Consequentials for Scotland and the Culture Recovery Fund

That this House welcomes the Government’s £300 million uplift to the Culture Recovery Fund, set up to tackle the crisis facing the culture sector as a result of the covid-19 pandemic; recognises that the Fund was designed to assist a sector devastated by the essential public health measures, and further excluded from Government covid-19 support schemes such as the furlough scheme, due to the freelance nature of many of those working within it; acknowledges that devolved Administrations expected to receive a consequential share of this fund to ensure support for the sector’s recovery across the UK; is concerned by recent reports that only a fraction of the funding promised to the devolved Administrations has been distributed, with only £9 million of an anticipated £40 million boost being delivered to the Scottish Government to support its efforts to fund the recovery of the sector in Scotland; notes that, despite this, the Scottish Government has made available £25 million to support recovery in the culture sector in Scotland; and urges the Government to deliver consequential funding to the devolved Administrations, in full, as a matter of urgency.