications, digital literacy training and social connection. To lose them is to deepen the isolation already felt by many.
Ask yourself: where else can citizens turn for support with their health, finances and employment? Libraries do it all under a single roof. They make real change to people in communities right across Edinburgh and play a central part in how the council brings about change.
Libraries drive forward crucial national agendas including preventative health – with the Health on the Shelf research report showing they save NHS Scotland £3.2m every year, bridging the digital divide by offering free access to PCs, Wi-Fi and digital support for a range of essential services, and fostering social cohesion by hosting a diverse range of community events. And this is all in addition to their core function: to encourage reading and provide a range of trusted reference materials.
As cuts and closures loom across the country, we’re urging local decision-makers to prioritise sustainable investment in libraries. Cutting library budgets is a false economy. The cost of losing libraries extends far beyond financial savings, impacting education, mental health and community cohesion. But it’s not just closures that we’re concerned about.
The slow, salami-slicing effect that has been seen over recent years, with opening hours cut – decreasing by 13%, on average – budgets slashed and staffing numbers reduced is felt across communities, with 1 in 3 voicing fears that their whole service is at risk.
Where councils have embraced the importance of libraries, the benefits are clear. 22 out of the 32 local authorities have not made any cuts to their library services in the last decade; instead, they are choosing to invest in their future, from creating learning hubs which have seen unprecedented loan figures, to developing dedicated ‘Maker Spaces’, reinforcing the role that libraries play as the originators of the sharing economy by offering access to emerging technology, such as 3D printers and laser cutters, as well as sewing and embroidery equipment.
In a recent survey from the Association of Public Libraries in Scotland, over 93% agreed that using the public library improves their quality of life, reminding us of the immense value that a public library holds, evolving to meet the needs of modern Scotland with the emergence of whole-community assets that can be used by educators, small businesses, community groups, and individuals to help people right across Edinburgh achieve their potential, while retaining their fundamental purpose: to connect, inspire and empower.
These services are a source of inspiration, but they remain the exception rather than the rule. To fulfil this potential, they need more than goodwill — they need sustainable funding.
No other community asset can deliver the vast economic and social benefits that a thriving public library service can, and so we would urge decision-makers to prioritise investment in their communities.
Anything less would be a failure we cannot afford.
ALISON NOLAN
Chief executive officer of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)
Open Letter from SHONA McCARTHY, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
What a fantastic week for the cultural sector of Scotland. All the lobbying, advocacy and effort from so many, for so long, has resulted in some desperately needed stability and longer-term security; and Culture Counts did a sterling job in leading the charge.
It has been uplifting and joyful to see so many brilliant theatres, companies, community art centres, creatives and festivals across Scotland, invested in, and supported to make new work and do ambitious things.
A special nod to the success of our sister festivals – the Film, Children’s, Art, Book and Jazz festivals; and with over £5million in public sector support per year, the Edinburgh International festival will be enabled to undertake some truly wonderful commissions and programming. Perhaps this will be the moment for some shared resource into a collaboration of all six summer festivals to create a spectacular, free-to-access opening and closing of the whole season for Edinburgh’s residents. Exciting times and I look forward to the imaginative programming to come.
It is also wonderful to see Hidden Door secure some core support – its devolved curatorial approach and fusions of genre and imagination have brought something new to the whole festivals landscape. Congratulations are due all-round and hats off to the Scottish Government for recognising the value of the arts to the heart and soul of the nation, to job creation, well-being and the economy. All of this in the same week that the Fringe Society has had its own news to share, with the announcement of our new Chief Executive coming in to post in April this year.
However, I hope support can also be found for those who didn’t make the list this time.
The Fringe is a different beast. It is complex, but only if you want it to be. However, its complexity should not be a reason not to support the very event that gives Edinburgh’s festivals their global brand, economic success and enormous impact for the performing arts across Scotland, the UK and the world. It truly is an access point for so many artists and audiences alike, into the arts.
Here’s where we are:
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is made up of thousands of moving parts. All of those are important and are what make it unique. The Fringe is not a funded, curated arts festival, it is a platform and a marketplace that is open to anyone. Every artist or show that comes to Edinburgh does so at their own financial risk, and with their own set of objectives for what they want from participating in the Fringe. There are many producers who will annually develop and support a selection of shows to present at the Edinburgh Fringe, who share the risk with their artists. The venues that host them are all different models, but many of them also take significant risk, or share risk with producers and artists.
