GOVERNMENT MUST AGREE WAY FORWARD FOR CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - SMITH

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 15th Aug 2008

Liberal Democrat Culture spokesperson Iain Smith MSP has demanded that the Scottish Government work with the other parties in the Scottish Parliament to sort out the mess it has made of the Creative Scotland Bill.

Reports this week suggest that the Government vastly underestimated the transition costs for the planned national culture agency.

In June, the Culture Minister's confused and incoherent position and the Minister for Parliamentary Business' failure to grasp the Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament led to the Creative Scotland Bill falling at Stage One.

Commenting, Mr Smith said:

"There is agreement in the Scottish Parliament that a single body should have responsibility for promoting the arts and creative industries. Yet the SNP has botched the handling of the Creative Scotland Bill. This should have been a very simple process.

"This confusion over the Government's flagship plans for the creative industries has plunged the sector into uncertainty. This week's revelation that Ministers vastly underestimated how much it would cost to set up the Creative Scotland agency is disappointing, but not surprising. This proves that the Liberal Democrats were right to challenge the financial resolution of this Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

"Ministers must now work with other parties in the Scottish Parliament and organisations within the creative industries to agree a way forward."

Ends.