The discovery that the cost of establishing Creative Scotland will increase to £7m is neither a surprise nor relevant, in the sense it will cost each Scot only £1.36.

The discovery that the cost of establishing Creative Scotland will increase to £7m is neither a surprise nor relevant, in the sense it will cost each Scot only £1.36.

Given the high level of Scottish creativity we all enjoy, this represents a sound (and visual) return on investment. The problem before us in relation to the financial machinery of the present bill is that no-one can challenge or explain fully its ramifications.

The reason for this is simple. There does not exist in Scotland, or anywhere else in the UK for that matter, a socially inclusive cultural framework that is understood by the cultural policy makers.

Compounding this problem is a divided arts establishment that careers from, at one end, small, effective groups crying out for funding to, at the other, streaks of donnish superiority closing ranks to defend a threat to professionalism clouded in a veil of complex language understood only by a few. At the very least, this represents a confusing market place in which to support or conduct satisfactory business. Furthermore, the previous government talked a bonnie game when it said culture should be at the heart of the nation.

But without an executive cultural framework it will never be possible to conduct a much-needed cultural economic impact study and institutions such as Creative Scotland will struggle endlessly. To realise the government's aspirations to place culture very firmly at the heart of governance is to recognise that the arts are merely a by-product of culture, albeit the stimulant for a nation's cultural evolution.

Before anyone can proceed effectively on this matter, there is the need to make, courageously, the distinction between art and culture. In short, culture is reactive, it's the way we are; art is proactive, it's what we learn. Failure to understand this principle will perpetuate the problem of a perplexing marketplace and make life persistently difficult for the policy makers.

Peter Minshall, Argyll.