Voluntary Health Scotland’s consultation response to the draft Cultural Strategy for Scotland 2018, focusing on the relationship between culture and health. VHS provides the secretariat for the Health Inequalities Cross Party Group.

VHS welcomes the draft strategy and commend its potential to affect positive change to the promotion of and engagement with culture and the many health benefits this can provide. Regarding key health strategies it highlights arts on prescription within social prescribing; drug and alcohol addictions; dementia. They also recognise that more needs to be done to support cross-sectorial and multi- disciplinary partnership working. The strategy needs a much stronger emphasis on the need for the worlds of health and social care to join forces with the worlds of arts and culture in a shared effort to improve and nurture people’s health and wellbeing.