Local authorities need the cultural sector's support

13 Feb 2024

With many councils across the country on the verge of bankruptcy, cultural services are under threat. Councillor Liz Green, Chair of LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport board, says we need to do things differently.

Council votes to support museum’s overbudget renovations 

12 Feb 2024

Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) has voted to continue supporting the redevelopment of Ipswich Museum after a £2.7m overspend.

The museum closed in October 2022 for renovations and expansion, initially budgeted at £8.7m, half of which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

Now with an estimated cost of £11.4m, after rising inflation and supply chain issues, IBC voted on 6 February to ensure the project is delivered in full, unanimously deciding to apply for a second round of funding from the NLHF.

According to a council report, NLHF has indicated that it will consider an additional funding application if the council provides match funding.  

At a committee meeting, the council was warned that, if rejected, the project could be subject to a complete review, halting it for at least 18 more months.

"It's really hard to see what other option we have because we are so far down this road now," said Conservative councillor Ian Fisher.

"If we don't vote for it, we get something that's not going to be anywhere near what we wanted."

Labour councillor Carole Jones, portfolio holder for planning and museums, said: "There are improvements that we need to make, and this is not an extravagant scheme.

"We are where we are, and we can only go forward."

Government launches £24m fund for museum building projects

Rotunda Museum Interior
12 Feb 2024

The government's Museum Estate and Development fund supports capital projects for museums.

Frazer orders full-scale review of ACE

07 Feb 2024

The decision follows completion of an initial assessment into the role and functions of Arts Council England that could have resulted in no further action being taken.

Financial pressure taking 'physical and mental' toll on museum leaders

A mannequin in armour sitting on a fake horse at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
07 Feb 2024

Study finds declining public investment levels have resulted in museum trusts using reserves to plug gaps, running the risk of contravening their legal obligations as charities.

PPL reports record high payments to performers

07 Feb 2024

Collective management organisation PPL paid out £279.6m to 165,000 performers and recording rights holders in 2023.

This marks an increase of £34.9m (14.3%) on the previous year and is the highest annual total ever paid out in PPL’s 90-year history.

The £279.6m includes a payment of £7.7m by VPL, PPL’s sister company, which licences music videos when they are played in public or broadcast on TV. The £7.7m was a £1.6m increase on the previous year.

PPL cited the continued recovery from the Covid pandemic, as more businesses re-opened in the UK and globally, as a key factor in achieving the record total.

Its members receiving payouts range from independent and major record companies, to grassroots artists, session musicians and globally renowned artists. 

“We understand these payments are critical for many and we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver them consistently and on time,” said PPL CEO Peter Leathem.

“As neighbouring rights continue to develop around the world, we see a huge opportunity ahead to grow our market share and maximise revenues for performers and recording rights holders.”

Council pledges £300,000 to reopen Stockport's Forum Theatre

06 Feb 2024

Funding has been set aside by Stockport Council to cover repairs at the Forum Theatre in Romiley, Stockport, which has been closed since September due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

The Manchester Evening News reports that the Liberal Democrat-led council will provide £300,000 for the works so the theatre can reopen.

Frankie Singleton, Stockport Council's Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Sport, said that a long-term arrangement with central government to deal with such issues is required. 

“The government have to work with local councils to find a sustainable solution to fund repairs, and any costs incurred whilst repairs continue, similar to the approach that has been taken with schools and colleges,” she said.

“We believe that this issue has become urgent in local communities across the country. Therefore, we urge the government to provide funding for repairs in local cultural venues in line with the approach taken for other buildings.”

Independent Scotland could introduce tax exemption for artists

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson
05 Feb 2024

The Scottish National Party has published a paper proposing benefits to the country's cultural and creative sectors if it leaves the UK.

Welsh government boosts its support for grassroots venues

A man plays guitar at a small gig
05 Feb 2024

17 music venues will share funding of over £700k to help improve facilities and make venues more accessible.

New lottery operator unable to meet pledged targets

Blue National Lottery sign, showing its crossed fingers logo, in front of shop entrance.
05 Feb 2024

New lottery operator Allwyn has admitted that it will not meet its original pledge on donations to good causes at the start of its decade-long licence.

Art gallery put up for sale after funding runs out

05 Feb 2024

An art gallery in Great Yarmouth that opened three years ago has been put on the market after failing to cover running costs once its grant funding ran out.

The Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust (GYPT), which owns the Yare Gallery, said that rising costs of wages, utility bills, maintenance and insurance led to the gallery's closure last year after its grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the government's Culture Recovery Fund ran out.

The trust received £176,800 across two Culture Recovery for Heritage funding rounds.

Bernard Williamson, Chair of GYPT, told Eastern Daily Press: "The trust received no support or subsidy from the local authority or other bodies.

"The regeneration benefits of such an asset are a huge drain on our resources and led trustees to put the building on the market.

"It is hoped that the gallery will, therefore, continue with a new owner."

The Yare Gallery opened in 2021 in a Grade II building that was purchased and restored in the early 2000s to create the Norfolk Nelson Museum, which closed in 2019. The property has gone up for sale for just under £300,000, and the funds will be used to support other local preservation trust projects.

Council spending on culture drops by 43% since 2010

02 Feb 2024

Council spending on cultural services fell by 43% between 2010-11 and 2022-23 in real terms, according to analysis by The Guardian.

