Bectu hails new support funds for Scottish freelancers in need

Bectu has welcomed three schemes launched by Creative Scotland to support freelancers in the creative sector who are affected by the current Coronavirus shutdown.

Creative fund

A Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund has been opened to support individual freelance or self-employed artists and creative practitioners working in the country’s not-for-profit sector.

They must be in immediate financial difficulty due to the loss of income caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. From today they can apply for between £500 and £2,500 of emergency funding from an overall budget of £2m.

Screen fund

A parallel Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund will provide similar emergency one-off bursary support to freelance or self-employed practitioners (excluding on-screen talent) working in Scotland’s screen sector.

Examples include exhibition, distribution, development, production or post-production for film or television, scripted or unscripted, live-action or animation, talent and skills development and film education. Applicants can seek between £500 to £2,500 from an overall budget of  £1.5m

Open fund

The Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development will provide support to enable individuals and organisations to continue to develop work. Applicants will be encouraged to explore how best to sustain their practice and reimagine their work during the current climate and in the months to come.

Funding will be available for between £1,000 and £50,000 from an overall budget of £7.5m of lottery money.

Bectu negotiations officer Paul McManus said:

“We welcome this initiative from Creative Scotland. Not everyone will meet the criteria, but we encourage our Scottish freelance and self-employed members who are suffering financial hardship to take a look and apply if you think you will qualify.”