Then there is the Fringe Society – the small charity that is made up of Fringe members and provides core services to the festival: artist support, box office, marketing, promotion, and audience navigational tools. Income generated from participants through registration fees and box office commission pays for these services. The Fringe Society delivers a whole programme of added value that is designed to remove barriers to participants and audiences and ensure inclusion. This work isn’t financed by income from the Fringe, but is supported by donations, fundraising and ring-fenced public funds for projects. In keeping costs to participants low or frozen for 18 years, the income generated from registration fees and tickets, has long-since come far short of covering the costs of services to the Fringe.
Once upon a time the Fringe was a self-financing ecosystem with a collective effort from all the fringe-makers on keeping it affordable for artists and audiences. However, the well-documented economic context of recent years changed that. In this moment, if Edinburgh, Scotland and the UK wants to keep the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, then the whole thing needs support, and that has to come from multiple sources and has to support both the Fringe and the Fringe Society.
The Fringe Society needs core annual public sector support if it is to continue to provide services to the Fringe at an affordable level. It also needs to be able to adjust its fees to meet some of the rising costs too. A stable Fringe Society can continue to play a positive convening role for the wider Fringe community and in recent recovery years we have been able to redistribute some £6.3million out through the Fringe ecology in funds for artists, producing venues and support for Scottish work, to help it survive and stabilise.
The Fringe Society will continue to use its convening role to raise funds to support artists through the Keep it Fringe fund and Made in Scotland. We must also ensure that the essential digital infrastructure that supports festival systems – online tools and wayfinding, are future-proofed, and will seek support and donations to retain our 32 community partnerships across the city so that they can continue to experience their Fringe their way, both during August and year-round.
What could a whole Fringe support strategy look like.
For a stable, healthy Fringe we need a joined-up investment strategy that includes the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and the UK Government. We have continuously made the case and both UK and Scottish Governments have recognised the unique place that the Fringe occupies as a platform, a showcase, a marketplace and global expo. There is nothing else like it on these islands, and it offers something unique in the world as an annual global meeting place to celebrate the performing arts in all their glory and for the business of the performing arts to be done.
We of course need a stable Fringe community with companies, producers and theatres able to produce work, and the investment from the Scottish Government last week goes a long way towards this. We will continue to lobby until Scotland is on a par with the best of Europe.
The Fringe Society’s new year-round Fringe Central secured a capital grant that will create new affordable rehearsal spaces for artists, and also unlocked £1million in Keep it Fringe funds for direct bursaries to 360 artists over 2024 and 2025.
The Fringe Society are aiming to sustain the Keep it Fringe fund in some form, and producer James Seabright has already committed financial support.
Investment in the Fringe Society from the Scottish Government is needed to ensure the charity can continue to provide core services to this vital event.
The Scottish Government have recognised that this organisation falls between the cracks and have made the commitment to support, and this is a work in progress. Scottish artists, companies and many local producing theatres and venues are supported through the multi-year funding programme, the Open Fund, and the Made In Scotland showcase at the Fringe and this helps. Yet there is still a gap in support for the whole Fringe operation, and there is a continuing disparity between the infrastructural needs and financial support made available for major sport events as opposed to the investment in sustained, annual arts events with longitudinal impact, like the Edinburgh Fringe.
For the UK Government – the Edinburgh Fringe hosts artists from all over the UK, with over 2,000 shows coming from England alone every year; with producers and promoters bringing work to be showcased and booked for onward opportunities. The Fringe ecosystem needs support to host all of this.
