"Creatives are not just the icing but a slice of the cake itself", says Ian Ritchie.
In a January interview with Insider Magazine, Ian Ritchie of the Scottish Cultural Commission argues that the creative individual forms a substantial part of the Scottish economy. In addition, the knock on effects on the rest of Scottish society plays an important role in the Smart Successful Scotland plan pushed by the Executive.
There is significant evidence to support the importance of the creative and cultural sectors within the country.  In 2004, the bestselling computer game, Grand Theft Auto, and the bestselling book series, Harry Potter, are both Scottish. Tourism is a £37.4 billion industry in Scotland, and much of that spend goes towards designed cultural activities such as heritage tours and various arts and music festivals. Scotland's festivals are going from strength to strength, and several of which have enviable international reputations.
Furthermore, truly successful modern economies thrive in areas where there is a high level of creativity and where there are varieties of open, challenging, dynamic ideas in circulation. Talented people today are extremely mobile and have their choice of places in which to live and work. Historically, bright Scots have always tended to leave Scotland in order to build their careers, but we need them and other fresh talent to come back to Scotland in order to build an economy for the future. Ireland has traditionally experienced the same population decline as Scotland, but has successfully reversed the decline by building a society that highly mobile knowledge workers can enjoy working in. The Irish have done this by fostering a diverse and cultured society, with tax breaks for the artists, writers, musicians and other creative types.
As a fundamental part of the Smart Successful Scotland plan, we need to support and nurture the huge variety of Scottish cultural and heritage activities that makes Scotland such a great place to live and work.