Creative Scotland will reopen its Open Fund for Individuals after the Scottish Government confirmed it would release £6.6 million of funding.

Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, announced the decision to provide the funding at Holyrood this week (4 September 2024), as he revealed the Scottish Government’s plans for the 2024/25 financial year, which also include a review of Creative Scotland’s role in supporting culture in the country.

Last month, WGGB alongside other unions spoke out against the “devastating” announcement that the Open Fund for Individuals would close – citing the importance of one of Scotland’s key funding programmes in supporting the activity of writers, artists and other creative practitioners.

While we welcome the U-turn, a number of questions remain and we will be working jointly with sister unions in Scotland and the STUC to find out further detail.

Thank you to our members who wrote to their MSPs to protest about the closure of the Fund and supported the campaign on social media.

Photo: Shutterstock.com/UlmusMedia