Arts bodies unite in campaign to secure increased funding as Government assesses spending priorities.
An intensive period of lobbying has been initiated by arts bodies keen to secure increases in funding following the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) which will determine Governments spending priorities for the ten years from 2008. An open letter to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, issued by Equity, the Musicians Union, the Association of British Orchestras, the Theatrical Management Association and technicians union BECTU, has called on Arts Council England (ACE) to ensure that the settlement for the arts makes good the less than inflationary increases for 2006/07 and 2007/08. Meanwhile, ACE is currently finalising plans for a campaign to make the case for arts funding.
The last spending review, which took place in 2004, led to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) freezing its allocation to ACE while increasing funding to the museums and galleries sector. That decision led to a breakdown in relations between DCMS and ACE which was highlighted in last years Peer Review. Efforts have since been made by both sides to mend fences in advance of the CSR. The jockeying for position between different Government departments and non- departmental bodies will take on a heightened pitch as, rather than the usual three-year budgets, the CSR will set Government financial priorities for the next decade. It will also take a zero based approach to assessing the effectiveness of individual departments with the very real threat that some may experience dramatic changes to their funding allocation from the Treasury.
Arts organisations will also be concerned about the weight given to funding for the 2012 Olympics when the results of the CSR are announced in the summer of 2007. Questioned about the impact of the Olympics, a spokesperson for ACE said, it is an element in funding but overall the impact of the Olympics is going to be hugely positive. ACE is currently compiling its case for investment which will be submitted to the Treasury via the DCMS in June. The arts sector will then be called upon to provide evidence and support in a number of ways& to state the ways the arts impact on Government priorities and contribute to the countrys position internationally.
These are elements addressed by the orchestral and theatre bodies in their letter which describes the two sectors as a global success story for the UK. The statement asks ACE to note that any further squeeze in funding will inevitably lead directly to a reduction in activity and thereby in theatre/orchestral employment. It is also bound to have an adverse impact on the number, range and quality of performances available to audiences. A spokesperson for Equity said, With this letter we wanted, as early as possible in the process, to make clear to Government the impact that these modest amounts of money can have on the sector.