further information funding decisions 09 11 10

							Further information on our funding decisions

The funding cuts announced in October 2010 as part of the Government’s
Spending Review will seriously affect the Arts Council’s total budget, but not
the shape of our ambitions for the arts and audiences of this country.

We have responded to the real-terms cut of £457m over four years (2011/12-
2014/5), with measures designed to ensure a strong and resilient future - to build,
as well as sustain, an unparalleled arts and cultural sector.

On Tuesday 26 October 2010 we announced that arts organisations will be given
an equal cut which has been kept to 6.9% for 2011/12. The overall cut to the whole
budget available for the regular funding of organisations is 14.9% in real terms by
2014/2015.

Below is a breakdown of our plans for funding the arts in England.

Year one 2011/12

The cut is heavily weighted, with £62.8m in savings (15.5% real, 14% cash) to be
found in the first year. This will be a transitional year with the majority of
organisations receiving a cut of 6.9%.

This approach keeps the overall percentage cut as low as possible and gives
organisations a quick and fair decision allowing a degree of stability in a very
challenging economic environment.

The level of reduction for the majority of arts organisations has been achieved by
larger percentage cuts to other organisations whose primary purpose is not arts
creation or performance.

The budget for Creativity, Culture and Education (responsible for the Creative
Partnerships scheme) will be reduced by half following the Government’s
announcement of the closure of Creative Partnerships in the Spending Review.
Children and young people remain an absolute priority and we will work in closer
partnership with our funded organisations to ensure high quality arts opportunities
for young people.



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Arts and Business will have its funding reduced by half in 2011/12. We have
reviewed our position on private and corporate giving in line with the current needs
of the sector, and as a result we will be redirecting some of our future resource to
developing a challenge fund to incentivise donors and building the fundraising
capacity of arts organisations. Arts and Business will be given a transitional budget
to enable it to fulfil specific activities to which it has already committed and to plan
its future operating structure. There will be no core funding for Arts and Business
beyond 2012, as we will be looking at different ways to support this key area of
work.

Alongside our portfolio of regularly funded organisations, we have a budget for
strategic opportunities for artistic work. This supports work such as touring, the
Cultural Leadership Programme and the Manchester International Festival. This
fund will be reduced by £21m (64%) next year.

Clearly, in the light of this reduction, difficult choices will have to be made, which
we aim to do by the end of 2010. In future we will be asking our funded
organisations to take on more responsibility for furthering our strategic goals,
particularly in the areas of touring and audience development.

Years two to four – 2012-15

As discussed with the sector, from April 2012 to April 2015 decisions will be made
on the basis of the national portfolio funding programme for organisations. All
organisations will be asked to apply for funding, and decisions will be made
against clear strategic aims.

Some organisations will not receive funding in the future; some may receive more
and some less. There will also be the opportunity for new organisations to apply.

We announced full details of the national portfolio funding programme on 4
November 2010, to coincide with the publication of our new 10-year strategic
framework, Achieving great art for everyone. Individual funding decisions for 2012-
2015 will be announced by the end of March 2011.

This approach will mean that the arts landscape can be reshaped in line with our
new strategic framework, and in full dialogue with arts organisations, artists and
funding partners.


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Cuts to our administration costs

The Arts Council has also been asked to reduce administration and operating
costs from £22m to £11m by 2015 – a cut of 50%.

Our National Council has expressed serious concerns about our ability to operate
effectively with this level of cut, coming on top of a 15% reduction in operating
costs already made this year.

This cut will have to be implemented by midway through 2012/13. We will now
need to assess how the level of saving we have been asked to make can be
managed.

The next few years could involve a significant amount of change for the Arts
Council, and we will need to consider carefully our options, working closely with
existing and any new stakeholders, to ensure the best outcome for the sector.

Find out more
You can find out more about our settlement and what the funding cuts mean for
the Arts Council in our news section. Browse our funding page for an overview of
how we invest in the arts.




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