The UK Government have so far provided a Capital Grant to the Fringe Society to create a year-round Fringe Central space, and we have been making the case to build on this investment for the whole ecology. This could happen in several ways:
Theatre Tax Relief could be extended to support the venue infrastructure set up at the Fringe that is undoubtedly part of the production process
The Fringe should be supported by UK Government for its role as a driver of the Creative industries – Industrial strategy, and well-positioned for support from the £65 million recently announced by Secretary of State Lisa Nandy
It should be recognised as a Major Event for the UK, and its operating structures supported as would so readily be done with a sporting event of this scale and reach, such as an Olympic or Commonwealth Games
Arts Councils across UK should be investing in their artists to support them coming to the Fringe, as international showcases already do
The City of Edinburgh Council is crucial in providing a supportive operating context:
The Fringe will generate over £1million in Visitor Levy – this money should be ring-fenced to be redistributed in supporting the event
Affordable accommodation is the single biggest barrier to making the Fringe truly inclusive for creatives, workers and audiences. There are three ways this could be alleviated
Exemptions on home-letting and home-sharing being real, effective and immediate
A mechanism for HMOs (houses of multiple occupancy) privately run student accommodation to be made available to artists during the summer months
A map of accommodation capacity within a one-hour commute of Edinburgh and the supporting transport routes to make that underused capacity viable
New structures have already been set up to create this joined up approach through a National Festivals Partnership and a Festival City Infrastructure group. Let’s hope these structures can finally bring a strategic and supportive approach, to enable the Fringe to sit comfortably within Scotland’s national cultural asset base whilst also being properly enabled to welcome the emerging performing artists and breakthrough work from across the UK and the world.
The Edinburgh Fringe is unlike any other cultural event in the world, in that it is largely self-financed by those who take the risk to make and show work. It is made up of hundreds of parts, all of which are important. It is a wonderful balance of ticketed venues, street performance, free shows and pay what you want shows; from new discoveries to world-class and established artists.
It is the sum of these parts that makes it distinctive, inclusive, extraordinary and with something to say in the world. The stability of the Fringe is dependent on a recognition by everyone involved in it; that it is not owned by anyone – no organisation, group, or collective. It has no super league or participant base that is any more important than any other. It is a platform for freedom of expression like no other – ever evolving, growing, contracting and contorting.
It is not stuck in any one period of time, and should never allow any single interest group or sense of entitlement to derail its beautiful, messy and joyful mission for inclusion and cultural democracy
Its mantra is to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat – and that’s a mantra worth protecting and championing. That’s the Fringe. What a welcome it would be for the incoming CEO of the Fringe Society, if this extraordinary event was set on a new foundation stone where both the Fringe itself and the charity that supports it are validated and supported. With that support and validation, the whole Fringe community can move forward together collaboratively to secure the future of this vital event.
The cultural sector review will perhaps take a closer look at why the Edinburgh Fringe doesn’t sit comfortably within the established mechanisms of investment in the cultural sector, and a new way may be found to give it investment and support. Edinburgh is a city that has given huge recognition to new infrastructure and investment in classical music and the classic artforms.
It would be wonderful to see some validation of the forms of creative expression, such as comedy and street performance, which allow a significant point of access into the arts, and anyone to step into the opportunity to perform.
Often all that is required is space, a microphone and a story to tell.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
To whom it may concern: As the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe comes to a close, an open letter from SHONA McCARTHY, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
As the curtain falls on the 2024 Festival Fringe, much is being discussed in the spaces, rooms, cafes, and streets of Edinburgh, on the success of this year.
Today it was announced that 2.6 million tickets were issued during the 2024 Fringe, however there is no doubt that the current environment for artists across the UK is of great concern; and the fragility of the performing arts community is palpable.
An outward veneer of success cannot mask the struggle for artists to emerge let alone thrive in the UK right now. While Fringe 2024 has been brilliant, and it is to be celebrated that artists, companies, venues, producers and promoters took huge financial risks and pieced it together and put on the show.
However, the dominant message as we close this year’s festival is that there is no Fringe without art. There is no art without artists.
The cumulative effect of the relentless rise in the cost of everything, and an unhelpful policy environment facing the arts sector has resulted in widespread concern that is keenly felt by artists.
From the availability of affordable accommodation, blunt policy changes which have consequences for major events, to continuous public sector cuts; we need to ensure that the hard won and fragile success isn’t met with complacency by those who can influence change.
It is not enough to have old stories of how important Edinburgh’s festivals were in providing healing and connection after the Second World War. They are important now, contributing hugely to health, well-being, joy and job creation.
The Edinburgh Fringe vision is to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat. That is a commitment to inclusion, to freedom of expression and to being allowed to try and to fail. It is a vision that is increasingly easier to say than it is to do.
I have worked in the arts across the UK for 35 years now, and in the last two decades there has been a journey away from elitism, monoculturalism and exclusion with inspiring developments in access to the arts for all, with still a long way to go.
