The Scottish Government has begun consultation work on a new National Performing Company for traditional music. The proposed body would become Scotland’s sixth National Performing Company, joining the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The consultation asks how a national organisation could support and represent traditional music.
The Scottish Government announced the next steps on 26 August 2026. A public consultation has been launched, seeking views on how a flagship organisation could raise the profile of Scottish folk music internationally.
The Government said early feedback is being sought from the traditional music community and wider audiences to understand priorities for future support and what a national performing company might look like.
The First Minister held a reception for the traditional music sector at Bute House and attended the Sound of Scotland folk music showcase at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall. Culture Secretary Mairi McAllan is also to chair a roundtable with leaders in traditional music.
The new company would become Scotland’s sixth National Performing Company.
The Existing National Performing Companies
Scotland’s existing National Performing Companies are the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
The Scottish Government’s report on the five companies for April 2016 to March 2018 described their role as producing and performing work across Scotland and internationally, supporting education, participation and cultural engagement.
A 2026 FOI release on National Performing Companies recorded the 2025-26 grant allocation from the Scottish Government as £24,607,000. It also stated that in 2022-23 the companies worked with more than 1,600 creative practitioners in 373 venues across Scotland, delivering 2,047 live performances to more than half a million people across all 32 local-authority areas.
The traditional music proposal would place a further cultural form inside that national performing-company framework.
The Traditional Music Record
The Scottish Government’s announcement states that a VisitScotland survey in 2024 found that 79 per cent of Scots said Scottish traditional music gave them a sense of cultural connection, while 88 per cent believed it should be preserved for future generations.
The same announcement says music businesses in Scotland reported turnover of £27.4 million in 2023.
Traditional music in Scotland covers a wide range of forms, including Gaelic song, Scots song, piping, fiddle, clarsach, accordion, traveller tradition, ballad, dance music, community music, festivals, sessions, teaching and contemporary folk performance.
The announcement was also issued in Gaelic. The Gaelic version described support for traditional music and the establishment of a new national performing company.
The Gaelic element places the proposal near recent public funding for Gaelic culture. On 11 August 2026, the Scottish Government announced support for Cnoc Soilleir in South Uist, describing Gaelic language and traditional arts as part of Scotland’s history, culture and identity, particularly in rural and island areas.
Culture Funding Context
The National Performing Companies sit inside Scotland’s wider culture-funding system.
Scottish Government culture policy includes support for national collections, Creative Scotland, cultural organisations, museums and the performing companies. The 2026-27 Scottish Budget includes lines for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, including support for the cultural and creative sectors.
SPICe published analysis in 2023 on trends in culture funding. That briefing recorded the position of cultural spending, Creative Scotland, local authority culture services and public funding pressure.
The traditional music proposal therefore arrives within a culture-finance record that includes national-company funding, Creative Scotland portfolio funding, local-authority culture budgets, heritage spending and support for language and traditional arts.
Questions For The Consultation Record
The consultation will produce the next public record on design.
The Government’s announcement says it is seeking views on what a national performing company might look like and how it can work for performers, groups and organisations across Scotland.
The final model has not yet been published.
Public records still to come include consultation responses, any analysis of those responses, the proposed structure, funding route, governance, remit, geographic approach, relationship with Gaelic and Scots language organisations, and relationship with existing festivals, teaching networks and community bodies.
Until those documents are published, the record establishes intention, consultation and the proposed national-company status. It does not yet establish budget, headquarters, governance, repertoire, staffing, touring model or grant arrangements.
Sources
Support for Scottish Traditional Music, 26 August 2026
https://www.gov.scot/news/support-for-scottish-traditional-music/
Arts, culture and sport, accessed 27 August 2026
https://www.gov.scot/arts-culture-and-sport/
Report for the five Scottish national performing companies: April 2016 to March 2018, 2018
https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-report-five-scottish-national-performing-companies-april-2016-march/pages/1/
Report for the five Scottish national performing companies — About the National Performing Companies, 2018
https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-report-five-scottish-national-performing-companies-april-2016-march/pages/2/
National Performing Companies: state aid information, 20 June 2016
https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-performing-companies-state-aid-information/
National Performing Companies — FOI release Annex A, 2026
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/foi-eir-release/2026/02-c/foi-202500496309/documents/foi-202500496309—information-released—annex-a/foi-202500496309—information-released—annex-a/govscot%3Adocument/FOI%2B202500496309%2B-%2BInformation%2Breleased%2B-%2BAnnex%2BA.pdf
Trends in Funding for Culture, 12 June 2023
https://spice-spotlight.scot/2023/06/12/trends-in-funding-for-culture/
Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 — Chapter 13 Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, March 2026
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2026-2027/pages/15/
Supporting Gaelic culture to thrive, 11 August 2026
https://www.gov.scot/news/supporting-gaelic-culture-to-thrive/
A Culture Strategy for Scotland — Strengthening culture, 28 February 2020
https://www.gov.scot/publications/culture-strategy-scotland/pages/5/
Cultural engagement in Scotland 2023: Scottish Household Survey findings, 2024
https://www.gov.scot/publications/cultural-engagement-scotland-2023-findings-scottish-household-survey/
