Arts Council announces funding decisions for the arts in England

Arts Council England, 26 October 2010,England

Arts Council England today (26 October) revealed its plans for implementing the 29.6% cut to its budget announced as part of the Government’s Spending Review.

Following a meeting of National Council yesterday (25 October) an implementation plan has been agreed to reduce Art Council England’s grant-in-aid budget from its current baseline of £449 million to £349m by 2015. This is a real-terms cut of £457m over four years. The plan includes:

• A 6.9% across-the-board cash cut for the majority of arts organisations in 2011/2012 only

• A 14.9% real-terms cut to the money available for the regular funding of organisations by 2014/15

• Significant cuts to the funding of Creativity, Culture and Education, Arts and Business, and the Arts Council’s development funds

• A 50% reduction to the Arts Council’s operating costs, from the current £22m to £12m (real terms) in 2015

Liz Forgan, Chair of Arts Council England, said:

“These are severe cuts, made worse by the fact that around 80% of them have to come in the first two years of the settlement.

“We are determined to lead the arts through this tough period, using all our knowledge, expertise, and brokering skills, and drawing on the resourcefulness and imagination around us.

“For several months we have been in conversation with the DCMS, our funding partners, arts organisations and artists about how we can best support the arts in dealing with significant cuts. We have had to prioritise, to achieve a 6.9% cut to our portfolio within a 14% cash cut to our overall 2011/12 budget.

“These measures are designed to ensure a strong and resilient future. The country needs its artists at a time like this and we are about building, as well as sustaining, our unparalleled arts and cultural sector.”

National Council had already indicated they would seek to minimise the effect of any cuts to the portfolio of arts organisations. Because the cut is heavily weighted, in the first year of the settlement 2011-12 (15.5% real,14% cash), £62.8m savings have had to be found for 2011-2012 alone – nearly 50% of the cuts to the Year 4 baseline. Around 80% of the cuts required come in the first two years.

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