If the UK continues on an upward trajectory of cuts to arts education, and Scotland continues to decimate investment in the sector, breaking promises of support; then we are on a direct course to job losses, exclusion and boring art that is only the privilege of those who can afford to be part of it, as performers or as audiences.
Here at the Fringe and across the UK, the pipeline of creative potential is under threat. Artistic risk and ambition is hamstrung by an operating context that squeezes out emerging artists that have made the Fringe globally renowned, unique and joyful.
How can the Edinburgh Fringe remain exemplary, exciting, experimental; the only place in the world to be every August? As the most influential arts marketplace in the world, this year over 1,800 arts industry accredited with the Fringe Society, and came to Edinburgh to seek new work for onward touring and broadcast opportunities. Nearly 900 accredited media reviewed shows, interviewed artists and worked tirelessly to support the 3,746 shows that took place this year.
There is no future for the Fringe without art. There isno art without artists. Artists and the venues who host them are at the heart of this event, and there would be no Fringe without them.
They take the risk of bringing work to the festival every year, and while the arts landscape is at a crossroads, we need to ensure that the Fringe, one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture in the world, is protected for the future.
As we celebrate the hundreds of thousands of people who have been moved, delighted, awed, shocked and entertained by the stories artists present across Fringe stages, it feels that now, more than ever, we must not take artists for granted; we would do so at our peril.
SHONA McCARTHY,
Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
We, the undersigned, are artists, arts workers, and/or audience members from across Scotland. We are the people of Scotland. We live and work here. We value the arts and the artists who make it.
We are writing to you about the closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals, due to the Scottish Government being unable to confirm the release of £6.6 million of funding from the Grant-in-Aid budget. This decision shocks and deeply concerns us, and places the future of the arts in Scotland at risk.
The Open Fund for Individuals is the cornerstone of the arts in Scotland. It is the only fund of its kind to support artists to lead projects, develop their practice, support their professional development and collaborate with other artists and/or communities.
One grant awarded to an individual provides meaningful employment, creative development, allows space for artistic risk and experimentation. Many of these grants support multiple artists and arts workers through paid job opportunities. Grants for individuals can also support organisations through the filling of theatres, galleries and music festivals.
One grant can kickstart or extend a career, allow an artist to present their work to the public, develop a new stream of income, develop their entrepreneurial and business skills. Take artworks to market and present for Scottish audiences, leading to international tours and commercial successes. They provide a training ground for the arts leaders of tomorrow, allowing artists to skill up through experience of running their own projects and developing new networks.
One grant can place artists in schools, in care homes, working 1-to-1 with folk who do not like a crowd, or with whole communities at a time, and bring a multitude of positive personal, social and wellbeing benefits. It can reduce isolation and bring people together. It can inspire and delight. It can help people find their voice, and see their experiences and stories represented.
The Open Fund for Individuals has an enormous impact. It is a lifeline for artists and arts workers. Beyond the individual grants and their benefits, its existence also means an enormous amount to people across Scotland, because it supports people who are not independently wealthy to be artists. It tells us that we have a right to creativity and the arts, a right to joy and wellbeing, and a right to emotion and expression.
Without the fund, the future is bleak, and bleakest for those who are isolated and marginalised by income, geography, race, class, age, faith, caring responsibilities, gender, sex, sexuality, or disability. Those who do not have savings to fall back on, family support to sustain them, or who have to work harder to bring their work to audiences are at risk of being unable to sustain a career in the arts. The loss of these talents and perspectives in the arts leaves us all poorer.
The arts in Scotland contribute £5bn annually to the economy but they are now at breaking point. We cannot continue without direct support for our artists, arts workers & self employed people. The damage to the arts caused by the closure of the fund is immediate and long lasting. Cut it now, and it could take a generation to build back.
We urge you to fund the reopening of the Open Fund for Individuals as a matter of urgency. We ask that you provide clear guidance on the in-year and future annual budgets so that the arts in Scotland can begin to plan, develop ideas, build upon past successes and deliver a vibrant future for us all.
[Please sign with your first name, last name and postcode at the bottom of the document]
[If you’re having trouble accessing this document, please email mharirobinson@gmail.com with your name and post code and I will add you in]
Traverse Theatre statement on closure of the Open Fund
The Scottish theatre community is in need of support more than ever in light of the cuts to arts funding. Gareth Nicholls, Artistic Director of the Traverse, said last night:
“We at the Traverse wanted to use our platform to the world on the final day of the festival to make you aware of this, and of the significant impact funding cuts are having on our nation’s artists and theatres.
