Shetland MSP defends £11,000 artist in residence post

Summarised from BBC North East Orkney And Shetland's report · Updated 12 Oct, 21:14 · Archive

Shetland MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad has defended hiring an artist in residence for £11,000 of public money to engage with her constituency.

Shetland MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad has defended her decision to hire an artist in residence for £11,000 of public money from her parliamentary staff budget. The 35 hour-a-week, four-month contract will involve recruiting a Shetland-based creative of any discipline to engage with the community and deliver projects reflecting policy priorities. Goodlad is also hiring a communications assistant to translate content into the Shetland language.

Goodlad said the roles are essential to make politics 'feel more accessible' across the islands and to reach different parts of the population. She said she would not be advertising the roles if they were not necessary. Reform MSP Max Bannerman has criticised the artist post as 'state-funded propaganda'. The Scottish Daily Mail raised concerns over the creative roles on its front page.

Read the report

• Shetland MSP defends hiring artist with public moneyHannah Mary Goodlad says she is using language and culture to reach the public across her islands constituency.BBC North East Orkney And Shetland · 12 Oct, 16:48

In this story: Hannah Mary Goodlad · Max Bannerman · Shetland · SNP · Reform

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