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Cutting the arts may seem like a quick fix for local authorities, but doing so can have dire social and economic consequences, warns Claire Mansfield.

Local government has been the unsung hero of arts and culture funding in the UK for many decades, providing support for cultural activities in local communities long before a national arts council was established. To this day local authorities remain a key strategic partner of Arts Council England and are one of the main funders for arts and cultural organisations up and down the country.

However, councils have seen their budgets cut drastically and, in response, many have made proportionately higher cuts to their cultural provision. As a result, local authority funding for the arts and culture has fallen by 19% in the last three years. Many arts organisations are struggling and the cuts have clearly hit the sector badly. But it is, perhaps, the long-term effects that these cuts could have on their areas that councils should be most concerned by... Keep reading on Public Finance