The way a country manages its culture may, in the end, say more about it than the tax system or how it runs public services.

This week the SNP finds itself challenged on two cultural fronts: the funding of the arts, and the control of broadcasting. Both raise questions, not just about ministerial priorities, but about their ability to turn high-sounding commitments into serious policy. Both, inevitably, revolve around finance. The birth-pangs of Creative Scotland are becoming painful to behold, because no one seems able to tell us the cost. Meanwhile the Broadcasting Commission's report suggests a digital channel for Scotland, again raising the question of resources.

The worst outcome for viewers and audiences would be a shoestring operation, created to meet political imperatives, but without the money to ensure its quality. We desperately need better Scottish broadcasting, and more consistent support for the arts, but neither can be delivered without solid commitment and proper finances.

We are becoming

used to vague ambition matched by vague notions of funding, from the SNP. Neither will do as a policy for the arts, nor for a model of public broadcasting.

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