The idea of cultural entitlement is a powerful one. It is a measure of a healthy society that its children are aware of their cultural heritage and participate enthusiastically in creating music, art and literature. To develop that process, six years ago the previous Scottish Executive launched a programme of cultural co-ordinators in schools to introduce children to live theatre and bring professional musicians and artists into the classroom. It is funded through the Scottish Arts Council (SAC), but each local authority decides how to deploy the cultural co-ordinators who make it happen. There are now 117 of them in Scotland running a scheme that costs £2.65m a year. This year a further £8.5m was announced to extend the programme over the next two years. That, however, was before the election.

The idea of cultural entitlement is a powerful one. It is a measure of a healthy society that its children are aware of their cultural heritage and participate enthusiastically in creating music, art and literature. To develop that process, six years ago the previous Scottish Executive launched a programme of cultural co-ordinators in schools to introduce children to live theatre and bring professional musicians and artists into the classroom. It is funded through the Scottish Arts Council (SAC), but each local authority decides how to deploy the cultural co-ordinators who make it happen. There are now 117 of them in Scotland running a scheme that costs £2.65m a year. This year a further £8.5m was announced to extend the programme over the next two years. That, however, was before the election.

The new Scottish Government has now told all local authorities that funding for the cultural co-ordinators in schools will be phased out over the next four years as a result of "re-prioritisation and some difficult choices", resulting from the tighter UK comprehensive spending review. The SNP, in office, has been very quick to promote cultural success, such as of the National Theatre of Scotland's production of Black Watch. Its foreign tours are the most high- profile example to date of its policy of boosting of Scotland's artistic identity by taking Scottish productions abroad. At a time when - despite the perennial shortage of funds - all the creative arts in Scotland are flourishing, it is right they should be given high-profile recognition. As a country we cannot develop new talent unless we also nurture future generations. It is particularly disappointing, for example, that the pilot project to provide children in a deprived community with free musical instruments and training based on the El Sistema programme in Venezuela has not yet been funded.

A change of priorities in relation to the arts is probably inevitable with a change of government. That was clear from the election manifestos: Labour's specifically included developing the role of cultural co-ordinators in schools and extending the youth music initiative into secondary schools, while the SNP's prioritised tax breaks for artists, incentives for film-making and establishing an Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

All these are valuable, but unless we encourge children to engage with the arts, we are in danger of losing not only the undiscovered talent that is the seedcorn for the future, but also future audiences. The idea of cultural entitlement is one we should hold on to. There is no simple prescription for ensuring each Scottish child develops a relationship with the arts as naturally as with their own neighbourhood, but we know the arts can be a major force in regenerating communities. Investment in grassroots activity is vital, and there are many ways to do that. It may be that employing cultural co-ordinators is not the best use of resources, but before removing them to make a financial saving, there should serious thinking about how best to ensure increasing numbers of Scots enjoy cultural enrichment regardless of their age and background.