“New work in Scotland doesn’t come from nothing. And one of the key ways this has been achieved is through an open fund where an individual artist can ask for money when their idea is but a seed.
“The open fund is the incubator for Scottish work, but Creative Scotland has been forced to close the fund at 2pm on Friday. It will be closed indefinitely, due to the Scottish Government being unable to confirm funding for its delivery.
“Many on our stages, and whose work you’ve enjoyed at the festivals, have been dependent upon it, alongside wider arts subsidy. It is a fund that helps build careers and craft to get an idea off the ground, and which helps places like the Traverse keep our theatres alive with bold new ideas.
“If you enjoy seeing Scottish work right here in Scotland, then please continue to support the artists who make the powerful work that appears our stages.”
The British Dental Association Scotland has stressed that there can be no complacency over the future of NHS dentistry, following the first evidence from frontline dentists since the Scottish Government’s reforms rolled out in November last year.
A new poll of high street dentists shows:
While two thirds (66%) of respondents say the new system represents an improvement on the previous model, 9 in 10 (88%) say this cannot be the final destination for NHS dentistry.
Only 22% say the new system enables a move to a preventive model of dentistry. Only 7% believe it will enhance access for NHS patients, and just 5% say it will support a reduction in oral health inequality.
26% feel changes have made their practices more financially sustainable. 31% disagree. Nearly half have not formed an opinion.
34% agreed reforms met the Scottish Government’s goal of increasing clinical freedom, while 38% disagreed. On reducing bureaucracy, respondents were tied for and against on 38%.
Just over a year ago the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee and the Scottish Government entered formal negotiations on the new fee structure and Payment Reform. This moved at pace within a challenging fiscal environment. The previous funding model was unsustainable, as surging costs had left dental practices delivering some NHS care at a financial loss.
In an open letter to the Scottish Government the BDA stress the Scottish Government must show it is willing to build on these reforms, and to double down on policies to ease the workforce crisis in the NHS.
David McColl, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said:“Given the critical place dental services were at this verdict is welcome news, but there is absolutely no room for complacency.
“Dentists have seen improvements, but have told us reform falls short on access, inequalities and prevention. Changes might make some practices more sustainable today, but they do not provide the foundations for a 21st century service.
“The Scottish Government has set goals on improving access and sustainability. These promises must be kept.
“Scotland cannot have NHS dentistry without NHS dentists – and this service must be a place which can recruit and retain talent.”
Online survey of Scottish General Dental Practitioners, February-April 2024, 229 respondents:
Please indicate your agreement or disagreement to following statements
1. The new system means the practice I work in is better able to remain financially sustainable
Strongly agree 3%
Agree 23%
Neither agree nor disagree 27%
Disagree 21%
Strongly disagree 10%
Don’t know/not applicable 15%
Net Agree 26%
Net disagree 31%
2. The new system represents an improvement on the previous payment model
Campaigners from the Unbound the Greyhound coalition delivered their open letter, calling for a phase out to dog racing in Scotland, to the Scottish Government yesterday.
22,655 people signed the coalition’s open letter, including celebrities such as TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, actor Peter Egan, and historian and broadcaster, David Olusoga.
MSPs joined the charities, and greyhounds rescued from the racing industry, outside Parliament in support.
The letter hand-in comes just weeks after Scottish Greens MSP, Mark Ruskell, launched the consultation for his proposed Bill to ban greyhound racing, the Proposed Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill.
The coalition is very supportive of this Bill.
Spokesperson for the coalition, Eve Massie Bishop, said: “There has been a real shift in attitudes towards dog racing in recent years.
“Not only have 22,655 people added their name to our letter to the Scottish Government to phase out greyhound racing in Scotland, but polling carried out by Panelbase has also found that six in ten Scots think the Scottish Parliament should vote to phase out greyhound racing.
“A 2019 petition to ban greyhound racing, from coalition member Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation, is also the most signed petition in Scottish parliamentary history.
“Our campaign has attracted the support of animal lovers from across the world, including the US, Australia, Japan, France, and Spain.
All eyes are now on the Scottish Parliament, which can show leadership and compassion and take steps to phase out this dying industry.”
