Jardine welcomes potential Festival support

Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has welcomed the potential support to Edinburgh’s cultural sector in the Government’s Spring Budget.

A reported £8.6 million worth of support for Edinburgh’s festivals is expected to be included in the Chancellor’s plans tomorrow (Wednesday) and follows a call to the government to provide funding.

Christine has consistently called on the UK Government to do more to support Edinburgh’s cultural sector including at Business Questions last month in which she pressed for support for the Edinburgh International Festival and the King's Theatre.

Following this latest news, she said:

“I am pleased that the Culture Secretary and Secretary of State for Scotland appear to have taken on board my comments about the importance to our economy of supporting the Festival’s recovery from covid.

“The cultural life of Edinburgh is a massive contributor to the health of not only the city’s economy, but also for Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.

“Of course, we await the details of this reported pledge, but it is encouraging that the UK Government has listened to my calls to provide support for the city's vital cultural sector which is so important to jobs and businesses in Edinburgh West and beyond.”