During that period, the figures show a decline in local authority investment in all areas except social care, with cuts of 40% for roads and transport, 35% for housing and 33% for planning and development.

The analysis follows an announcement from the government of a £600m support package for councils, which will see an additional £500m added to the Social Care Grant to help fund children's and adult social care.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told Arts Professional that protecting these services will "reduce pressure on council’s budgets, and allow local authorities to continue to support the cherished arts venues, libraries, youth services and leisure centres at the heart of our communities". 

Speaking to The Guardian, Shadow Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said libraries, sports centres and youth provision were “not a garnish” and rejected calls from some Conservatives to reduce the types of services that councils had to offer.

“What’s very clear to me is that we are going to inherit a very difficult situation because the Tories have brought [councils] to the brink, offering them a very small amount of money now which cynically to me is about them trying to just get them over the line for a general election,” she said.

“But it’s not going to do anything about the long-term problems that we would inherit and we’re under no illusions about the scale of those problems.”

Around 26 English councils have declared or are on the verge of bankruptcy, with dozens more dealing with high debt levels. Recently, several local authorities, including Bournemouth, Somerset, Hampshire, Suffolk, Coventry, Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Leeds, have proposed cuts to their cultural services as they look to prioritise funds for social care.

DCMS Minister in Saudi Arabia for 'cultural collaboration' talks

A landscape view of AlUla in Saudi Arabia
01 Feb 2024

Official visit by Arts Minister Lord Parkinson follows deal between France's Pompidou Centre and Saudi Arabia on major culture project.

Melvyn Bragg: Arts industry 'needs radical overhaul'

Melvyn Bragg, speaking in the House of Lords
01 Feb 2024

Labour peer describes UK arts provision as 'dangerously patchy' and calls for 'industrial revolution for the arts'.

Bournemouth Council proposes £1.7m arts funding cuts

Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum
01 Feb 2024

Cost-saving proposals, which include removing the council’s arts development functions, no longer funding a local festival and externalising Russell Cotes museum, form part of wider measures totalling £41m over four years.

ACE: Sharing concerns won't harm NPO funding chances

Image or ACE webpage with headline Resources and reporting
31 Jan 2024

In last week’s edition of Arts Professional, a group of Chief Executives of National Portfolio Organisations expressed their frustrations to Arts Council England about increasingly onerous reporting requirements. Here is ACE's response. 

Artists working with immersive tech to get £6m support

31 Jan 2024

Immersive Arts, a UK-wide three-year programme backed by the UK’s four arts councils, expects to support over 200 artists and organisations unlock the creative power of technology.

Museum struggles to attract visitors after revamp

30 Jan 2024

Dorset Museum and Art Gallery needs to triple its current footfall to meet increased running costs following a £16.4m expansion.

Speaking to the BBC, Executive Director Clare Dixon said the organisation was facing a “critical time” as it has struggled to attract enough visitors to meet its costs since it reopened in 2021 after a two-year-long major reconstruction.

Dixon said Covid, the cost-of-living crisis, Brexit and the war in Ukraine had all impacted the museum’s finances.

She added: "The museum reopened in an unpredictable climate, with tourism plummeting and people not going out, so the impact that we hoped the transformation would have had obviously just didn't come to fruition.

"The building is incredible, the displays are beautiful, but the running costs are high.

"When you increase the size of a building, and you increase running costs, you need more people in to make it sustainable. This year is critical."

The museum was recently awarded a grant of £250k from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and a further £150k, spread over three years, from Dorset Council. The money will be used to boost marketing and fund a rebrand, underpinning exhibition costs and supporting learning and events.

Fourth round of Cultural Development Fund opens

30 Jan 2024

A pot of £15.2m will be available for cultural organisations across England in the latest round of funding under the government's Cultural Development Fund, it has been announced.

So far, 20 projects have received a combined total of £76.8m from the fund since 2019, with arts centres, community venues and heritage buildings among the beneficiaries.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said this year’s round will be the first time since 2019 that projects in London are eligible to apply to the fund.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson said the further funding will extend government's work to level up access to arts and culture in a bid to ensure that everyone has high quality opportunities on their doorstep.   

“I encourage applicants to put forward ambitious proposals which will make a real difference to the lives of even more people across the country, and help to preserve the UK’s position on the world stage as a cultural and creative powerhouse,” he said.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England which is delivering the fund on behalf of DCMS, said the money will bring the transformative power of creativity and culture to more people in more places, across the country. 

"By investing in the infrastructure that cultural organisations need, we can help them make an even bigger impact on the places where they're based, benefiting the communities they work with," he said. 

Speaking separately at an event last Wednesday (24 January), Parkinson said the government's Cultural Education Plan will be published shortly.

"The development of a Cultural Education Plan represents an important opportunity for the range of people and organisations who have a stake and an interest in cultural education to work together and to work with us in government in a practical and tangible way to respond to that, and to improve the lives of children and young people," he said in a speech at the Association of British Orchestra's annual conference.

"The Cultural Education Plan, which we will publish very soon, aims to highlight the importance of high quality cultural education, promote the social value of it, to support career progression pathways, to address skills gaps and to tackle disparities in opportunity."

Nurturing musical talent of the future

PRS Foundation talent development conference
30 Jan 2024

Music organisations have been under extreme financial pressure over recent years, with reduced opportunities to plan for the longer term, limiting the development of new talent. But, as Joe Frankland argues, there are some signs of optimism. 

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