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Strange that standstill funding and 4% cuts should be welcomed with such warmth.

The Scottish cultural sector may not be celebrating, but there is a palpable sense of relief.

Compared to England, where cuts of 15% have been implemented, the national companies and arts institutions in Scotland will be expected to make 4% cuts.

Creative Scotland's budget of £35.5m be frozen - presumably because it's already perceived to have made all the cuts it can in merging the arts council and Scottish screen.

The festivals Expo fund will remain - at least for the next year, offering £2m worth of funding to creative companies.

Arts and Business Scotland's £300,000 budget will also be ring-fenced, unlike its counterpart in London which has had its budget slashed by 50%.

Capital projects like the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall development and the establishment of an outpost for the V&A in Dundee, will go ahead as planned.

Organisations are quietly relieved but well aware it's far from over. Local authorities make a huge contribution to the cultural landscape - whether that's libraries and museums, or music tuition in schools.

Their budgets will be revealed in coming weeks - and there's little optimism that the cultural sector will survive unscathed.

On top of that, the Scottish budget is one year only, leaving many organisations and individuals unable to plan ahead, and unsure about what the future holds.