Council funding cuts hit art institutions and charities

Two of Scotland's leading arts organisations, Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet, have fallen victim to budget cuts made by Edinburgh City Council.

The cuts come despite council leaders declaring that the city's funding crisis had been resolved with the passing of this year's budget.

Last week the Lib Dem/SNP coalition revealed that a number of arts groups and charities including the Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet are set to lose funding of around £787,000 under the new budget introduced for council grants.

Both Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera have previously benefited from substantial grants which help to fund educational outreach programmes designed to give a range of community groups access to the arts.

For the Scottish Ballet, who are set to lose around £40,000, the cuts will affect the educational programme run by the organisation and may lead to cancellations of May’s planned programme of events.

While Scottish Opera say that they will continue their planned shows, their popular Opera Unwrapped - a series of events run to introduce newcomers to the art of opera - is being threatened

The General Director of Scottish Opera, Alex Reedijk, has plans to meet with councillors in an attempt to persuade them to reassess the situation.

Both organisations frequently make use of the Festival Theatre and cutbacks to their funding, and as a result performances, could lead to problems for the venue.

A number of other smaller groups and charities also face having their funding frozen.

These include arts groups such as the city’s Traverse Theatre and the book festival, community projects like the North Edinburgh Childcare Centre, and support groups like the Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, while others including the Gorgie Dalry Partnership are set to suffer from slashes in funding.