2,718 greyhounds died and there were 2,284 total injuries recorded at the hands of the industry between 2018-2022.
Rescue greyhound, Sasha, who was at the open letter hand-in, was injured 8 years ago and was almost killed as a result.
Sasha broke her leg during a race at the former Armadale Stadium, in West Lothian, and was left in her kennel without treatment for days.
When her owner finally did take her to the vet, he wanted her to be put down, despite her injury being treatable.
Thankfully, the vet convinced Sasha’s owner to surrender her instead.
The coalition is very supportive of Mark Ruskell MSP’s Proposed Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill, stating: “The Scottish Government’s proposals to license greyhound racing simply won’t protect these dogs.
“The Scottish public know this. In response to the Government’s recent consultation on its licensing proposals, most respondents responded instead calling for a phase out of greyhound racing.
“Mr Ruskell has recognised that greyhound racing carries inherent welfare risks and that only a ban on this outdated ‘sport’ will protect these loving, affectionate dogs. We are grateful for Mr Ruskell’s commitment to ending this dying industry which survives only on the exploitation of gentle dogs. He has our absolute support.”
Mark Ruskell MSP commented: “Greyhound racing is a cruel gambling-led sport. There is nothing safe about forcing dogs to run around an oval track at 40 mph. It is wrong, and it must be stopped.
“The industry has shown that it cannot be trusted to regulate itself, with hundreds of greyhounds dying or being injured every year.
“Animal welfare organisations are clear – the inherent risks of greyhound racing mean that the welfare of these beautiful dogs can only be truly protected by banning racing for good. And that is exactly what my proposed Bill intends to do.
“Thanks to the Unbound the Greyhound coalition, we know that the public also wants to see our four-legged friends protected too. An incredible 22,655 people have signed the coalition’s open letter calling for an end to greyhound racing in Scotland.
“Change is coming. So I hope that as many people as possible take part in my consultation and that we can use it to develop the most appropriate and robust legislation possible and deliver an end to this abusive and badly-dated practice.”
On global Human Rights Day, 75+ groups from across the UK issue an open letter to the Prime Minister and political leaders, urging them to protect universal human rights in the UK.
On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) have coordinated an open letter to the Prime Minister and political leaders signed by 75+ organisations from across the UK.
Published today on 10th December 2023, global Human Rights Day, the letter highlights the United Nations’ call for a “movement of shared humanity” – a sentiment reflected by the breadth of organisations that have signed it.
Grassroots groups, local charities, international organisations, professional bodies, advocates and lawyers all working in different fields and for different causes have come together to call on the UK Government to reaffirm the commitment to universal human rights, honouring the fundamental principle that human rights are for everyone.
As well as celebrating the incredible mobilisation of civil society to speak up against the UK Government’s unprincipled and unworkable Rights Removal Bill, which was ultimately scrapped this year, the letter highlights the impact that human rights have in the “small places close to home” – a phrase coined by UDHR architect Eleanor Roosevelt. It reflects on the role of the UDHR in inspiring the European Convention on Human Rights and ultimately the UK’s own Human Rights Act.
Together, the organisations tell politicians: “Anchored by common fundamental values that reach beyond divides, the UDHR makes it clear that universal human rights are part of what it means to be human, and not gifts granted by the state.”
Speaking on the release of the open letter, BIHR’s CEO, Sanchita Hosali, said: “Global Human Rights Day should be a time for us all in the UK to reflect on the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, agreed across nations in the aftermath of World War II 75 years ago to protect the equal dignity of each of us.
“Whether in our schools or workplaces, in community centres or housing offices, at police stations and courts, in hospitals and care homes, social work departments and Government offices, our universal human rights, shared by each and every one of us should be respected and protected by those in power.
“Sadly, here at home political debate is characterised by hostility to people’s human rights and a government intent on removing its accountability to us all. Having seen off the very real risk from the Government to scrap our Human Rights Act in favour of a Rights Removal Bill, groups from across the UK have joined together to call on our Prime Minister and political leaders to do better.
“Yet just days ago we see the Government seeking to set down in law the removal of human rights protections for a whole group of people seeking safety in it’s latest Rwanda Bill. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the UDHR, the Government must move beyond the popularist, often dog whistle politicking around human rights, and commit to realising the vision of universal human rights as a global blueprint for international, national, and local laws and policies.”
