Talking to Shadow Arts Minister Ed Vaizey a couple of weeks ago (see AP173), we uncovered the extent to which the Tories are considering remodelling the respective roles of Arts Council England (ACE) and the DCMS. Comparing the tussle between the arm’s length principle on funding and the ‘let me have a crack at it’ mentality on cultural development, it’s going to be interesting to see how the English solution – abolishing the Regional Cultural Consortiums (RCCs) and getting the pre-existing cultural dogs to do a bit of extra barking (see p1) – will compare with the Scottish solution (if Creative Scotland ever gets the go-ahead). The two are not so different: creating either an organisation or a partnership of organisations to take over the new role. The job is in some ways a logical development from the supportive, developmental roles which Arts Council and MLA regional and national offices have tried to carry out in between assessing funding applications and soliciting bids. The main difference is that the new role will be performed explicitly on behalf of their respective national governments. Is this a move towards centralisation on the part of Arts Minister Margaret Hodge? That depends. Regional difference should not be too easy to expunge, even accidentally. The differing palettes and, let’s face it, variable qualities of ACE regional offices and the RCCs already demonstrate that. But the requirements of state – in England’s case, to “strengthen DCMS involvement in regional policy” – suggest that we may see a move towards what politicians will call ‘coherence’ and what others might call ‘uniformity’. Another issue in England is that sport and the arts are being ever more firmly yoked together – an unstoppable force in the face of the impending Olympics. Arts organisations are being more urgently exhorted to take part in the Cultural Olympiad, and it looks as though there may even be some limited cash available at last (see p3). As a theatre producer was recently heard to say, “why should we fling all our resources into this sports jamboree? – we’re the ones who were jeered at, picked last and flicked with wet towels throughout our schooldays by the very people we’re now being asked to celebrate!” Learning to live together is tough enough – delivering “a core set of shared priorities” may be tougher still.
Catherine Rose, Editor